SILENT NIGHTMARES – OPEN SUBMISSION CALL
Silent Nightmares will be open for submissions the month of December, 2024. This anthology of dark holiday horrors will be co-edited by Chuck Palahniuk and Michael Bailey, who will be eagerly sifting the slush for Haunting Stories to Be Told on the Longest Night of the Year.
Cover artwork by Ben Baldwin.
If you want to play along, send a submission using the guidelines below between 12:01 a.m. on December 1st (your time zone) through midnight on December 31st to be considered. Submissions sent before or after that window will go unread.
A portion of the anthology will be filled by invited writers, but submissions open to the public in December. Expect nothing but the best. The list of personally invited writers is incredible, and both Chuck Palahniuk and Michael Bailey want to showcase your work alongside them.
GUIDELINES
Manuscripts must include contact information on the title page, as well as author name (or pseudonym) and page numbers on subsequent pages; 12pt font, double-spaced; there are no hard guidelines for auto-rejections, but understand the basics of professional manuscript formatting.
Original fiction: up to 5,000 words.
Payment: $0.10 / word (ten cents per word) capped at 5,000 words, and a contributor copy of each edition published (hardcover, paperback, eBook, and potentially audiobook and a limited collector’s edition). For collaborative works, payment will be split equally between collaborators.
Rights: First World Rights in English, and audio rights; all print rights revert to the writer immediately upon publication, although 12 months exclusivity is requested, except for inclusion in a personal or “best of” collection. All other rights remain with the author.
Submission window: December 1st – December 31st, 2024 (31 days, ending midnight your time). This gives you from now until the end of the year to work on something original. Submissions received before or after this window will be auto-rejected and go unread.
Reprints: No.
Instant rejections: reprints, excerpts, nonfiction, young adult, poetry, romance, erotica, gore for the sake of gore, violence for the sake of violence, works that contain hate speech or discrimination of any kind other than to fight against such horrible things, and anything generated by A.I.
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
All submissions will be checked for the use of generative artificial intelligence in their creation using detection software and will be automatically rejected if found to include influence. Likewise, any who submit such material will be banned from future submissions.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
No simultaneous submissions.
Illustrations: Similar to previous Written Backwards titles, accepted stories may include illustrations. If an artist is used, they will be paid professional rates and the use of A.I. will not be allowed,
Publication: 2025 (sometime before the holidays).
Formats: Hardcover, paperback, eBook, and potentially audiobook and a limited collector’s edition.
Due to the number of submissions anticipated, non-acceptances will be announced by way of a form response as quickly as manageable.
Allow up to 3 months before inquiring. For submissions that reach the “maybe pile,” additional time for consideration will be requested until the anthology is filled.
HOW TO SUBMIT
Email silentnightmares@nettirw.com with the story attached (.docx, .doc, .rtf only; no PDF). Feel free to include a short bio and information about your particular demographic (representing the underrepresented is a passion of the editors), but no other information is needed.
OTHER INFORMATION
Please do not use this opportunity (as many have in the past) to query about other potential projects. Written Backwards is not open at this time to fiction collections, poetry collections, novellas, novels, anthology ideas, or any other projects.
Written Backwards has always highlighted the work of diverse writers from around the world and will continue to do so, which is why this anthology will open for submissions and will pay professional rates (equal pay and promotion for all writers). While not many like the term “literary,” that is what this anthology is looking for: groundbreaking work that break normal conventions and will stand the test of time, propelling emerging and undiscovered writers into the mainstream.
If unfamiliar with previous Written Backwards anthologies, it is highly recommended to read previous titles, which you can find on the Anthologies page, or anything written by either Chuck Palahniuk or Michael Bailey. Familiarizing yourself will better your chances of landing a spot in Silent Nightmares.
All accepted works will meet active membership requirements for organizations such as the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers Association (SFWA), the Horror Writers Association (HWA), and others.
All contracts protect the writer.
More announcements soon, but in the meantime, check out the wonderful snowflake image below, also created by Ben Baldwin, which will be used in the anthology.
