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IT CAME FROM UNDER THE BED
GUIDELINES

IT CAME FROM UNDER THE BED is a paperback anthology of stories, poems, and art, and will be published by Hiraeth Publishing. Editors for IT CAME FROM UNDER THE BED are Terrie Leigh Relf and Marcia Borell. IT CAME FROM UNDER THE BED is open to submissions as of 1 April 2022. We expect to close on 31 August 2022. We expect to publish on 1 January 2023.

 

IT CAME FROM UNDER THE BED wants original stories with plot, tension, suspense, conflict, and character development. Remember, if readers do not care what happens to your main character(s), they won’t read the story. The narrative should maintain a sense of wondering what’s going to happen next; of what’s lurking just around the corner. Showing is better than telling. Frex, instead of telling the reader that it’s cold, show your character shivering, stomping feet, or having ice form on beard or hair. The inner thoughts and emotions of your character(s) are just as important.

 

IMPORTANT NOTE: “Bed” is not limited to an actual bed. It can be a futon, a sofa, a chaise lounge, a recline, or anything you can reasonably sleep on. If you’re looking for inspiration, think Roger Corman and what he might have done with this.

 

Stories submitted to IT CAME FROM UNDER THE BED should be between 3K and 8K words long. Longer or shorter stories will be considered; however, anything less than 3K will be a difficult sell. Anything 2K or less will be considered flash fiction. We will consider reprint stories, provided they adhere to the guidelines; however, they are difficult sells. Submitted stories in science fiction, fantasy, or dark fiction (think spooky, NOT gory) are preferred. We will consider really good mainstream stories, however.

 

Submit your stories as rtf or .doc attachments to tlrelf at gmail dot com (you must recombine this address for it to work. Sorry for the inconvenience. Blame spammers).

 

Please submit one story at a time, and wait for the response before submitting another. We hope to keep the response time down to two months. If you haven’t heard from us in three months, please query.

 

Poetry submitted to IT CAME FROM UNDER THE BED should be from about ten to a hundred lines. Please submit no more than three poems at a time, and wait for the response before submitting more. Again, we hope to keep the response time down to two months. If you haven’t heard from us in three months, please query.

 

Submit your poems as rtf or .doc attachments IBOE to tlrelf at gmail dot com (you must recombine this address for it to work. Sorry for the inconvenience. Again, blame spammers).

 

IT CAME FROM UNDER THE BED will consider interior b&w illustrations that are relevant to the title of the anthology. Submit your illustration as a b&w jpeg to tlrelf at gmail dot com (you must recombine this address for it to work. Sorry for the inconvenience. Grill spammers; the grillwork of a 1950 Buick or a 1953 Packard works best).

 

Payment is made upon publication by check or Paypal as follows:

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Original Stories: $25.00

Reprint Stories: $15.00

Flash Fiction: 1 cent/word to $10.00 maximum.

Poems: $5.00 (for minimalist poetry such as scifaiku, etc., the rates for Scifaikuest apply)

Illustrations: $7.00

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NOTE: If you live outside the United States, you will be paid via Paypal, or must make some other arrangement with the editor.

 

All submissions must include contact information. This means:

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Name [yours, not necessarily your byline name]

Address [street, city, country, and zip code or equivalent]

e-mail address

Paypal address

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If your address changes before the publication date, please let us know.

 

Queries should be sent to tlrelf at gmail dot com (you must recombine this address for it to work. Sorry for the inconvenience. Grill spammers; the grillwork of a 1950 Buick or a 1953 Packard works best).

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