Secret Horror Prize is $1,313 USD for terrifying short horror story.
Secret Horror produces beautifully illustrated scary short stories in delicate little books with augmented reality, which makes the artwork come to life. The printed books are 6 inches x 9 inches dimensions with unique ISBN and barcode. In addition, we record your story for audio book and dramatize it on stage with actors at our Secret Horror Salons in New York City.
If you are interested in submitting horror short stories, please read our guidelines.
Submission Guidelines
How to submit a short horror story?
All short story submissions should be made through our online submission form on Submittable. ( https://secrethorror.submittable.com/submit )
Our priority is international horror written from different parts of the world and the USA reflecting their unique culture and history. We recognize horror stories can be about many things and often bend genres and styles, so we are open to interpretation to what is terrifying. We love plot driven stories with compelling characters put in difficult situations.
We do not consider novel excerpts, poetry, or non-fiction. We also do not accept any writing generated using AI tools. We verify that the author(s) have not used any AI in the writing of their stories in our contracts with them. We are not interested in stories with graphic abuse of children or women.
Word count, deadlines, submission fee?
We are looking for stories that are between 2800 and 4200 words in length. We do not charge a submission fee. Closes on December 15, 2026.
Submissions and translation rights.
We accept short story submissions from authors from all over the world in English. Although we publish the story in its original language online, we only publish the original English story or English translation in the book format. Notify us who is making the submission, who is the translator, and who owns the rights to both the story and translation. We try to reply to all submissions within six weeks.
Simultaneous submissions?
Only submit one story at a time and wait for a response before sending more. The story must be unpublished.
You can submit to other publishers and magazines at the same time as submitting to us, and we are happy to accept simultaneous submissions. If your story is not available or status changes, please contact us immediately.
How much do we pay and contract?
One award of $1,313 USD. If selected, you will receive a contract from us and paid half the amount when you sign it and everything is verified. The final payment upon publication of work. Contributors also receive complimentary paperback and digital copies. Please note you will receive a 1099 tax form.
Rights
We retain first serial rights in all media formats. This means that the story you submit should not have appeared anywhere else, either in print or online. We ask for exclusivity for three-years from the date of publication in order for us to publish the books, record the audio story, and conduct events featuring your story. During that period, we work in partnership with you. If your story is not available or status changes, please contact us immediately. Copyright always remains with the author.
