SUBMISSIONS ARE NOW CLOSED.

WE WILL RE-OPEN FOR SUBMISSIONS IN JANUARY 2010.


Our new anthologies will be announced in 2010. We do not accept short stories that are not on one of the themes for our anthologies and we do not accept novellas at this time.

WHO WE ARE AND THE BASICS:


DarkHart Press is a small independent trade publisher based in Ward Hill, Massachusetts. We publish 4-6 novels/short story anthologies per year and our authors are paid royalties. This is an ABSOLUTE AFTER GETTING TOO MANY UNSOLICITED MANUSCRIPTS, please query via email or snail mail before sending your novel. Henceforth, all such novels will be return without being read. NO exceptions.

Note: We are not a subsidy press. We pay our authors and DarkHart pays for all associated costs of advertising, printing and promoting the books we publish. if you have any other questions, please ask.

We do accept short story submissions via email—but ONLY for anthologies during the times when we are reading and the stories should relate to themes we are looking for, however, longer works (novellas/20,000 words +) or novels should be sent via snail mail to our mailing address. Please send queries or short story manuscripts to: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

For all other submissions, please use this address:

DarkHart Press
PO Box 8009
Ward Hill, MA 01835

Our Philosophy, Aims and Publishing Needs:


DarkHart Press publishes these types of fiction:


• Horror
• Dark Fantasy or Dark Fiction this includes, Science Fiction with dark elements
• Cross-genre that includes these elements—romance can be up to an equal component or subplot, but we do not publish romance novels with dark/horror elements.




We DO NOT publish YA or Children’s books.


We ARE NOT interested in stories with excessive gore or erotic elements that are not integral to the plot. Stories and novels should contain absolutely no hardcore erotic content or any type of child or animal abuse, or anything that demeans, discriminates or glorifies bigotry in any way, shape or form. We at DarkHart Press have always preferred stories that are strong enough on their own to not have to rely on excessive, graphic or gratuitous sex, violence or profanity to prop them up or for the sole purpose of shock value. We believe any use of these particular devices should be necessary and integral to the story being told, and that they should be used as sparingly as possible or else their use begins to detract from the story itself.

We WANT original stories and plots that step outside ordinary ideas of good and evil and that draw on cultures and mythos outside of the Judeo-Christian traditions. DarkHart Press looks for strong, concise, well-written stories or novels that are unique, original, surprising and unexpected.

Under the categories of “Dark Fantasy,” “Dark Fiction,” and “Horror,” DarkHart Press will consider supernatural horror, psychological horror, dark fantasy, ghost stories, eerie suspense, dark mystery, science fiction settings, etc., as long as the pieces are compelling, well-written stories with strong, well-defined characters. With regard to specific anthology of short stories, submissions must fit the theme of the anthology and it is best to query about your idea first.

We DO NOT want “The Devil made me do it” stories or any rehash of what might happen if the Book of Revelations in the Bible is really true. It’s been done to death in our opinion and we want to see something NEW. If fact, we do not want any post-apocalyptic stories period—unless they are so new and unique in perspective that we have never heard of the idea before.


DarkHart Press prefers that the lines between good and evil to be a bit more blurred and harder to distinguish. In other words, we prefer a large gray area instead of a cut-and-dried black and white universe. It's more interesting and intriguing, and the process of slipping from the light into darkness is a subtle, gradual transition that is ultimately based solely on the characters’ personal choices and actions, as opposed to outside forces rendering them helpless victims. This doesn’t mean we don’t want any action or scary stuff—please put that in, too, in large, generous helpings. And entertain us—we like being scared, love absurd humor and strange situations. Move the plot and the characters along.

Submitting Documents:



Submissions that are not properly formatted will be ignored and discarded— whether received by email or snail mail. Always make a good first impression—submit things properly!

Stories should be typed in standard manuscript format and double-spaced. We prefer 1 inch margins all around. Indent the first line of paragraphs .5 inches. DarkHart Press prefers 12 pt Times New Roman font, but as long as it's easy on the eyes, we don't mind other basic, 12 pt traditional fonts such as Ariel, Georgia, Garamond, Verdana, etc. We prefer submissions as either a Microsoft Word document or in Rich Text Format (RTF).

All hard copies ((novellas/20,000 words + or novels) sent in MUST include an SASE (Self-Addressed Stamped Envelope) to insure a reply. If you do not include an SASE to insure a response, we cannot guarantee you'll hear back on your submission. If it is OK to contact you via email to let you know we got your submission, please provide your email address and a statement to that effect. If you want your manuscript returned, please make sure to indicate that and include packaging and postage for that purpose as well.



At DarkHart Press, we do not read from the computer screen. We read from hard copy, (1.) because it's easier on the eyes, and (2.) because it's easier for us to make editorial notes as we go along. So please make sure your submission is not going to lose its formatting when printed out.

If a writer submits more than one story at a time, each story should be sent in a separate email. A writer should not submit more than one novel to us at any given time. Subject lines in emails should state that it is novel for DarkHart consideration or it is a short story submission for one of our anthologies. That way there is less of a chance of accidental loss or deletion.

DarkHart’s Editor has always found that the use of specific nouns and descriptive verbs make for a richer, tighter, more concise narrative than simply relying on an overabundance of adjectives and adverbs for description. The occasional use of an adverb or adjective is all fine and good, but too many modifiers can clutter up a narrative and detract from a story rather than enhance it.


This may seem obvious, but please check over your submission carefully for typos, spelling, usage, grammar and punctuation before sending it in. Editing and grammar tools and software have their uses, but a discriminating human eye will catch things that computer software can't. For example: Spell-check is a great tool, but it can't tell the difference between "to" and "too" and "two," or the difference between "through" and "threw.”

What to Expect:


Send us your stuff.

If we like it, we’ll be in touch in about 8 weeks or so. You may be asked for minor revisions or rewrites. If you agree to our changes, the next step is you will be sent our standard contracts.

If we don’t like your story or novel, you may get a note telling you it was not accepted. However, we do not give detailed critiques—for that you need to join a writing group.

If you have concerns about a story or novel you have submitted, please feel free to write us via email or snail mail at the addresses provided. Also, if you are unsure about whether or not your story or novel is appropriate for DarkHart Press—please query first. We try to answer emails in a timely fashion, but that is a goal—not a promise.


If you have questions, please contact at us at:

This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Last Updated (Saturday, 20 June 2009 22:41)