NIGHTMARE MAGAZINE Opening For Submissions June 15

NOTE: Nightmare will open to submissions on June 15, 2012.

Instructions for submitting to Nightmare follow. Please read everything on this page before submitting. DO NOT SUBMIT BEFORE JUNE 15TH, 2012.

Submission Procedures

All fiction must be submitted through our online submission system, which will be located at nightmare-magazine.com and will go live on June 15th. 

Please do not email your submissions.

Our submissions form asks for your name, email address, cover letter, story title, and story. Your cover letter should contain the length of your story, your publishing history, and any other relevant information (e.g, if you send us a psychological horror story about serial killers and your doctoral dissertation was on the psychology of serial killers, mention that). All stories should be in standard manuscript format and can be submitted in either .RTF or .DOC format. Email submissions@nightmare-magazine.com for all fiction-related inquiries, or if you have any trouble using our online submission system (but please DO NOT email your submissions to this address).

After you have submitted your story, a tracking number will be displayed and an automated email confirmation containing this information will be sent to you. If you have not received this email submissions@nightmare-magazine.com to let us know. Your tracking number will allow you to monitor the status of your submission through our website, so please make note of it.

Guidelines for Original Fiction

Nightmare is seeking original horror and dark fantasy stories of 1500-7500 words. Stories of 5000 words or less are preferred. We pay 5¢/word for original fiction, on acceptance. To see which rights we're seeking, please view our contract template for original fiction.

All types of horror or dark fantasy are welcome; if in doubt, go ahead and submit it and let our editors decide. No subject should be considered off-limits, and we encourage writers to take chances with their fiction and push the envelope.

We believe that the horror genre's diversity is its greatest strength, and we wish that viewpoint to be reflected in our story content and our submission queues; we welcome submissions from writers of every race, religion, nationality, gender, and sexual orientation.

 Guidelines for Reprints

Nightmare publishes two reprints each month, but it is primarily a market for original fiction; a majority of our reprints will be directly solicited, but you may submit a reprint for consideration if you wish. For reprints, we are offering 1¢/word, on acceptance. However, we are only interested in considering stories for reprint that are not currently available online in any form. To see which rights we're seeking, please view our contract template for reprinted fiction.

Rejections & Response Times

Be aware that every month we expect to receive several hundred submissions. As such, we cannot offer personalized feedback on each story. If we say, "send more," however, it does mean that we hope to see something else from you.

Most rejections will be sent out within two business days, while stories being seriously considered may be held for up to two weeks.

Please do not respond to rejection letters, even just to say “Thanks for the quick turnaround” etc. We appreciate the thought, but it is unnecessary and will just clutter up our editorial inbox.

Summary

Stories should belong to the horror genre, and between 1500 and 7500 words long. Stories of 5000 words or less are preferred.

Payment for original fiction is 5¢/word, on acceptance. To see which rights we're seeking, please view our contract template for original fiction.

Payment for reprinted fiction is 1¢/word, on acceptance. To see which rights we're seeking, please view our contract template for reprinted fiction.

Additional Notes

Sexual themes and stories with strong sexual content are acceptable, but Nightmare is not a market for erotica.

Nightmare is not a market for media-based fiction (i.e., stories set in the Hellraiser or Buffy the Vampire Slayer universes, etc.), or any kind of fan fiction.

Nightmare is not a market for poetry.

We do not accept simultaneous submissions or multiple submissions.

Do not query for fiction. If you're not sure if your story is suitable, please simply submit it and let our editors decide.

If editor John Joseph Adams has previously rejected your story, please do not submit it to Nightmare, unless it was rejected as being unsuitable for the market (due to theme, etc.) or unless it has been significantly revised to the extent that it is no longer the same story.

You may not submit another story for a period of seven days after receiving a rejection.

Nightmare pays professional rates for fiction (5 cents per word), in accordance with both HWA's and SFWA's guidelines for professional publications. Please note that SFWA's bylaws indicate that a market must be publishing continuously for at least one year before it can become a SFWA-qualifying professional market, though all sales made during the first year will be retroactively determined to be professional sales and thus SFWA-qualifying. (So Nightmare would become a SFWA-qualifying market in October 2013, pending SFWA board approval, and all sales made in the intervening period would retroactively become qualifying publications.)

Guidelines for Nonfiction

All of our nonfiction is currently assigned in-house. We are not open to submissions or queries in this area.

Guidelines for Art

If you wish to have your art considered for Nightmare Magazine, please send an inquiry, along with a link to an online gallery (if possible), to art@nightmare-magazine.com. Please note that we only use 12 covers per year, and we only purchase pre-existing pieces of art; we do not commission original art.

Happy Holidays, everybody! Stay alive out there!

Brain Munchers, How We Love Thee

Author Ty Schwamberger is lurching (or bolting, if that's your thing) from blog to blog, spreading the malignant word of his new zombie novella, The Fields. On his way to undead notoriety, he swung by the Print Is Dead virtual offices and had the following to say:

Ah, there’s nothing like a nice radioactive chemical spill, a once-in-a-lifetime lunar movement or another strange phenomenon to reanimate the decaying dead, making them dig out of their own graves and come looking for the living. Hell, who doesn’t like to tote around a double-barrel shotgun, while scrambling away from the oncoming hordes? Right. No? Oh, come on, you’re sitting there and reading this article about the undead on your computer and you don’t like our brain-munching brethrens? Blasphemy! Zombies are cool, man! Well, at least when safely housed inside the TV or printed as words in a book. Not so sure I’d use the word “cool” if they were knocking on my front door, asking if they could borrow my brains for a nice, midnight snack. Nope. Not one bite, err, bit.

When people think of zombie movies in particular, who’s the first person you think about? Danny DeVito? Mel Gibson? Marlon Brando? Uh, no. We think of George A. Romero, of course. But, there are a couple notable zombie films prior to 1968. Films such as White Zombie (1932) and Revenge of the Zombies (1943). These two films centered around the idea of digging up bodies are removing them their graves right after burial. Voodoo was then used to turn the dead into living, mindless slaves, obeying the biddings of their human master. A few years later came a small budget, black and white film titled Night of the Living Dead, written and directed by George A. Romero. NLD hit theaters and drive-ins in 1968.

The effects of Romero's ground-breaking treatment of the theme are of course still seen today. The 1970s and 1980s brought films such as: Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things (1972), Garden of the Dead (1972), Dawn of the Dead (1978), Dead and Buried (1981), The Evil Dead (1982), Zombie Island Massacre (1984), Day of the Dead (1985), The Return of the Living Dead (1985), Night of the Creeps (1986), Evil Dead II (1987), The Dead Next Door (1988). Ah, the good ol’ days.

Then the 1990s came and, well, the movies sucked. Then the 2000s – zombie subgenre has really taken off, with such films as: I Am Legend (2007), Dawn of the Dead (2004), Shaun of the Dead (2004), 28 Days Later (2007), Zombieland (2009) and who could forget Zombie Strippers (2008)!

Since we’ve established we enjoy watching or reading about zombies, just not actually having to deal with them in “real life”, let’s talk a little about where zombies came from. Came from, you ask? Yes. The origins. The beginning. Way back in the day.

What about the history of zombie books, you ask? Well, fine. I guess I can spare a few more minutes and tell you about that too. Tales of undead fun more or less started back in 1921 with Herbert West: Re-animator by H.P. Lovecraft. There were some zombie books between Lovecraft in 1921 and the 2000s, but the subgenre really took off in 2003 with The Zombie Survival Guide by Max Brooks and The Rising by Brian Keene. Other notable authors that have ventured into the graveyard after midnight, include: Stephen King, David Dunwoody, J.L. Bourne, Kim Paffenroth, Gary Braunbeck, Joe McKinney, Jonathan Maberry, along with several other great folks.

Now it’s time for me to enter into the fray… I’m pleased to announce that The Zombie Feed Press, an imprint of Apex Publications is releasing my zombie novella, The Fields. Below is a brief synopsis about the book.

Billy Fletcher learned to farm the family’s tobacco fields – and beat slaves – by the hands of his father. Now, his father is dead, the slaves have long since been freed, and the once-lush fields are dying. Salvation by the name of Abraham knocks on the farmhouse door, bringing wild ideas. He can help Billy save the plantation and return the fields to their former glory…by raising his father’s slaves from the dead.

Can the resurrected slaves breathe life back into the Fletcher farm? Having brought the slaves back from graves that his father sent them to, can Billy be the kind master his father wasn’t? Is keeping the farm worth denying the men the freedom they earned with death?

Billy’s conscience holds the key to those mysteries, but not the biggest one: what does Abraham really want from the former slave owner’s son?

Welcome to The Fields.

New York Times bestselling author, Jonathan Maberry, wrote the introduction for the book. “[The Fields]…is part horror story in the classic sense – misdeeds from the past coming back to haunt the present. It’s part zombie story. It’s part adventure. And it’s part social satire in its darkest sense.”

I hope you’ve enjoyed the little history lesson given today. I’m also going to ask that you take a chance on The Fields. This is a very unique twist on the subgenre that we all love watching and reading. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed with my entrance into “the field”. If so, you can give me a shout, and I’ll come running to assist the next time a crazed zombie comes knocking at your door, while looking to feast upon your nice, fresh hot brains.

Enjoy!

Ty Schwamberger is growing force within the horror genre. He is the author of a novel, multiple novellas, collections and editor on several anthologies. In addition, he’s had many short stories published online and in print. Two stories, ‘Cake Batter’ (released in 2010) and ‘House Call’ (currently in pre-production in 2011), have been optioned for film adaptation.

Order the Fields here.

You can learn more about Ty at: http://tyschwamberger.com.

"Eat Locals" tee, for the socially conscious zombie.

From Lonely Dinosaur...

Whether you're in your garden, at the farmers market, or holed up in the local mall fending off a ravenous zombie hoard, this shirt is the best way to give zombies a piece of your mind.

via Patrick Parker

ParaNorman, new stop-motion zombie movie from Laika, looks kewl...

Not like there's anything wrong with CGI, but all that glorious old school stop motion in Coraline is, well, glorious. Coming soon from the folks behind that gloriousness, ParaNorman is apparently about horror geek kid who can talk to dead people and generally finds out all his favorite movies are true, and has to fight a curse afflicting his home town and none of the grownups believe him.

And I will totally be there to watch it, anyway.

Free Amazon Android App Today: Night of the Living Dead Defense

If you have an Android smart phone or other device, you may or may not know that one of the greatest advantages of the platform is your ability to purchase apps from multiple marketplaces. One of them is Amazon's store, which gives away an app or game for free every day - some of them great ones, some turds, some right in the middle.


Night of the Living Dead Defense is somewhere in the middle: not the greatest tower defense game you ever played, not even the greatest one with zombies in it, most likely. In fact, it's kind of a big ripoff of GRave Defense. And like most spinoffs lately labeled with the name of a classic Romero movie, it's got jack squat to do with Night of the Living Dead. 


But hell, it's free instead of two bucks, just for today, and provides yet another way to spend another hour of your life shooting zombies. And you can't buy that kind of quality time, really.

Zombie Attack Barbie

From Sarah Anne Langton...

"From the 1950s onwards girls were encouraged to hone their zombie slaughtering skills in preparation for the inevitable apocalypse. Though young ladies dispose of the undead with ease today, toys such as Mattel’s 1962 ‘Zombie Attack Barbie’ were instrumental in helping to habituate girls to a new social norm where zombie disposal would become a very necessary life skill..."

http://www.secretarcticbase.com/2011/11/24/zombie-attack-barbie/

Newish Jack T. Chick tract: THE WALKING DEAD?

If you're familiar with the often Catholic-hating and apocalyptic works of fundamentalist Christian cartoonist, Jack Chick, the thought of a zombie-themed comic should fill you with some kind of sick joy. And it does not disappoint.

http://www.chick.com/reading/tracts/1076/1076_01.asp

The Walking Dead - Season 2- Ep. 1-4 Recap (Spoof)

What is coming to get you? State by State

This infographic lays out your most likely villain by state. Mainenites, look out for that Steven King! He will briefly remind you of somebody who has the skill to terrify you with literature!

Originally from very small array.

That's Not Your Mommy Anymore

How do you prepare a child for his first dental appointment, or for his parents divorcing? In my family, the answer was always with a book! If only I had had access to That's Not Your Mommy Anymore before my mother turned my brother into a six foot tall Slim Jim...

That's Not Your Mommy Anymore: A Zombie Tale

Written by Matt Mogk, founder of the Zombie Research Society, this illustrated paperback prepares kids for the - let's be honest here - INEVITABLE rising of the dead bent on consuming the flesh of the living. It's fact, people. Why not stock your nieces' & nephews' stockings with terror this year?

#Zombies: Followers of the Dead

Once again I get to say, "Here's a cute zombie short. You may remember this comedy group from their adult Mario spoof a little while back." Except I'm talking about a different zombie short, a different comedy group, and a different Mario spoof. Eerie. Enjoy!

Christmas idea: Return of the Living Threads

For the O'Bannon O'Fannon in your life, Trioxin.uk has a spread of shirts (and other goodies) inspired by Return of the Living Dead.

The pound being what it is, the shirts run about $19 U.S. plus $7 shipping. I have no idea if there is a customs fee that you have to pay on receipt, so caveat emptor on that count.

But come on. Who can resist a mug like this? Plus a good number of ladies' sizes, which I can tell you MATTERS.

Thursday Zombie Roundup, Pt II

Because Halloween is close, and we know you want your zombie...

Costumes!
Pregnant Zombie Costumes to make sure you'll get perma-banned from your church's Trunk-or-Treat

Pumpkins!
Ray Villafane carves giant pumpkins into zombies at the New York Botanical Gardens. (You know Villafane, he's the mad fiend behind the legendary, viral Predator Jack-o-Lantern.)

Spooky music!
Zombie mashup/video by Eclectic Method.

...Wrestlers?
WWE Zombies

Thursday Zombie Roundup

Missouri Department of Conservation has tips on how to identify zombies!
Did you know that cauliflower is a zombie-attractant due to its visual similarity to brains? It's true! This I know, for the .gov website tells me so.

New York Daily News gallery of zombie celebrities

As a friend of Print Is Dead commented: "Slow news day."

Are either of these great? No. Is it great that stuff like this is in vogue? YES.

The Walken Dead

Making the rounds this week: Get psyched for your Sunday dose of THE WALKING DEAD with Comedy Troupe POYKPAC's spoof short "The Walken Dead".

Off topic from the undead, but worth mentioning: comedywise, POYKPAC may just be one to watch. You might remember their "Mario: Game Over" mature-themes parody from a few years back. Their "Prank My Dad" series is the most committed Tim & Eric aping I've ever seen. I haven't checked out much of the rest - looks hit or miss, but who am I to prejudge? - however, troupe member Jenn Lyon featured in the finale of season 2 of Louie. Good enough for Louis is good enough for me.

CONTEST: John Skipp and PRINT IS DEAD Team Up For THE ZOMBIE CENSUS

Creeping Hemlock Press Proudly Presents...

THE ZOMBIE CENSUS

The modern American zombie first shuffled onto the scene in 1968, in George A. Romero’s landmark horror classic, NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD. Over forty years later, the walking dead are everywhere, and we need you to help us keep tabs on this ever-growing pustulent population.

In celebration of the release of the fourth novel from PRINT IS DEAD, Martin Mundt’s REANIMATED AMERICANS, we’re pleased to announce THE ZOMBIE CENSUS.

Are you a zombieholic? A cadaveriffic cadet? An undead aficionado? Have you always wanted to see yourself through milky uncomprehending eyes? Or are you just going as a zombie for Halloween? If you said “Yes” to any of these questions, you should know that speaking responses aloud to internet questionnaires is actually unnecessary! And also that this contest is for you… We want to count you among the living dead!

It’s simple: email us a photo of yourself as a zombie, DMV/photo ID style, just like the pics on this page. You can use make-up or Photoshop or both (but please, none of those silly zombie apps—show some creativity).

All entries will be posted here, and the Grand Prize winner—chosen by none other than the legendary John Skipp (Books of the Dead 1 and 2, Zombies, Mondo Zombie, and the upcoming Bizarro Zombie Musical, ROSE, among a million other awesome things)—will appear in some form on the cover of REANIMATED AMERICANS, to be released December 20, 2011.

Prizes:

Third Place: a signed copy of REANIMATED AMERICANS by Martin Mundt.

Second Place: signed copies of all four current PRINT IS DEAD novels: PRAY TO STAY DEAD by Mason James Cole, WORLD IN RED by John Sebastian Gorumba, SCAVENGERS by Nate Southard, and REANIMATED AMERICANS.

Grand Prize: In addition to an appearance on the cover of REANIMATED AMERICANS, you receive all four signed books and a special zombie surprise pack.

Rules:

One photo per person, so send us your best (worst) mug. Photos should be in jpg format and should be at least 1200x1800 pixels with a maximum file size of 5mb. We’re looking for simple zombie mug shots against a blank or single-color background—nothing pornographic. No feasting zombies. No photos of actual dead bodies (because at least one of you was thinking about doing that). Email photos to: zombiecensus@hotmail.com. Include your name (and the name of the photographer if credit is desired) in the body of the email. Submission implies acceptance of these terms: The winning photo and two runners-up become exclusive intellectual property of Creeping Hemlock Productions, LLC. In the case of non-winning/non-placing submissions, Creeping Hemlock Productions, LLC is granted the right so use images for promotional purposes only and all other rights (e.g. reproduction and sale) remain with the author.

Contest ends November 15, 2011.

Need a reminder as we shamble closer to the date? Like THE ZOMBIE CENSUS on Facebook at facebook.com/zombiecensus!

About REANIMATED AMERICANS

Jett Ahrens has just joined the Zombie Division of the Census Bureau, hoping for a dull, uncomplicated job counting the country’s newest citizens—the Living Dead. Y’know: Zombies, Rotters, Grave Potatoes, but don’t call them any of those names. They’re Reanimated Americans, and they aren’t anything like their cinematic counterparts—they don’t eat your flesh or want your brains. They just… stand around. Loitering. Stinking up the place.

Easy enough, yeah, but one of Jett’s partners might be a little nuts, and then there’s the serial re-killer going around town and setting walking dead folks on fire. Not to mention the Red Death Gang transforming the undead into works of art. Or the pair of psychotic cops tracking the serial re-killer and wreaking havoc of their own.

Or the nasty secret Jett keeps in a rental storage unit…

A biting satire about how civilization might cope with its most popular boogieman, Reanimated Americans by Martin Mundt will send a chill down the spines of zombie-lovers and bureaucracy-fearers everywhere.

Praise For REANIMATED AMERICANS and Martin Mundt

“With REANIMATED AMERICANS, author Martin Mundt has created a malignant masterpiece. Like a literary mad scientist armed with diabolical narrative skill and a mordant sense of humor, Mundt manages to mash-up the zombie mythos with both mayhem and Swiftian satire. REANIMATED AMERICANS is a must-read for undead-heads of all persuasions, slithering from laugh-out-loud sequences to gut-wrenching gore with the greatest of ease. Highly recommended!”

- Jay Bonansinga, National Bestselling author of PERFECT VICTIM, PINKERTON’S WAR, and co-author of THE WALKING DEAD: RISE OF THE GOVERNOR.

“If you are a fan of sardonic wordplay and the macabre; or dare I suggest, macabre sardonic wordplay ... then you, my dear X, must read Martin Mundt.”

-John Everson, author of SIREN and THE PUMPKIN MAN

“Martin Mundt writes like no one on earth, and mankind is much the better

for his efforts.”

-Bill Breedlove, author of HOW TO DIE WELL

“Martin Mundt is a nasty, warped, zero-termperature so-and-so who can't put two words together without first snickering, then slitting their throats. This guy is far too hip for his own good. No wonder reading him is such a pleasure.”

-Peter Straub, author of A DARK MATTER and THE TALISMAN (with Stephen King)

About PRINT IS DEAD

Creeping Hemlock Press was founded in New Orleans by the husband-and-wife creative duo RJ and Julia Sevin. As sometime writers and passionate readers, they found themselves frustrated with the scarcity of generous-paying, atmospheric short story anthologies. They took matters into their own hands in late 2004 when they began to accept submissions for their own anthology. Many months, one baby, two hurricanes, and one soggy home later, Corpse Blossoms was born to critical success and a nomination for the Horror Writers Association’s Bram Stoker award.

As their homeless wanderings carried them to Texas and back, the Sevins also produced an original limited-edition novella by Tom Piccirilli, Frayed, to terrific reviews and enthusiastic reader sentiment. The December 2007 release of Piccirilli's The Fever Kill brought them into an entire new league of publishers. Critically lauded and carried in bookstores nationwide, this popular title has sold far beyond expectations.

Not long after the release of The Fever Kill, the press released two zombie chapbooks – Thin Them Out (a collaboration between the Sevins and zombie lit master Kim Paffenroth) and Flesh Is Fleeting… Art Is Forever! by Gary A. Braunbeck.

The chapbooks were unveiled to much acclaim at Zombie Fest, in the hallowed halls of the Monroeville Mall (the mall location used in George Romero’s classic, DAWN OF THE DEAD). Thin Them Out went on to be reprinted in J.J. Adams’s epic zombie anthology, The Living Dead II, and the Sevins found themselves surrounded by the living dead. The seeds for PRINT IS DEAD were planted…

Even before the disaster and reaction surrounding Katrina demonstrated its true meaning, charity was a pillar of Creeping Hemlock Press's philosophy and business model. The press dedicates 10% of earnings to various charities. Your purchase from Creeping Hemlock Press or any bookseller carrying the press’s titles will help to benefit those in need.

Praise for PRINT IS DEAD

“These guys know more about the undead than I do... and that's saying something, because I've been hanging out with zombies for as long as I can remember."

-George A. Romero

"PRINT IS DEAD is the terrifying new voice of zombie fiction. They're coming to get you..."

-Jonathan Maberry, New York Times bestselling author of PATIENT ZERO

"This is the best of modern zombie fiction. If you want the best, you need to read the stuff these guys are putting out at PRINT IS DEAD. It doesn't get any better than this."

-Joe McKinney, author of FLESH EATERS and DEAD CITY

Zombie$: Worth Over Five BILLION Dead Presidents?

That's what this article says, anyway.

I suspect that some of their numbers are off (their Walking Dead numbers certainly are--given how popular the trade-paperbacks are, their total should be significantly higher than 10 million, since the series debut in 2003) and the time period over which this five billion was generated is not always clear, but there's no question about it: the zombie sub-genre has peaked in a way no horror icon born of folklore has done since the vampire. They're huge.

So do your part and buy one of our books today!

If you have eight minutes to watch the best zombie movie of 2011...

...Zombie In a Penguin Suit is that movie.

ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE: It's...an Asylum/Syfy zombie movie.

Man, Ving Rhames is making a side career out of iterations of Dawn of the Dead with gently decreasing budgets, isn't he?



It's on Sunday. I think there's some other zombie show on Sunday, too.