Taking Submissions: Views From The Overlook

Submission Window: March 1st – March 2nd, 2026
Payment: $2,000 USD advance ahead of royalties
Theme: Short stories that take place in Stephen King’s world of THE SHINING, prior to the Torrance family’s arrival at the Overlook Hotel.

VIEWS FROM THE OVERLOOK

An anthology of stories set in the infamous hotel from Stephen King’s THE SHINING, edited by Jamie Flanagan, with foreword by Mick Garris, to be published by Vintage Books in 2027.

FEATURING STORIES BY…

Michael Bailey, Chelsea Cain, Johnny Compton, Mike Flanagan, Christopher Golden, Justina Ireland, Ai Jiang, Alma Katsu, Brian Keene, Daniel Kraus, Silvia Moreno-Garcia, Chuck Palahniuk, and more.

WHO SHOULD SUBMIT?

• We’re looking for a new voice.

ELIGIBILITY FOR OPEN CALL

• Author must submit an original, unpublished work
• Author must not have a book published through a traditional big 5 publisher

SUBMISSIONS

Short stories that take place in Stephen King’s world of THE SHINING, prior to the Torrance family’s arrival at the Overlook Hotel. The anthology will be based on lore from King’s writings (follow the books; not the films). We are seeking original, unpublished works only. No simultaneous submissions, please.
(Note: we originally proposed a single setting—the Overlook Hotel—and a narrow timeline. We’ve removed those restrictions. Follow your muse.)

Jamie will be working alongside open-call readers to judge submissions. To ensure a fair process, they will utilize blind submissions. Before stories are acquired and authors are awarded contracts, submissions will also be reviewed by editors at Vintage Books.

Short Story Submission Details

• Word Count: 3k-5k
• Compensation: $2,000 USD advance ahead of royalties (the same professional rate as all other invited contributors)
• File Format: Microsoft Word .doc or .docx
• Multiple Submissions: No.
• Reprints: No.
• Formatting Guidelines: https://www.shunn.net/format/classic

SUBMISSION WINDOW

Based on community feedback, we’ve extended our proposed deadline by an extra month to help authors reach their goals. The original proposal of “first come, first served” has also been scrapped. Submissions will remain open for 24 hours. All submissions received during that time period will be considered.

• Submissions will open: March 1st, 2026, at 12:01am EST
• Submissions will close: March 2nd, 2026, at 12:01am EST
• Submissions will be handled through Moksha. Submission link to come.

• Instant rejections: reprints, excerpts, plagiarized works, references to works not in the public domain, poetry, works that contain hate speech or discrimination of any kind other than to fight against such horrible things, and anything generated by A.I.

From the editor:

While we can’t promise more than one open-call slot at this time, the best leverage an editor can have is a story in hand. One that we—and our publishing partners—can’t imagine the anthology without. Should the call yield more than one such tale, that’s a problem—and conversation—I dearly hope to have.

Stay safe. Stay kind.

Jamie Flanagan

10.22.25

Via: Jamie Flanagan.