“Fiction: Shroud considers horror, dark mystery, dark fantasy and suspense short stories up to 5,000 words (+/-). In addition, we are interested in tightly woven flash fiction, and (in some cases) serialized novellas. Thriller and Suspense tales with a horror aspect are also welcome. We HIGHLY recommend that you buy a SAMPLE ISSUE in order to get a clear idea of our style and tone.

We are especially interested in:

Mythic horror in a real world setting; Classically-themed horror and suspense; Supernatural horror; Creature horror; Dark Fantasy in a contemporary/RW setting; Noir.

We are LESS interested in:

Hard Science Fiction; Sword and Sorcery or anything set in a fantasy world; Stories about serial killers; Vampires ala Rice; First person accounts.

***AGAIN, WE ENCOURAGE YOU TO ORDER A COPY FIRST***

Submission Format

Send us electronic submissions in .RTF format as a file attachment. Your subject line should clearly say “SUBMISSION”. Simultaneous submissions are okay, just let us know that it’s a sim-sub and please let us know if it sells with another publisher. Please do not send us multiple submissions — please only send us one story at a time and do not send your next submission until we give you a reply to the first. Reprints are OK, but discouraged. If you submit a reprint, we will look at it provided it has not been published within twelve months and the author currently bears the copyright.

We do not accept hard copy submissions.

PLEASE include a short (50 words +/-) bio somewhere in your submission (IN the.rtf file) along with all of your contact information. If accepted, this will be the bio published with your story in Shroud.

PLEASE use underlines INSTEAD of italics

Response Time: Averages 2 to 4 months, but stories kept for further consideration by the editors may take additional time.”

Guidelines for book publishing and anthologies also on site. Go to Shroud Publishing.