Artwork © Eric N. Peterson
October is around the corner, and it’s time for our favorite call for submissions!
2020 is the year Zombies became boring. In the wake of COVID-19, we no longer wonder what would happen during an undead apocalypse. We can now envision legions of Americans lining up to be eaten while crying “Fake news” at the site of their own entrails. And that’s far more horrifying.
The old horror tropes provide fun escapism every Halloween, but not here. This Our Halloween poems need more real, infectious bite.
The horror of the pandemic is still real. The rise of fascism in our country is real (and growing).
What are we looking for? In two words: Real horror.
There have been many pandemic and Trump related works published here and elsewhere under the banner of hope. From October 27 to October 31, we want work that focuses on the constant horror in American and global life. We want work that names the atrocities and brings them into light. We’re not ruling out satire or horror, and maybe the monster dies at the end, but we want to see your own radical takes.
Read our standard Submissions page for general rules. Submit any poetry, prose or visual art in the “Horrorthon 2025” section of our Submittable page. You have until the end of October 27. Good luck!