Some encounters demand to be documented. You are invited to submit your account of the uncanny for our latest Beyond & Within anthology, Mythos & Meaning, edited by Dave Jeffery. Read on for your formal invitation and full submission details.

“It is true, we shall be monsters, cut off from all the world; but on that account we shall be more attached to one another.” —Mary Shelley, Frankenstein, 1818.

“There is much to be learned from beasts.” —Bram Stoker, Dracula, 1897.

“It is a sound theory that the very essence of humanity is not shaped by the vestiges of life
and love, but by moments spent in the company of the inexplicable.”
—Professor Michelle Slade, Bloxwich University.

Dear candidate,

You are cordially invited to participate in a qualitative research study that aims to explore
the collective human consciousness associated with creatures and entities of myth and
folklore. Using epistolary format, you are asked to provide narratives represented by written
accounts – i.e., documents, letters, emails, text messages, etc. Your story will need to
demonstrate the lived experience of the respective narrator, drawing upon the
psychological and visceral effects of exposure to the chosen entity or creature, and the
impact on those around them, including cultural meaning and existential purpose.

Selected narratives will be assimilated into data collection and analysed to help the research
team at Bloxwich University – project-managed by prominent parapsychologist, Professor
Michelle Slade – to identify common primordial links between fantastic creatures of myth
and folklore, and their meaning for human endeavor.

Mythos & Meaning
Human Accounts of Beastly Encounters

We are now open for story submissions for a new anthology in our Beyond & Within series, to be published in January 2028: Mythos & Meaning: Human Accounts of Beastly Encounters, edited by Dave Jeffery.

Throughout history, tales of fantastic fiends, eerie entities, brooding beasts, and maligned monsters have been effectively told using the epistolary narrative. From Shelley’s Frankenstein and Stoker’s Dracula to King’s Carrie and Tremblay’s Horror Movie, the use of letters, articles, and documented statements adds a layer of authenticity to both subjective storytelling and the reading experience.

In the anthology Mythos & Meaning, a group of parapsychologists and anthropologists begin the data collection and analysis process for a grounded theory study into the collective consciousness associated with creatures and entities of myth and folklore. As part of their research, they pull together a final collection of accounts (the chosen stories) in order to develop their hypothesis that despite their diverse and rich cultural variants, the beasts themselves have some intrinsically tangible, but as yet undiscovered, influence on the human psyche. The team has now opened up for submissions, through which a select few will join the accounts already gathered.

Edited by Dave Jeffery, British Fantasy Award and Bridport Prize nominee. Author of 18 novels, three collections, and numerous short stories, including Amazon #1 bestsellers Necropolis Rising and Frostbite, and the acclaimed Beatrice Beecham and A Quiet Apocalypse series. An anthologist with Flame Tree Publishing, he co-edited This Way Lies Madness with Lee Murray. His work spans award-winning short films, academic research and literary criticism. A former NHS mental health nurse with 35 years’ experience, his novel Finding Jericho has featured on BBC Health and ISEB recommended reading lists. He mentors writers through the Horror Writers Association and British Fantasy Society and received the HWA’s Mentor of the Year Award in 2022.

Submit to: anthologies@flametreepublishing.com

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

Details:

• The story should be told in an epistolary format, using whatever form the author feels best suits their tale, be that first person journals or third person analysis of documents, etc.
• The story must contain some form of fantastic creature, monster or entity.
• The story must contain aspects of how the experience of an encounter with the chosen creature, monster, or entity has impacted upon the person(s) recounting the tale. Particular focus should be the emotional residue and the individual(s) interpretation of this experience. For example, did they benefit from the encounter in some way, and how do they rationalise this to others or themselves? 

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.
• The exclusivity period for accepted new stories is 6 months from publication. Publication is expected to be in January 2028.

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 3000 to 5000 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 1st November 2026.
  

Thank you, and good luck!