Call for submissions:

Blood in the Sandstone: A Desert Horror Anthology

 
 
 
 

General Deadline: October 31, 2025

Extended Deadline for Marginalized Writers: November 30, 2025 at 11:59 p.m. MST

Planned Publication: Fall 2026 (Date Subject to Change)

We will pay $25 per story.

We are seeking original short stories, poetry, and flash fiction for a new desert horror anthology—a collection that explores terror, unease, and the uncanny within arid and sun-scorched landscapes. Think cursed dunes, desert cults, ancient ruins half-buried in sand, mirages that warp reality, and survival turned sinister. We want unsettling, atmospheric, or outright terrifying tales that bring the heat and isolation of the desert to life.

Submission Guidelines

  • Word count: up to 3,000 words

  • You may submit up to one original story, poetry, or flash fiction for consideration.

  • Submit your story as a DOC or DOCX file, double-spaced, in 12pt Times New Roman.

  • Include your name, contact info, story title, and word count on the first page. Please follow the Shunn Manuscript format.

  • We are acquiring first publication rights. Please no reprints!

  • Simultaneous submissions are accepted, but please notify us immediately if your work is accepted elsewhere.

  • Authors need to be from Utah and the story set in Utah.

Grammar and Style
To assure internal coherence and consistency, we generally follow a house style guide and the Chicago Manual of Style(18th edition), allowing exceptions to embrace narrative voice. Though we lean toward author prefs, final judgment calls will in all cases be in the hands of the editors:

  • Em dashes without spaces (e.g., the wind howled—the sky didn’t care)

  • Spelled-out numbers in the narrative when appropriate (e.g., twenty days without rain instead of 20).

  • Not traditionally Chicago style, but what we prefer: Ellipses with a space after (e.g., she whispered… then vanished)

  • American English grammar and spelling