We are very excited to announce a new call for submissions! Please read through the submission details carefully before sending us your stories – especially relating to AI – or it could result in your submission not being acknowledged if you do not follow them.

Dark Ages: Folk Horror Stories

We are now open for story submissions for a new anthology in our Beyond & Within series, to be published in the autumn of 2027. The anthology of folk horror fiction is titled Dark Ages: Folk Horror Stories, edited by David Green.

Dark Ages: Folk Horror Stories is an anthology exploring that meeting of differing cultures after the fall of Rome. What is real? What is supernatural? The old ways bloom across Europe once more, bringing vast potential for both life and death. Rumours of secluded communities hiding in old forests spread. Disciples of the Christian god spread across the land, seeking to convert true believers. Kings rise while others fall. And there, in the marshes, things long forgotten emerge. Dark Ages: Folk Horror Stories charts these tales, recording the meetings of people from different ways of life. Exploring what was, what is, and what might be. We're looking for a small handful of stories from submissions to join the selection edited by David Green. 

David Green is a neurodivergent writer of the epic and the urban, the fantastical, the cosy and the mysterious. Hailing from the north-west of England, David now lives in County Galway on the west coast of Ireland. David's Path Of War was nominated for Best Novel at the 2023 BFS Awards, and Beyond Sundered Seas and At Eternity's Gates were both nominated for best novel in 2024. 

Submit to: folkhorror@flametreepublishing.com

Please DO NOT SUBMIT AI-written stories to our team – this takes away opportunities from genuine new writers.

Terms:

• Multiple submissions are fine but must be in separate emails.
• Please only submit unpublished/original/new stories for consideration. Reprints will not be accepted for consideration for this collection.
• Stories that used AI for planning, editing, modifying or generating text will not be accepted. Please confirm in your submission email that you have not used AI in these ways. The contracts for accepted authors all require a signature declaring that AI has not been used.
• For accepted stories we pay Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) rates of 8 cents/6 pence per word.
• We will aim to read each story and confirm its status within 4 months of the submission deadline.
• Payment for the chosen stories will be made within 30 days of the final advertised publication date (see our website flametreepublishing.com for details), although some may be paid earlier than that.
• Submission does not imply the right to publication. Each story will be read and assessed by the selection panel.
• Exclusivity period for accepted new stories is 6 months from publication. Publication is expected to be in October 2027.

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.
• Please provide your legal name (and pen name if applicable) to help with quick contracts/acceptances.
• When providing an author bio or pitch/synopsis for your story, we strongly advise against using AI to write these as it will cast suspicion on the authenticity of your story.

Other useful tips for a more successful submission:

• The file name of the submission must be the story name only.
• Please just 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.
• Manuscripts must be in standard format (Times or a similar font, 12 point, 1.5 or 2 line spacing, left justified). Include title, word count, and your contact details on the first page of the manuscript. 
• Story length is most likely to be successful at 2000 to 4000 words, but we will still read stories slightly outside this range.
• If submitting a story that has recently been submitted to us for consideration to another anthology, please state this in the submission email.
• Deadline for submissions is: Sunday 18th October 2026
  

Thank you, and good luck!