SUBMISSION GUIDELINES for Hometown Haunts: #LoveOzYA Horror Tales

Hometown Haunts: Submissions

Wakefield Press is delighted to announce our October 2021 short story anthology Hometown Haunts: #LoveOzYA Horror Tales, showcasing established and new voices in YA.

Four YA horror stories will be selected from an open call-out across Australia.
Read on to find out how you can enter.

Introducing Hometown Haunts: #LoveOzYA Horror Tales

Wakefield Press is delighted to announce a new YA short-story anthology, Hometown Haunts: #LoveOzYA Horror Tales, generously funded by a grant from the Australia Council’s 2020 Resilience Fund – Create.
Find out more about our anthology by reading our announcement post.

SUBMISSIONS INFORMATION:

Four of the stories included within this anthology will be selected from open submissions, chosen from a call-out across Australia.
This competition is open to anyone living permanently in Australia, and we’re keen to showcase writers who reflect a diversity of Australian identities and regions. We especially encourage entries from Indigenous and Torres Strait Islander writers. We’re looking for stories of young adult fiction of up to 5000 words, responding to the horror theme.
Please read our entry guidelines carefully before submitting a story:

Guidelines:

  • Submission deadline: 1 October 2020
  • Story length of up to 5,000 words
  • Stories must be young adult fiction and engage with our horror theme
  • Open to anyone living permanently in Australian
  • Entries must not be already published.

Short Story Theme:

The horror theme seems perfectly suited to our uncertain times. Writers might explore their feelings around the unfolding landscape of 2020 and beyond – or dig deep into the everyday darkness or disquiet beneath the surface of Australian homes and neighbourhoods. Or they might choose to explore urban legends or inherited lore ... or let their imaginations run riot! What have we seen, experienced or imagined within our bush landscapes, red deserts and lush rainforests? Our claustrophobic cityscapes and quiet small towns? Often, it is only by facing our fears that we can discover new pathways forward.

How to Submit:

  • Please email your entry to wakefieldsubmissions@gmail.com with the following as your email subject line: YA Anthology Entry: ‘Short Story Title’.
  • We will contact you only if you are successful. No feedback will be provided. Please don’t contact us to follow up on your entry.
  • Please provide your short story within a Word document attached to your email, in 12-point font, double spaced.
  • On your Word document attachment, please include your full name, address, email and phone number, and any further information you wish us to know.

Four winners will be contacted by email prior to a public announcement in November / December 2020.
Any questions can be forwarded to wakefieldsubmissions@gmail.com, however please note that no feedback on entries will be provided.
Good luck and happy writing everyone!