Smart Search List of the Day

Fee-Free Mainstream Horror Fiction

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Note: These are the results of a previous Smart Search List of the Day. Today's Smart Search is Fee-Free Literary Fantasy Novels.

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Today's Smart Search List of the Day is: Fee-Free Mainstream Horror Fiction. Check back tomorrow for a new list.
Color Coding: Purple indicates a Wildcard, Green indicates a paying publication, and Blue is everything else.

Crooked Spine

A small horror magazine out of nowhere in particular. Four issues a year (or more), in paperback and on Kindle. Themed reading periods. We publish what scares us.
Genres: Horror.
Lengths: Short Story.
Payment: to Token to Semi-pro. Free copy(ies). Details: USD $20.
Avg. Response: Faster than average responder. 9.4 days.
Acceptances: Challenging. 5.6% of fiction submissions accepted.

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Edge & Busby

Edge & Busby is an independent press publishing horror that takes its characters as seriously as its scares. We publish fiction where the dread comes from people: what they want, what they hide, what scares them, and what they're capable of when no one is watching. We're drawn to books where the worst things happen between people. Serial killers between killings. Stalker stories told from the wrong side. Communities turning on one. Obsessions that wear a friendly face…
Genres: Horror.
Lengths: Novella, Fiction Collection, Novel.
Payment: + Unknown advance. Unknown royalties.
Avg. Response: Faster than average responder. 17.1 days.
Acceptances: Approachable. 10.0% of fiction submissions accepted.

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Flame Tree Press

Flame Tree Press is the trade fiction imprint of Flame Tree Publishing, with editorial offices in both London and New York. We’ll publish globally in the English language, in print and ebook formats, with a focus on excellent writing in horror and the supernatural, crime and mystery thrillers, and science fiction and fantasy. Our aim is to explore beyond the boundaries of the everyday, finding new pathways for the imagination, with tales from both award-winners and original voices…
Genres: Fantasy, Horror, Mystery/Crime, Science Fiction.
Lengths: Novel.
Payment: + Unknown advance. Unknown royalties.
Avg. Response: Slower than average responder. 146.5 days.
Acceptances: Average. 4.6% of fiction submissions accepted.

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Frost Zone Stories

Frost Zone Stories will publish dark literary, quiet horror, or literary horror stories.
Genres: General, Horror.
Lengths: Short Story.
Payment: to Pays occasionally, up to Token. Free copy(ies). Details: CAD $20, or $15 and 1 copy, or no payment and 2 copies.
Avg. Response: Faster than average responder. 20.3 days.
Acceptances: Approachable. 15.8% of fiction submissions accepted.

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Hidden Villains Anthology Series Wildcard

cover image for Hidden Villains Anthology Series

Bold, imaginative fantasy, horror, and sci-fi sculpted to thrill and entertain readers with the bizarre or delve into the shadows.
Genres: Fantasy, Horror, Science Fiction.
Lengths: Short Story.
Payment: Semi-pro. Royalties. Details: USD $0.01-$0.02/word, plus royalty share.
Avg. Response: Slower than average responder. 129.8 days.

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Horrific Scribes Mature

Horrific Scribes is an expanding online archive of dark short fiction (and some poetry) by various authors who share the Horrific Scribblings imprint’s dedication to the provocative, scary, and strange. Most of the stories will have elements of horror, ranging from bloodless slow burns to raucous extreme romps, but related genres–dark fantasy, dark sci-fi, surrealist and other experimental writing with dark tendencies–are likely to appear…
Genres: Fantasy, Horror, Science Fiction.
Lengths: Short Story.
Payment: to Token to Semi-pro. Details: USD $25 per story.
Avg. Response: Faster than average responder. 8.7 days.
Acceptances: Average. 8.7% of fiction submissions accepted.

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Iron & Salt Press

Iron & Salt Press is a digital publication of speculative fiction. We publish mysteries, horror, crime fiction, and thrillers, separated into sections so you always find what you’re looking for.
Genres: Horror, Mystery/Crime, Suspense/Thriller.
Lengths: Flash Fiction, Short Story.
Payment: No monetary payment.
Avg. Response: Faster than average responder. 18.2 days.
Acceptances: Approachable. 30.8% of fiction submissions accepted.

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MetaStellar

MetaStellar is an online publication focusing on horror, fantasy and science fiction, launched in September 2020, founded by a dozen speculative fiction writers, editors and artists from around the world.
Genres: Fantasy, Horror, Science Fiction.
Lengths: Flash Fiction, Short Story, Novel Excerpt.
Payment: to Pays occasionally, up to Professional. Details: USD $0.10/word for original flash fiction submitted during specific periods; no payment outside of that.
Avg. Response: Slower than average responder. 86.3 days.
Acceptances: Approachable. 12.1% of fiction submissions accepted.

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Raw Blood and Nerve

What kind of stories do we publish? The first anthology we published had stories about: a man who kills himself so his family gets his life insurance payout; a woman hallucinating (or maybe actually seeing) the rat manifestations of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph; an over-industrialized town in which people cannot die until a new priest is appointed to the village church; a several-thousands-year-old horse transporting a boy back in time to see the horse’s many bloody murders; all the petroleum…
Genres: Horror.
Lengths: Flash Fiction, Short Story, Novelette.
Payment: to Semi-pro to Professional. Details: USD $0.01/word or $50, whichever is greater; $100 bonus for "exceptional work."
Avg. Response: Faster than average responder. 7.9 days.
Acceptances: Challenging. 4.8% of fiction submissions accepted.

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Velox Books

At Velox Books, we’re passionate about bringing the most chilling, weird, and captivating horror tales to readers who crave the extraordinary. With over a decade of independent publishing experience, we’re a small press with an enormous appetite for horror, specializing in collections of horror, weird fiction, and intriguing tales that push the boundaries of the imagination. Our roster includes Amazon bestsellers and top-voted authors from Reddit’s horror story community, NoSleep.
Genres: Horror, Science Fiction.
Lengths: Fiction Collection, Novel.
Payment: + Unknown advance. Unknown royalties.
Avg. Response: Faster than average responder. 29.0 days.
Acceptances: Average. 5.3% of fiction submissions accepted.

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