The Flame Tree Publishing Ltd is announcing a call for submission under the African Ghost Short Stories theme – a chance for African writers worldwide to explore their ghostly folklore culture and offer fresh stories.
Following their hugely successful Black Sci-Fi Short Stories, First Peoples Shared Stories, Immigrant Sci-Fi Short Stories and Asian Ghost Short Stories, They seek tales from African and African-diaspora writers to be included in our powerful African Ghost Short Stories collection.
The volume will explore the deep-seated supernatural element in African storytelling – whether reaching back to the spirits, ancestors and ogres of folklore or the vibrantly modern ghosts of today’s African horror. New and contemporary stories will complement poignant folktales such as ‘The Story of Takane’ from Lesotho and ‘The Disobedient Daughter Who Married a Skull’ from Nigeria. The book will delve into the fascinating heritage of ghostly African lore and literature, encouraging it to be reclaimed and retold by contemporary African voices.
Terms:
- Multiple submissions are acceptable but must be in separate emails.
- Simultaneous submissions are acceptable, but you must have the right to license your story in an anthology.
- For accepted stories, we pay Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) rates of 8 cents/6 pence per word for original stories and 6 cents/4 pence for reprints.
- We will read each story and confirm its status within four months of the submission deadline.
- The chosen stories will be paid within 30 days of the final advertised publication date.
- Submission does not imply the right to publication. Each story will be read and assessed by the selection panel.
- Let us know in your submission email whether your story will be a reprint or is currently unpublished.
Important Notice about Submissions and Guidelines
We’re always looking for better ways of working, so we’ve tweaked our submission process to allow us to read more stories and spend more time assessing the balance of our books.
- Submissions must use the dedicated email address.
- The subject line of the email must be the story title.
- The file with the story must be attached to the email (.docx, .doc or .rtf format).
- The name of the file must match the name in the subject line.
- If submitting more than one story, please submit one story per email.
Other helpful tips for a more successful submission:
- The file name of the submission must be the story name only.
- Please use spaces between words in the title (not _ or – ).
- If the story name starts with A or The, please use it at the beginning of the file name.
- Story length will likely be successful at 2000–4000 words, but we will still read stories slightly outside this range.
- If submitting a story recently submitted to us for consideration to another anthology, please state this in the submission email.
- The publication will be in April 2024.
- The deadline for submissions is 27th August 2023
The Flame Tree Beyond and Within, Gothic Fantasy, Classic Stories and Epic Tales collections combine myth, folklore and modern short fiction.
The Flame Tree Collections series features books that delve into the origins of suspense, supernatural, science fiction, and mystery tales. These books are meticulously designed, valuable for collectors, make great gifts, and provide endless reading enjoyment. Best of luck!
Submit to: africanghost@flametreepublishing.com
Visit (The Flame Tree Publishers) for details
Stephen Baidoo is a writer who loves to research about Ghana's past. He brings Ghana's history to life with each unearthed fact and forgotten narrative, transforming dry dates into passionate stories.
