Submissions Needed for Darkness 101: Lessons Were learned

Last fall Collective Tales Publishing hosted a flash fiction horror contest. The theme was “lessons were learned.” And we received some great entries! You can read the three winners. But we enjoyed all the entries so much that we wanted to publish them in a new book. 

In addition to the great entries we received, we need more spooky little tales if we are going to have enough to publish an entire book! 

Theme

We’ve got a broad theme, but we especially enjoy the idea of a bully getting their cuppumance. Tales from the Crypt or Twilight Zone are good sources of inspiration for lesson learning. We have provided some tropes that you can use to get started. We would love to see stories about those topics! But feel free to venture further into the dark.

Trope Writing Prompts

Bully picks on the wrong kid

Professor acquires forbidden knowledge (it was forbidden for a reason)

Class field trip goes awry

Child is held after class to their own dismay

Sultry librarian is not what they seem

Child learns why they should have listened to their elders 

A device opens a secret tunnel to realms humankind were never intended to enter 

Science fair project results in unintended consequences

Space explorers go beyond the limits of reality 

A stranger learns not to trust children 

A student learns why cheaters never prosper 

Format

Each story needs to be EXACTLY 101 words. Flash fiction is a format that includes a complete plot with characters and a climax. 

Genres

We want horror, sci-fi with a dire warning, dark fantasy, thriller, crime, dystopian, apocalyptic, cosmic horror, paranormal romance, anything with a dark tone and a harsh lesson. 

Multiple Submissions

Because of the short format, we are hoping to publish multiple stories from each author. Ideally, we would publish five pieces from each author, but we will accept fewer or more submissions. Our goal is to reach precisely 101 stories in the anthology. 

Payment

The budget for this project is slim. But we want to compensate our authors as best as we can. So we have come up with the following compensation structure:

1-4 accepted stories = ebook copy of Darkness 101: Lessons Were Learned

5-8 stories accepted = ebook and a printed copy of Darkness 101: Lessons Were Learned

9+ stories = ebook and printed copy of Darkness 101: Lessons Were Learned and $15

Deadline

We need all submissions no later than June 31st 2022

You can submit your flash fiction pieces using the form provided.

Please email us if you have any questions at CollectiveTalesPublishing@gmail.com