Novels and short stories heavily grounded in science fiction, fantasy, horror, mystery, or thriller, or some blend of genres. Novels and short stories that speak to pulp and/or literary conventions. Well-written stories, strong characters, interesting voices.
Work that was created using AI, work that promotes hate speech, work that has been published previously (except in RARE cases), first drafts, work submitted outside our submissions window or fan fiction.
(Any submissions submitted outside our window will be automatically deleted)
PATREON CONTENT - SUBMISSIONS CLOSED
WHAT WE WANT:
Stories and poetry for our Patreon subscribers. Open calls for submissions will take place between the 1st and the 3rd of each month. All accepted stories will be included in one of our five collections on Patreon (detailed below), which will ultimately be published in its own print anthology. Details on upcoming themed submissions can be found below. ​
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UPCOMING SUBMISSION SCHEDULE:
February: Romance/Genre Blend. Send us your horror, sci-fi, or fantasy with strong romance elements.
March: Urban Fantasy. Fantasy set in the real (or almost-real) world, primarily in an urban environment. Bring us anything supernatural, folklore, magic, or the occult. Think modern characters with supernatural abilities, glimpses of magic in the everyday, and extraordinary realms existing parallel to our own.
April: Tales from the Midwest. Genre fiction set in, or written by authors from, the Midwest. Think profound isolation, flat land stretching hundreds of miles, crop fields, harsh weather, and liminal spaces. Sci-fi: Crop circles, first contact, government conspiracy. Horror: Cult-like small towns, poltergeists, roads that lead to nowhere, psychological torture. Fantasy: Regional cryptids, magical realism, folklore.
May: Ecopunk. Stories that explore the relationship between human beings and nature, often set in post-industrial environments that highlight our innate fear of wild things. Think old cities overgrown by plants, decentralized or dissolved government, sunlight streaming through broken windows, advanced technology integrated into human life/bodies, and post-climate crisis.
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June: Crime Horror. Horror stories with a strong crime element. Think psychological dread, small towns with dark secrets, gritty investigators, and serial killers.
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COLLECTION 1 - THE SOUTHERN GOTHIC:
Think William Faulkner, Flannery O'Connor, Zora Neale Hurston, Richard Wright, Carson McCullers, Cormac McCarthy, Tennessee Williams, Barry Hannah, Ellen Gilchrist, or even Edgar Allan Poe.
COLLECTION 2 - TALES TO TERRIFY:
This collection is our home for all things supernatural and horror. Bring us your scariest, dirtiest, bloodiest, and spookiest tales.
COLLECTION 3 - SYSTEM SOLIS 2300:
The year is 2324. Humanity has spread throughout the solar system, but has yet to to reach further. From mining operations on asteroids and gas giants, terraforming Mars and small moons, and exploring the subterranean oceans of bodies like Europa, we are reaching new worlds even as we continue to battle our inner demons.
COLLECTION 4 - TALES OF THE SLEY SIBLINGS:
Write a story including one (or multiple) of the three Sley siblings: RG, Charles, or Genevieve. RG: Though wheelchair bound, the eldest Sley sibling is not powerless. To the contrary; he has done more than read his father's collection of ancient grimoires. He has practiced them, dabbling in their dark arts as a painter might in oil. RG has spent years, a fortune, and his own health seeking ultimate power. Stories of magic, of the vastness of space and the Eldritch horrors it may contain, and stories of powerful demons and other dimensional intruders pique his interest most, for he secretly wishes to unleash such things on Earth. ​ ​Charles: The middle sibling spends as much time grooming his mustache and his style as he does in their father's old library. Here, he is surrounded by ancient volumes. Grimoires depicting ancient rituals and magic, first editions of numerous classics of literature, and of course, the collections of stories from around the world. Be they stories of myth and legend, cryptids or ghosts, Charles relishes in them all. ​​Genevieve: The youngest Sley Sibling is a champion of diverse voices and feminist literature. The lives she most cares for are her plants, a variety of specimens from the world over, now thriving in her greenhouse, with the power to both heal and kill. Like her specimens, Genevieve is a rare breed: cold and calculating, patient, and a lover of stories of revenge, justice, and the dark forces gaining control.
COLLECTION 5 - TALES OF WONDER:
High fantasy, contemporary fantasy, original superheroes, magical realism. Whatever fantasy means to you, we welcome it in our Tales of Wonder collection. ​ This collection is also for any science fiction that falls outside of the System Solis 2300 parameters. Aliens and future tech, strange worlds. Marvel us with your stories.
COMPENSATION:
Authors will be paid $35 for each selected piece.
HOW TO SUBMIT:
Watch for open submissions and please do not submit outside the window. We have two options for submissions:
1. GOOGLE FORM (preferred, requires sign-in to a Google account): Submit your story using this form.
2. EMAIL ATTACHMENT: If you do not have a Google account, send your story as an attachment to lillian@sleyhouse.com. In the subject line, please include your name and the words [MONTH] PATREON SUBMISSION. In the body of the email, feel free to tell us about yourself and your story, including the word count. We cannot accept stories longer than 6,000 words. Submissions that do not include this information will be deleted.
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DISCLAIMER: Stories can be funny, serious, or somewhere in between; we just want well-written pieces. Genre bending or blending is okay! Fantasies, mysteries, romance, and thrillers can all find a home on our Patreon, as long as they fit within one of the above categories.