Fear is not a feeling, it’s a complete emotion that can take many shapes and forms right in front of our eyes, that’s what becomes a ghost, for they feed on our fears. Sometimes hallucinations are real, illusions have an uncanny shape and dark alleys and abandoned places have stories to tell. Some stories have a ghost and some ghosts have stories, the places they are settled like moss, like their past, like a tear that doesn’t ever dry out, like a silent shriek that’s deafening, like nightmares that will haunt you if you have one look into their deadness.
‘Of Nightmares & Shrieks’ is our new Horror Book Project and you all have to conjure up ghosts and skeletons from your closets. Remember, this time it’s pure horror and not a thriller, we are looking for stories that will send chills down the reader’s spine including our editors, as much that we end up having nightmares throughout the night once we start evaluating the drafts.
This time we have special celebrity Guest Writers with us, Michael Paul Kozlowsky and Neil D'Silva who will be writing the opening stories for this book.
Some guidelines for you to follow:
1. Only one horror story per household. The word limit must be between 3000 to 3500.
2. The stories can be placed in any era or backdrop with any theme or subgenre, but they should be horrifying at their core.
3. The last date to submit your story is 1st November 2023 till midnight IST.
4. For International winners the same amount will be converted into USD$.
6. Every selected author will have to make an advance payment of INR. 1800 (With Taxes) against which you would be getting five Author Copies and a certificate of Publication.
7. Send your submission to editorialmagazinecc@gmail.com with ‘Horror Story Submission’ in the subject line.
Meet the Celebrity Writers
Neil D'Silva
With 13 published books to his credit, Neil D’Silva is a known name in the Indian literary world. He writes predominantly in the horror genre. His unique stories have struck a chord with a wide range of readers, eliciting praise from various quarters. His publishers include Penguin Random House, Rupa Publications, Hachette, and HarperCollins among others, and he has won screen adaptation deals on several of his books.
He has been named as one of the Top 7 Indian horror writers to be read by UK’s DESIblitz magazine. His books have been listed on Monster Complex and The Curious Reader, among other prestigious book lists. Considered as one of the forerunners of contemporary Indian horror literature, he has been covered by leading publications like Times of India, mid-day, Morning Standard, and is invited to speak at prominent litfests around the country, including the Times Litfest, Pune International Literature Festival, Noida International Literature Festival, Shimla International Literature Festival, and Yayavar – Jammu Literature Festival, among others.
D’Silva is also the founder and creative director of Litventure, a Mumbai-based literature festival that is aimed for fostering the reading habit among young readers.
He was the winner at the Delhi Literature Festival Short Story Competition of 2015. His book Maya’s New Husband won the title of Entertainer of the Year at the Literary Awards 2015 that was co-hosted by Authors’ Ink Publications and Inside Stories.
Neil D’Silva was also invited for a TED talk by TEDxTCET. He spoke on The Art of Writing a Bestseller to a packed auditorium.
He has been a judge on writing competitions such as the Readify Author Hunt 2017 and the Wattpad India Awards 2019. He conducts writing workshops on invitation. He conducted an elaborate six-hour writing workshop at IIT Kanpur in 2019. He is a writing coach and mentor with the Scholastic Writers Academy.
Also, take a look at Neil D’Silva’s hugely viral podcast episode on The Ranveer Show with Ranveer Allahbadia, popular known as #BeerBiceps. The episode has garnered over 2.1 million views.
Michael Paul Kozlowsky
A former high school English & film teacher, Michael Paul Kozlowsky is the author of Scarecrow Has a Gun. Writing as M.P. Kozlowsky, his four children’s novels include Frost, Juniper Berry, Rose Coffin, and The Dyerville Tales. He lives in New York with his wife, two daughters, and a rescue beagle named Huxley, and when he’s not reading or playing chess, he continues to write everything from poetry and screenplays to short stories, articles, philosophical essays, and books for readers of all ages.
Happy Submissions!
Founder, Director & Chief Editor
Monalisa Joshi