The First Five Minutes of the Apocalypse Anthology

A project of Hungry Shadow Press (see other related projects).

Permanently Closed: This project is permanently closed to submissions (February 2023). We provide the following information as an archive.

About

At the moment the earth ended, a little over eight billion human souls clung to its surface. That’s eight billion stories. Nobody knows how many remain. But if you’re reading this, you are one of them. Good job! We want that story. It doesn’t matter how this thing started, what caused it, or where it came from. That’s not what we’re after. We want the experiences, the points of view, the wild, weird, disgusting, disturbing, beautiful, heartbreaking things that happened at the very beginning of the end of the world.

Country of Publication & Year Established

United States

Established in 2022

Publication Media & Frequency

Electronic Publication Electronic Publication: One-time publication
Print Publication Print Publication: One-time publication

Fiction Closed

Short horror, weird, dark fiction that deals with a fictional apocalypse. The story must take place within a short period of time (less than a day) at the beginning of a fictional apocalypse. The story shouldn’t be the inception point or the origin of the apocalyptic event. It shouldn’t even be about the event itself.

Audience:

Open to a broad Audience.

Genres:

Horror Subgenres: Apocalyptic/Post-Apocalyptic, Weird/New Weird
Science Fiction Subgenres: Apocalyptic/Post-Apocalyptic, Science Fiction Horror, Weird/New Weird

Lengths:

Short Story: 1,500 - 4,000 words.

Styles:

Open to all/most Styles, including: Dark, Mainstream.

Topics:

Society/Culture: See guidelines.
Other: See guidelines.

Payment:

Semi-pro payment (1-4.9 US cents per word) Semi-pro payment (1-4.9 US cents per word).
Note: We list broad pay categories rather than payment specifics. Check with the publisher for details.

Submissions:

Method: Electronic submissions.
Reprints: Reprints are NOT allowed.
Simultaneous submissions: Simultaneous submissions are allowed.
Multiple entries: Unknown.
Media: Text.

Always check guidelines for details and restrictions. If you aren't familiar with these terms, see our glossary.

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The First Five Minutes of the Apocalypse Anthology Submission Statistics

The statistics in this section are compiled from submission reports sent to us through our submission tracker. They are not provided by the publication's editors/staff or by Duotrope's admins. Information in this section is updated a few times per day. Learn more about the statistics.

This listing is inactive and does not have any submission reports for the past 12 months.

Your Submissions

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And One Day We Will Die Anthology CLOSED
Deadly Drabble Tuesdays DNQ
It Was All A Dream Anthology CLOSED

Little Bastards: Too-Short Horror Stories Nobody Wants CLOSED
Vault of Shadows: A New Generation of Horror Comics CLOSED

Before Submitting

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Always read the full guidelines provided by the publisher.
Try to read at least one previous publication to get a better idea of what the editor would like to see.
Unless the publisher's guidelines state otherwise, always use industry standard manuscript formatting.
Be professional, patient, and persistent.

Dates

Last Updated: 22 May 2026