Cosmic Horror Monthly is a horror and weird fiction magazine edited by Charles Tyra.
Submission Period
*SUBMISSIONS ARE CLOSED!* – Submission periods are twice yearly from January 1st – January 7th and July 1st – July 7th.
January stories accepted will appear in issues July – December
July stories accepted will appear in issues January – June
SUBMISSION PROCEDURES
We are now accepting non-fiction submissions as well as fiction. We would love to see non-fiction essays that explore the state of horror as well as philosophies often found in cosmic horror, i.e. pessimism, nihilism, existentialism, etc.
Instructions: All writing must be submitted via email to submissions@cosmic-horror.net. When submitting, include a little background information about yourself in the body and attach the story in the form of a Microsoft Word file. Please include a word count and a brief synopsis of the work.
For artwork, please put a link to the gallery/pieces in the body of the email along with any relevant background information. You may also attach example art.
Acceptable file formats for attachments are DOC and DOCX for fiction, JPG, and PNG for art.
The subject line of the email should read: “CHM Fiction Submission” for fiction, “CHM Non-Fiction Submission” for non-fiction, and “CHM Art Submission” for art.
Guidelines
Cosmic Horror Monthly is seeking cosmic horror, Lovecraftian, and weird fiction. If you aren’t sure if your work qualifies, submit it. No subject is off-limits and we do encourage writers to try and push the status quo. Please only submit a single story once and only submit one story per email. Multiple submissions are strongly discouraged. Every email will be checked!
We are interested in stories written by human beings only.
Simultaneous submissions are allowed.
At this time, we are strongly favoring stories with a contemporary narrative style. Lovecraftian themes and mythos works are welcomed but try to avoid Lovecraft pastiche and styles mimicking that of his writer circle from the early 20th century. In terms of style, we are fans of Laird Barron, John Langan, Mike Allen, Hailey Piper, Brian Evenson, Thomas Ligotti, Jon Padgett, Gemma Files, Nicole Cushing, and more.
Submit your manuscript in Shunn Standard Manuscript Format (Modern or Classic).
Word Count: We are open to stories of 1000-6000 words. Stories in the range of 3000-5000 words are preferred.
Art
If you are an artist, please submit pieces that you feel might be fitting to appear on the cover or in the interior of the magazine. If it is helpful, the magazine runs at a size of 5.5 x 8.5 inches.
Payment
3 cents per word for original fiction. 5k words = $150
No reprints at this time.
20 dollars for artwork chosen as interior content. Negotiable.
100 dollars for cover art. Negotiable.
Rights: Please request the artist/publisher or the writer/publisher contract.
Cover Letters: Please include a brief cover letter and an author bio.
Questions/Problems
Email submissions@cosmic-horror.net for all inquiries.
We will try to respond to every email with feedback but unless we are requesting more from you, there is no need to respond, even to say thank you. It may sound harsh, but those emails will only serve to clutter up the editorial inbox.
Diversity Statement: 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.
Sexual themes and stories with strong sexual content are acceptable, but Cosmic Horror Monthly is not a market for erotica. If in doubt, feel free to send your story in and let us decide.
Please no fan fiction for existing creative universes not in the public domain. The Cthulhu mythos is fair game but be careful using common or worn-out genre tropes—trust us, we’ve seen it all at this point. We prefer to be surprised.
If you’re not sure if your story is suitable, don’t query; please just go ahead and submit and let us decide.
You are welcome to resubmit previously rejected stories if they have been significantly revised.