Join us for 13 Days of Dark & Weird Stories
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October’s Fiction Challenge
13 Days of Dark & Weird (2018) is a fiction challenge developed by Daphelba DeBeauvoir and hosted by The Mad River and 13 Days…
The challenge is to write, workshop, and/or publish 13 pieces of Dark and Weird fiction in the month of October. Micro-fiction, poetry, flash, and short stories under 1,500 words are all welcome.
Your Dark and Weird stories will be posted in the 13 Days leading up to Halloween 2018.
Submissions open October 1st and run through October 30th, 2018
There is no submission limit, though the maximum stories posted by any single author will be…you guessed it! 13
Follow Daphelba and The Mad River on Twitter for prompts and links to stories published from the challenge.
Publication Information:
- Please follow 13 Days… and The Mad River on Medium to be sure to receive prompts, updates, and see pieces from the challenge in your feed.
- Interested in participating? Comment on this post with “Challenge Accepted” and get writing.
- When you’re ready to submit a piece, follow the instructions below to be added as a writer for 13 days…
- The Mad River will also be on the lookout for the best of surreal, weird, faerie, dark, or strange to publish in their literary journal. If your pieces are selected to be published in The Mad River you will be added as a writer for The Mad River on Medium.
Please use our Submission Form to send us a draft link of your work. By using this submission form, you are agreeing to allow us to host your work in either 13 days… or The Mad River. After we have reviewed your piece, you will receive instruction on how and where to submit your draft.
- If you’d like to earn money for your work you may post your pieces behind the Medium Partnership paywall! 13 Days…and The Mad River will promote your work and we encourage you to utilize “friend links” to share your pieces on social media and the like, for more exposure. Our publications do not receive pay for hosting your stories.
A few words on Rights:
By submitting works to our publications you agree that it is original, of your own composition, and that you have all the relevant rights to do so.
If your work is accepted, you agree to give 13 Days… or The Mad River first serial electronic rights to your work and nonexclusive electronic and print rights. You are agreeing to let us archive your work on our website www.The-Mad-River.com and to include it in future publications and anthologies.
Your work is yours, but we will continue to have the right to share it.
(“Rights” continued at the bottom)
FAQ
What is considered dark/weird?
Any work with dark or strange elements, the slightly unsettling, cosmic terror, surreal dreamscapes, fantasy with a disturbing twist, sci-fi highlighting ethical issues, or work that doesn’t fit into any genre. This isn’t a horror challenge, though horror stories are very much welcome. With Halloween approaching, readers are in the mood for writing that leaves them feeling a bit ‘off’.
In short, if you think it fits, go ahead and submits.
Check out The Source at The Mad River along with some of the stories below to see some flavours of dark and weird. Or show us your own weirdy dark.
Exceptions to the definition above: 13 Days… and The Mad River will not publish work that promotes, condones, or features hate speech of any kind. That being said, dark themes are just that, dark, and may be triggering to some readers…
Reader discretion is advised. *sinister laughter*
Ask your questions below in the comments section or for specific/private inquiries email 13daysDW@gmail.com
Rights, cont’d…
If your piece has been previously published elsewhere you agree that you have informed us and give 13 Days… and The Mad River the right to republish, print, and archive the work (and that you have the right to do so).
All other rights revert to the author upon publication.
If you publish the work elsewhere in the future, we ask that credit be given to 13 Days… or The Mad River (as appropriate) for first publication.
If you have any questions about Rights, please email 13DaysDW@gmail.com.
