Submission Window: October 1st – December 1st, 2025
Payment: $10
Theme: Short stories inspired by strange lights, liminal spaces, eerie things lurking in the fog, and mysterious guides
Eldritch Cat Press invites writers of all backgrounds and experience levels to submit a piece for our upcoming multi-author anthology titled The Lantern Keepers — a haunting collection of short stories inspired by strange lights, liminal spaces, eerie things lurking in the fog, disembodied voices, odd cats and guiding figures who may (or may not) be leading you towards your doom.
Theme:
We’re looking for tales that include characters who serve as guides, guardians, or messengers between the threshold of the living and the dead, lost or otherworldly. We want stories with haunting, dreadful, eerie, creeping or even sorrowful vibes — as long as it leaves readers checking to make sure there’s no weird lights outside of their windows after dark then you’re on target.
Think:
- A cursed ferryman who chants the names of the dead to keep the living from being overrun by ghosts
- A haunted lighthouse that lights itself whenever someone’s soul is at risk
- A lost traveler guided through a place they should never have been in by a shadowy figure holding a flickering lantern
Guidelines:
- Word Count: 1,500 – 4,500 words
- Your story must feature a light, a path and a guide of some kind (the more prevalent and central to the plot these three things are the better, but be creative with them!)
- Please note that if the three above pieces are not included your story will be instantly rejected
- Genres: Horror, gothic, dark fantasy, paranormal, magical realism, mystery, crime…pretty much anything goes, even sci-fi, high fantasy, post-apoc and various time periods
- Previously unpublished work only
- We ask for 6 months of exclusive rights, then it reverts back to the author
Inclusivity at Eldritch Cat Press
Eldritch Cat Press is committed to uplifting voices from all walks of life. We actively welcome submissions from writers of every race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, ability, religion, and cultural background. This includes — but is not limited to — BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, disabled/neurodivergent writers, immigrant authors, and those from historically marginalized or underrepresented communities. We would love to see gods and creatures from other cultures, characters who see the world in unique ways or voices that showcase viewpoints not often portrayed in media.
Payment:
$10 per accepted story plus one digital copy of the anthology upon release, and please note that we have a strong preference to pay via PayPal.
(This is a royalty-free, one-time flat fee arrangement.)
Submission Timeframe:
Submission period: October 1st, 2025 to December 1st, 2025
Expected release: January 2025
How to Submit:
Send us your story as a .doc or .docx file to our email at [email protected] with a subject line of “(Open Call Name), (Author Name), (Story Name)”. Your submission should be in 12 point Times New Roman, single spaced, with one-inch margins. We’re only looking for your best effort, so multiple submissions from one author are not welcomed at this time.
If you have questions about our editing process please see our page dedicated to that.
Please include:
- Your name
- A pen name if you go by one
- A short author bio (50 to roughly 150 words)
- A small list of any recent previous publications you would want noted if accepted
- A random, fun fact about yourself
We’re not looking for:
- Gore for gore’s sake
- Erotica unless it’s central to the plot
- AI-generated stories
- Stories that include bigotry or discrimination of any form (unless it’s being critically addressed)
Our Next Steps
Don’t be shy to email us if you have any questions, and we’re always happy to discuss a potential plot with you before you send in a submission to make sure it fits the theme.
Within a week after the submission deadline being reached acceptance/rejection emails will be sent out, and then editing will begin. Once that’s completed (roughly by the 3rd week of December) the volume will be finalized, and contracts will be sent out. As soon as the author sends back the signed contract payments will be dispersed, and within the month of January the book will be published.
Eldritch Cat press plans to do some fun things such as promotional graphics before the book launches, so if accepted keep an eye out for those!
Via: Eldritch Cat Press.
