You’re invited to submit to the Horror Challenge from October 01 to October 11, 2026.
We want stories with mounting tension that disrupt the normal and show us the scary and the terrifying. Bring the monsters, criminals, the devious, and other frightening characters out of the shadows. We want scary stories of all kinds, but remember: we love it when the character is as important as the premise, the setting is rich, and the ending delivers entertainment and resonance! We encourage genre-blending and fresh language. There’s no shortage of horror inspirations in our world today, but we’d love to see how you craft them into unforgettable stories that thrill and chill our readers!
For this challenge, we’re pleased to offer the grand-prize winner $500 and publication. All entries will be considered for general publication at our regular rate of $200.
We hope this challenge will inspire you to create new monsters, make the shadows tremble, and communicate a wave of innovative phobias—things we didn’t even know we should be afraid of.
GUIDELINES
- The deadline for entry is October 11, 2026. We will announce the shortlist, chosen by our editorial staff, within 10–12 weeks of the challenge’s close. All writers will be notified when the results are in.
- Your $20 reading fee allows ONE horror fiction short story of 1,001–5,000 words per entry.
- We encourage multiple submissions—each story should be a separate submission accompanied by a reading fee.
- Please submit short stories only—5,000 word count maximum.
- We only consider unpublished work for challenges—we do not review reprints, including self-published work (even on blogs and social media). Reprints will be automatically disqualified.
- Simultaneous submissions are okay—please notify us immediately and withdraw your entry if you find another home for your writing.
- All entries will also be considered for publication in Uncharted.
- Double-space your submission and use Times New Roman 12 (or larger if needed).
- Please include a brief cover letter with your publication history (if applicable).
- Please include a content warning to help safeguard our staff (if applicable).
- We only read work in English, though some code-switching/meshing is warmly welcomed.
- Work generated by AI will be automatically disqualified.
Some Submittable Hot Tips:
- Please be sure to whitelist/add to contacts this email address so notifications do not get filtered as spam/junk: notifications@email.submittable.com.
- If you realize you sent the wrong version of your piece: It happens. Please DO NOT withdraw the piece and resubmit. Submittable collects a nonrefundable fee each time. Please DO message us from within the submission to request that we open the entry for editing, which will allow you to fix everything from typos in your cover letter to uploading a new draft. The only time we will not allow a change is if the piece is already under review by a reader.
OPTIONAL FEEDBACK ON YOUR WRITING
You may choose to receive editorial feedback on your piece. We will provide a two-page global letter discussing the strengths of the writing and the recommended focus for revision. Our aim is to make our comments actionable and encouraging. These letters are written by editors and staff readers of Uncharted. A significant portion of the editorial letter fees is paid to our feedback editor. Should your story win, no feedback will be offered, and your fee will be refunded.