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Call for Submissions – Book Worms #11

Book Worms Horror Zine – Summer Edition

Pack your poisonous bug spray, your Blair Witch map, and your messiest mess kit—then join us for our campiest issue yet!

This summer, Book Worms Horror Zine is heading to camp, and we want your creepiest, campiest horror stories to share around the fire. We’re talking classic summer scares like Friday the 13th, Sleepaway Camp, and The Evil Dead—but don’t be afraid to blaze your own twisted trail. Conjure a new type of monster crawling up from the pond scum, turn a Kumbaya sing-along into an alien abduction, or dream up something so strange and disturbing we’ll never leave home again.

So…

stoke the fire, sharpen your pencils, and tell us a tale that’ll have us sleeping with one eye open in our sleeping bags.

Submission Guidelines:

Please read ALL before submitting! You’d be amazed (we are) how many great stories are turned away each submission period because writers fail to follow the rules. Please don’t waste your (and our) time and stick to the following…

Deadline: June 15, 2026 (must be received by deadline, so please mail early).

Word Count: 1500 words or less (we mean it).

No reprints, please. Exclusive print rights for six months after publication.

Payment is 8 cents a word for fiction and non-fiction, $25 for poems 20 lines or less.

ACCEPTING MAIL-IN SUBMISSIONS ONLY! (*see exception below)

Mail your submissions to: La Regina Studio/Grundy Commons/925 Canal Street/Bristol, PA 19007

Decision notices are sent through email so there is no need to include a self-addressed, stamped envelope. Please include your email address and your mailing address with your submission. All submissions must be typed (cover letters preferred but not mandatory) and be properly formatted. Also, if you have a social media presence, please include those beneath your email.

Be sure to:

Send only one submission, meaning don’t send multiple short stories or poems or a combination of both. Send only one piece and send your best.
DO NOT send your submissions using registered mail or any kind of correspondence requiring a signature. It probably won’t get to us and you’ll be wasting your money.
*If you’ve had work previously published in Book Worms (you know who you are) you may email your submission to bookwormssubmissions@gmail.com (same deadline) Please write Returning Author Submission in the subject line.
Please use the EXACT mailing address listed above. Please don’t write Book Worms on the address. This is a side project and our mailman might get confused. The mailbox is in a huge industrial complex and unfortunately, letters have gotten lost in the past, so please follow the instructions and mail as early as possible.

We can’t wait to gather ‘round the fire and read your tales. Curious what’s lurked in our pages before? Check out Book Worms Horror Zine.

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Read This Before the World Ends: Inside Book Worms #10

With the daily news chipping away at any sense of normalcy, it’s hard not to feel like the world is teetering on the edge. That low hum of “end times” anxiety isn’t new—it’s followed humanity for centuries. Whether that’s comforting or not is up for debate. What is certain is that the apocalypse has always been fertile—if toxic—ground for horror.

In this issue, longtime horror blogger Will Errickson returns with a lineup of classic apocalyptic recommendations. We’re also excited to welcome Robert Ford to Book Worms for the first time, along with a group of incredible writers whose work is guaranteed to haunt you. Honestly, it’s better fiction than the nightly news. Grab your copy before the world ends and check out our back issues while supplies last.

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New Book Worms & The Right Brain Café

James Defeo and I have been chatting a lot about creativity, so we decided to not limit our podcast to only fiction writing, but to expand it to include creativity in general. The new name, Right Brain Café, reflects the change. Check out the latest episode below.

Book Worms Horror Zine

The new Book Worms is out and it’s all about rock and roll horror, truly a match made in Hell! This is our biggest issue yet, featuring new fiction, funky artwork, and a book review of THE SCREAM by the “OG” of old-school horror fiction himself, Will Errickson of the seminal horror blog: Too Much Horror Fiction. So, if you love horror and rock and roll, check out the latest Book Worms!

I discuss Book Worms and more in my latest BookTube video, and if you get there in time, you can enter the Book Worms zine and T-shirt giveaway.

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Call For Submissions !

Book Worms Horror Zine Issue #5

Seeking short fiction for our Rock n Roll Issue! From hair-raising riffs to head-banging oblivion, horror and rock n roll are a match made in Hell! Book Worms Horror zine is a limited-edition print only publication sold on Etsy and selective bookstores.

Frequently Asked Question: What kind of stories are you looking for?

We generally enjoy “fun”, “80s style” horror reminiscent of the zine’s old-school vibe, but we’ve also been blown away by fresh voices that take the genre in a new direction. That being said, the best chance for your story being accepted by Book Worms is to follow the submission guidelines. Make sure your story is of the horror genre (you’d be surprised how many we receive that aren’t), mail in your submission versus email, meet the deadline, and don’t exceed the word count limit. And if your story doesn’t make it, please keep trying. We’ve had to turn down many excellent stories due to space constraints alone.

It might be helpful to explain what we don’t want.

Paranormal romance (Love the genre. It’s not right for Book Worms.)
Anything with a political theme. We read to escape that stuff.
Beyond the pale violence or pornographic material. Keep it fun, kids.

Submission Guidelines

Deadline: April 30, 2024

Payment is 8 cents a word for fiction and essays (1500 words or less). Includes one contributor copy.

No reprints or multiple submissions please. Exclusive rights for six months after publication.

ACCEPTING MAIL-IN SUBMISSIONS ONLY!

Mail your submissions to: La Regina Studio/Grundy Commons/925 Canal Street/Bristol, PA 19007

*In the past, we’ve made some special allowances for writers living outside the USA. But due to the overwhelming amount of submissions we receive, we are now only accepting mail-in submissions.

Decision notices are sent through email so there is no need to include a self-addressed, stamped envelope. Please include your email address with your submission. All submissions must be typed (cover letters preferred but not mandatory) and be properly formatted.

Be sure to check out our Podcast and follow us on Instagram.