Announcement: “Horror In Hollywood” Short Story Competition

Dead Head Reviews is very excited to announce our very first Short Story Competition!

 

THEME

The Horror in Hollywood

Horror stories set in and around the glitz and glamour of Hollywood. Your story can take place at any period of Hollywood history. From the beginning days of silent black and white movies, to the modern era of big, Hollywood blockbusters. Be creative. Cross-genre is welcome.

RULES 

MAXIMUM WORD COUNT: 4,000 Words.

FORMAT: .doc, .docx or equivalent . Standard Manuscript Format – double spaced, Times New Roman or Courier New, 12PT. Please check shunn.net if you’re not sure how to correctly format your manuscript.

Contact information to be included in e-mail. Please do not include contact information on your manuscript. 

Please note, we are interested in stand-alone, prose fiction stories. No television/movie/play script treatments or novel/novella extracts

We’re not interested in ‘edgy for the sake of edgy’ stories which contain sexual assault, racism, sexism, homophobia for the shock value. Due to the fact these stories can take any time since the early days of Hollywood, we understand these topics might be ‘dealt with’ in horror, but again, you’re not cool for including it just for the sake of including it. (AKA just because your story is set in 1930s doesn’t mean it has to include slurs)

If applicable, please include trigger warnings in the document, after the story title and before the start of the prose.

Read below for information on how to enter and prize package details!

 
HorrorInHollywood_RGB.jpeg
 

TO ENTER

E-mail address will be provided shortly before entries open on 15th September. There will be a two week window to send entries to us via e-mail.
Subject line should be the title of your story. Please include contact information in the body of your email. 
Submissions open 15th September, 2020 and close 30th September, 2020. We are aiming to announce winners in early 2021.

 

PRIZE PACKAGE DETAILS

FIRST PLACE:

  • Selection of three books to be picked by winner, from list curated by Dead Head Reviews’ Head Copy Editor, Elle Turpitt. (Up to £35)

  • Choice of bookmark or art print from https://www.etsy.com/shop/LetsGetGalacticArt 

  • Pick from two of the following –

    • Promotional Week Package on Dead Head Reviews

    • Edit of up to 10K words by Elle Turpitt

    • Guest on an episode of the “Into the Abyss” Podcast

 

SECOND PLACE:

  • Selection of two books to be picked by winner, from list curated by Dead Head Reviews’ Head Copy Editor, Elle Turpitt (Up to £25 for total cost of books)

  • Pick from two of the following –

    •             Promotional Weekend Package on Dead Head Reviews.

    •             Edit of up to 7,500 words by Elle Turpitt

    •             Guest on episode of “Into the Abyss” Podcast

 

THIRD PLACE:

  • Section of one book to be picked by winner, from list curated by Dead Head Reviews’ Head Copy Editor, Elle Turpitt (Up to £15 for total cost of books)

  • Pick from one of the following –

    •             Promotional Weekend on Dead Head Reviews

    •             Edit of up to 7,500 words by Elle Turpitt

    •             Guest on episode of “Into the Abyss” Podcast

 

Competition is open to entrants Worldwide.
Promotional Packages will be customised, as discussed between winner and our Social Media Manager, Ellen. 
Please note, prizes and book list might be amended to prior to the closing date of the competition.
Prizes may not be redeemed or exchanged for cash value. No purchase necessary to enter. Void where prohibited.

BOOK LIST

  • Any book included on Fright Girl Summer List

  • On Writing – Stephen King

  • Writing the Other – Nisi Shawl & Cynthia Ward

  • The Emotion Thesaurus – Angela Ackerman

  • Consider This – Chuck Palahniuk

  • Steering the Craft – Ursula K Le Guin

  • Whispers in the Dark – Laurel Hightower

  • The Corpse Garden – S.H. Cooper

  • Dear Laura – Gemma Amor

  • The Fourth Whore – E.V. Knight

  • The Monster Show: A Cultural History of Horror – David J. Skal

  • The Cutting Room: Dark Reflections of the Silver Screen – Edited by Ellen Datlow

  • Final Cuts: New Tales of Hollywood Horror and Other Spectacles – Edited by Ellen Datlow

  • The Con Season - Adam Cesare

  • Tribesmen - Adam Cesare

  • Night Shoot - David Sodergren

Previous
Previous

Ten Zombie Books for Younger Readers

Next
Next

Introducing Broomhilda, Resident Columnist, and everyone’s favorite “Agony Aunt”