Paying Markets For Speculative Fiction Authors | Top Open Calls February 19th-23rd, 2024
Channel: Horror Tree
Date: 2024-02-23

Welcome, architects of the unnerving and crafters of the suspenseful tale! As we journey from February 19th to the 23rd, let us channel the spirit of Richard Matheson, whose stories seamlessly blend the ordinary with the extraordinary, turning the familiar into sources of dread and wonder. In this week, your challenge is to weave narratives that ground the fantastic in the palpably real, making the impossible seem not only possible but inevitable.

This week's collection of opportunities is your invitation to explore the everyday world's dark corners, each link a thread in the fabric of a reality unraveled by terror and mystery.

A curious fact for this period: February 19th marks the birthday of Nicolaus Copernicus in 1473, a revolutionary who shifted our perspective of the cosmos. Like Copernicus, Matheson shifted the perspective within horror and speculative fiction, proving that the heart of fear often beats in the most familiar of settings.

Among the luminaries born in this time, we find Andre Norton (born Alice Mary Norton on February 17, not within our exact dates but close), a foundational figure in science fiction and fantasy, whose work laid the groundwork for future generations to explore realms of endless possibility.

As you pen your tales from these calls posted between February 19th and the 23rd, let them be a testament to Matheson's legacy—stories where the terror comes not from distant planets or dark spells, but from the car parked in the driveway, the shadow at the window, the unknown that dwells within the heart. May your narratives remind us that sometimes, the most profound horrors are those that sit quietly beside us, in the light of day.

This week's video is up and I've spoken about:

Monstrous Books - Monstrous Magazine
https://horrortree.com/taking-submissions-monstrous-magazine-2/

Sans Press - Stranger
https://horrortree.com/taking-submissions-stranger/

Ghoulish
https://horrortree.com/taking-submissions-ghoulish-tales-3/

Tundra Swan Press - Don't as, Ghosts Tell
https://horrortree.com/taking-submissions-dont-ask-ghosts-tell/

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Thanks for joining us, and have a great weekend!
- Belinda and the Horror Tree Staff