Blood and Squalor

Wretched, low-class characters living in filth and poverty. With lots of misery and blood.

Dark Cloud Press is publishing a short fiction anthology of horror and psychological thrillers in ebook and trade paperback.

We all know what blood is. It’s spilled accidentally. Or worse, on purpose—often ending in death. But squalor…

SQUALOR: n. A quality or state marked by filthiness
and degradation from neglect or poverty.
Synonyms: sordid, wretched, seamy, seedy.

What We're Looking For

The best example of what we’re looking for in this antho is season 4, episode 2 of The X-Files, titled “Home,” which aired October 11, 1996. Find it. Watch it.

Come up with color front-cover artwork (8.5" x 5.5") that reflects the tone and mood of these stories.

We want gritty artwork that reflects a squalid setting and wretched characters. These are horror stories.

Scare us. Shock us. Make us reel.

Submission Guidelines

The anthology will contain original psychological thrillers and horror stories. It will be published in trade paperback (8.5" x 5.5") and Kindle format, both available on Amazon.com.

• No previously published artwork.
• Electronic submissions only (.jpg or PDF). Sample should be under 2 MB.
• Front cover sample should include: background art, title (Tales of Blood and Squalor), byline (Edited by Lee Allen Howard).
• No elements that must be licensed from third parties.
• In your cover email, briefly introduce yourself, list your publication credits, and share what you’ll do to help market the book.

NOTE: After front-cover art is selected, the chosen artist must work with the publisher to add the back cover and spine.

Submission Period

September 1 to October 31, 2017.

Rejections may come sooner, but acceptance responses will be sent starting in November 2017.

Publication is slated for Spring/Summer 2018.

Rights Purchased

Dark Cloud Press will issue a contract for Assignment of All Rights to Digital Artwork for use in ebook, online, and print.

Payment

$200 for both front- and back-cover artwork, no royalties. For more information, see Payment.

Submission Email

Email your front-cover artwork as an attachment (.jpg or PDF) to editordarkcloudpresscom with "TBS Submission: Cover Art by Author Name" in the subject line.

Questions?

Contact the editor at the above email address.

Good luck!

 On this page:
 Blood and Squalor
 What We're Looking For
 Submission Guidelines