Velox Books Gold Star Program Gold Star

Velox Books is seeking horror short story collections: fiction that disturbs, unsettles, and lingers.

What we're looking for

• Length: Collections must be at least 50,000 words. 60,000+ words is ideal. We are not currently considering collections under 50,000 words.
• Horror: Collections should be broadly horror and reasonably marketable as horror. We’re open to a wide range of horror traditions and subgenres: folk horror, psychological horror, supernatural horror, cosmic horror, weird horror, sci-fi horror, body horror, dark fantasy horror, and beyond. Cross-genre work is welcome, but horror should be the collection’s primary identity and engine.
• Previously Published Material: Collections must be made up of at least 70% previously published material by word count. By “previously published,” we mean stories that have appeared individually in print or online magazines, journals, anthologies, podcasts, audio productions, or other venues where an editor, publisher, producer, or curator selected the story for publication.
  • Clarification for NoSleep and online horror authors: We consider narration for podcasts, YouTube channels, and similar venues by someone other than the author to be previously published. If you have enough narrated or otherwise selected material to meet the 70% previously published threshold, we’d be happy to consider the collection.
• Story Length & Format: Collections should be predominantly fictional prose. At least 95% of the collection should consist of narrative prose rather than poetry, scripts, essays, or other literary forms. Individual stories should generally be 10,000 words or less, with most stories ideally 5,000 words or less.
• Novellas: Collections may include a single novella of 10,000–40,000 words. If included, the novella must make up no more than 30% of the total collection word count.
• Quality & Presentation: Please submit polished, carefully edited work. Manuscripts with excessive spelling, grammar, formatting, or punctuation issues are likely to be rejected. We don’t expect perfection, but the manuscript should reflect professional care.
• Rights: Electronic, print, and audio rights must be available for the collection and its contents.

What we're not currently seeking

• Content and format: Splatterpunk or torture-driven horror where gore is the main attraction; tidy morality plays; poetry collections; essay collections; screenplays; collections primarily made up of scripts, microfiction, or experimental forms.
• Publication history: Collections made up mostly of previously unpublished or self-published work.
• AI-generated work: We are not seeking AI-generated collections or stories. Authors may use AI-assisted tools for proofreading, grammar, or revision support, but the writing, characters, voice, and stories must be the author's own.

Required Manuscript Format

• The first page(s) of your manuscript should include your name and email address followed by a list of all story titles and publication location, or an indication that the story is unpublished/self-published.
• Place the story you consider to be the strongest representation of your work first. If the first story doesn't hook us, we probably won't read the rest.
• Format your manuscript in roughly standard manuscript format:
  • Body text formatted Times New Roman or Courier New 12 point.
  • A page break before the beginning of each story.
  • Story titles formatted as Heading 1.
  • Indicate hard scene breaks with a single centered ***.

What we offer

Velox Books brings more than 15 years of independent publishing experience and has published over 200 books. We offer:

• A modest advance against royalties
• A 10% net royalty
• Publisher-covered production and marketing costs, with no fees to authors

Simultaneous submissions

We accept simultaneous submissions. If your collection is accepted elsewhere while under consideration with us, please notify us promptly so we can close your file.

Submit

Velox Books is seeking horror novels for Black Lantern, a new imprint dedicated to fiction that disturbs, unsettles, and lingers.

Length: 50,000–100,000 words preferred. We may consider longer manuscripts when the length is justified by the scope and pacing. We are not reading novellas under 50k or anything above 150k.

High Concept: We're especially drawn to horror with a sharp, memorable premise: stories that can be described in a compelling sentence but unfold with depth, surprise, and emotional force.

Pacing & Hook: We favor stories that spark a clear catalytic event within the opening chapters and escalate stakes scene by scene. Slow-burn ambience is welcome, but only when paired with a strong narrative engine. Think a coiled spring, not a long walk.

Horror: Fresh, unnerving, eerie. We’re open to a range of horror traditions and subgenres: folk horror, psychological horror, supernatural horror, cosmic horror, sci-fi horror, weird horror, and beyond. Gore is welcome when it serves character, atmosphere, or consequence, but we’re not looking for stories where gore is the primary point. Think dread over shock.

AI Use: We are not seeking AI-generated manuscripts. Authors may use AI-assisted tools for proofreading, grammar, or revision support, but the writing, characters, voice, and story must be the author's own.

Genre/subgenre: Science fiction where horror is not the primary engine, including space opera, military SF, hard-SF tech manuals, and standard alien-invasion plots.

Content and format: Splatterpunk or torture-driven horror where gore is the main attraction; tidy morality plays; parody/pastiche; short-story collections; poetry; screenplays.

Black Lantern is the dedicated horror novel imprint of Velox Books. The team behind Velox Books brings more than 15 years of independent publishing experience and has published over 200 books. We offer:

• A modest advance against royalties
• A 25% net royalty
• Publisher-covered production and marketing costs, with no fees to authors

We accept simultaneous submissions. If your manuscript is accepted elsewhere while under consideration with us, please notify us promptly so we can close your file.

Submit