Anthology Guidelines

Anthology Guidelines

Monsters, Movies, & Mayhem Anthology
Kevin J. Anderson, executive editor
Published by WordFire Press

Lights! Camera! Monsters?

We’ve all experienced a night out at the movies. Are you old enough to remember the drive in? Do you dare build a movie theater in your basement and invite monsters and mayhem to your home? Monsters, Movies, & Mayhem is a collection of tales involving monsters and the chaos they create in the movie world.

Your monster may be that unidentifiable substance growing at the back of the popcorn popper at your local theater concession stand; the zombie who wants to be a movie star but is tired of being typecast; the scriptwriter’s muse who turns out to be an alien with an agenda; the diva director who comes in to “save” your latest film. The monster does not have to be the main character, but does have to be vital to the story. (No copyrighted characters or REAL movies, please!) Movies can be interpreted as a story set within a fully conscious cinematic world, or involving the act of watching a film, or having a character who thoroughly enjoys movies. And mayhem should speak for itself.

Unleash your inner beast and keep the rest of us awake at night with your stories of humor, horror, or plain ol’ weirdness. Funny or grim, unsettling or cozy, we are open to anything. Make us laugh! Make us sigh! Make us scream!

Genre: Original short stories that feature a monster in a movie setting, to include a mix of science fiction, fantasy, horror, alien, magical, witchcraft, AI, and romance elements. Must be appropriate for a “PG-13” audience. Please, no copyrighted characters and no real movies.

Length: up to 6000 words

Rate: 6¢/word on acceptance

Rights: First Anthology Rights; rights revert to author one month after publication; publisher retains non-exclusive right to include in anthology as a whole

Due: We are open to submissions September 1 through Oct. 31, 2019

Submit stories in a Microsoft Word or RTF file in standard manuscript format to submissions@western.edu  

One submission per person, please.

Edited by Kevin J. Anderson with an editorial team provided by Western Colorado University Graduate Program in Creative Writing, Publishing MA students.

Anthology made possible by a generous contribution from Draft2Digital.