Midnight Screaming is currently CLOSED for new submissions.

Due to the backlog of submissions, we are not currently accepting new submissions. If you would like to receive a notification when we open back up, please send an email to info@midnightscreaming.com with "Open Call Notification" in the subject line.

What kind of work do we publish?

While we love all fiction, we have made the decision to narrow the scope of our publication. Midnight Screaming is currently looking for poetry, flash, and short fiction that is strange and unusual. We like odd, creepy, terrifying, unnerving, and spine tingling stories that are hard to categorize. The editor is especially fond of stories with a bit of humor, sarcasm, or satire. While we will publish horror, we're not impressed with horror which includes graphic violence and blood and guts for shock value. We are not interested in erotica.

Short Stories

We will publish short stories of up to 3,000 words in one issue. Longer works of exceptional quality might be considered for a serial. Please limit short story submissions to one per month.

Flash Fiction

We accept flash! Your flash fiction submissions must be no longer than 1,000 words. Impress us with your brevity. We will accept two flash submissions as long as they are separate files.

Poetry

While we do not place word or line restrictions on poetry, epic poems are not likely to be accepted. Poetry lacking in punctuation will NOT be accepted and will either be used to level the editor's desk, or used as filler in the kitty box. Please do not submit more than three poems at a time. If submitting more than one poem, each poem should be in a separate file, following the file naming convention listed below.

Simultaneous Submissions

At this time we do not accept simultaneous submissions.

Reprints

We are unable to accept any material that has been previously published at this time.

Art

We are looking for art for the cover of Midnight Screaming. We have a special place in our heart for photography, but we're easily impressed by any good composition. Due to the format of our publication, all submissions should have a portrait orientation (vertical as opposed to horizontal/landscape). All submissions should be attached as a .jpg file.

How To Format Your Submissions.

While we understand that the following rules may seem arbitrary and pointless, there is a method to the madness. All submissions must adhere to these guidelines. Failure to do so may result in sudden death, or at least instantaneous rejection (i.e. kitty box).

Subject line must include the word Submission, the genre (short story, flash, or poetry), and your name.
In the body of the email include your name, your mailing address, email address, and cover letter.
All file names must include the following components in any order: genre (short story, flash, or poetry)-last name- title. The title may be abbreviated.
Files for poetry, flash or short story submissions must be .doc or. docx. Art submissions must be high quality .jpg or .jpeg files.
Please do not use standard manuscript formatting. Do not double space at the end of sentences. Double space your lines. Use 1” margins and a 12pt Times New Roman or Arial font. Include page numbers at the top of every page.
Include your contact information at the top of the first page
rtf formated files are accepted but not preferred.

All submissions should be emailed to: submissions@midnightscreaming.com

To Query Or Not To Query?

Please do not send us queries. We are not interested in unfinished projects. If your piece is finished, do not send us a query. Go ahead and submit it. We will not respond to any queries.

What Happens After You Submit?

After you have submitted your work to us you should receive an email confirmation. If you do not receive a confirmation within a week, please follow up by emailing submissions@midnightscreaming.com. If you are accepted for our publication, we will let you know. If you are rejected, we will let you know. Please do not send us an email asking about the status of your submission every week; it will make the editor disgruntled. However, if you have not heard from us after three months please feel free to follow up by emailing submissions@midnightscreaming.com.

By submitting to Midnight Screaming you are granting us permission to print your work in our magazine, should it be accepted. A publication agreement will be provided to you upon acceptance to our publication. Unfortunately, we cannot afford to pay you, but we will give you one free copy of each issue your work appears in.

Submission information last updated 8-29-10.