Submission Guidelines

Exclusivity Terms & Author Rights

Upon payment of the contest fee, Crypticon Seattle gains the right to publish your story exclusively for a period of three months in their annual horror anthology Camp Crypticon Seattle, should you be chosen as a contest winner. All authors retain full rights to their work and will be credited appropriately at all times. Only the top three authors and two honorable mentions in the contest will be published in the anthology. The top three contest winners will be paid.

 What We Want

• Short stories with 2,000-4,000 words. We may consider stories up to 5,000 words but the story will have to be exceptional.
• Unpublished stories are preferred but reprints are acceptable.
• We like stories that are dark and deep; we are looking for the stories that stick with you long after you go to sleep.
• Stories with a depth of character that explore the mind as much as the monsters.
• Stories that show more than tell and build suspense before a shock factor.
• Easily readable. It’s wonderful to craft a gorgeous story, but if people need a dictionary to understand it, we may not accept it.

What We DO NOT Want

• AI Created stories. If you submit an AI created story, you will be blacklisted from ALL future contests with us. 
• Shorts without properly formatted dialogue or containing too many spelling and grammar errors. This is a contest, so stories should be relatively polished.
• Stories that are not in the horror genre or sufficiently dark fantasy/sci-fi. 
• Fan fiction or anything that may cause copyright issues.
• Sex is fine, but plot should come first.
• Stories that include intolerance of a person or group’s race, religion, nationality, physical or mental ability, gender identity, or sexual orientation.
• Gratuitous gore and violence with no purpose – blood and guts are fine as long as there’s something more going on than the shock factor.
• Stories that glorify, minimize, or inaccurately represent child abuse, animal abuse, or sexual assault.

Simultaneous Submissions

You may submit simultaneous submissions but please let us know if your story is accepted elsewhere.

Manuscript Format

• The manuscript must be understandable by a mixed audience. Any English is fine as long as the average reader can understand all of the references and it follows basic grammar rules.
• 12 pt. Times New Roman font, one-inch margins, double spaced. 
• Do not use any special formatting like headers, page numbers, images, and page/section breaks.
• Include your author’s name, title, and word count on the first page.
• Indicate scene breaks with three stars, no space (***)
• Indicate the end of the manuscript with three stars, with spaces in between (* * *)
• Submission must be in Microsoft Word (.doc, .docx)
• Save the file name in this format: CrypticonSeattle_TitleofStory_Author’sFullName
• If you use a pen-name, place it in the document with the word count and title, but please include your full legal name in the form submission box for payment purposes.

Entry Fee

$10 paid via PayPal upon submission.

Winners/Prizes 

1st Place: 

• $75
• 1 Weekend Pass to Crypticon Seattle
• Publication in Camp Crypticon Seattle Writing Contest Anthology 2027 alongside pros such as Lish McBride, Shedric Simpson, and Tamara Kaye Sellman
• 1 Copy of Camp Crypticon Seattle Writing Contest Anthology 2027

2nd Place: 

• $50
• 1 Weekend Pass to Crypticon Seattle
• Publication in Camp Crypticon Seattle Writing Contest Anthology 2027 alongside pros such as Lish McBride, Shedric Simpson, and Tamara Kaye Sellman
• 1 Copy of Camp Crypticon Seattle Writing Contest Anthology 2027

3rd Place:

• $25
• 1 Weekend Pass to Crypticon Seattle
• Publication in Camp Crypticon Seattle Writing Contest Anthology 2027 alongside pros such as Lish McBride, Shedric Simpson, and Tamara Kaye Sellman
• 1 Copy of Camp Camp Crypticon Seattle Writing Contest Anthology 2027

(2) Honorable Mentions:

• 1 Weekend Pass to Crypticon Seattle
• Publication in Camp Crypticon Seattle Writing Contest Anthology 2027 alongside pros such as Lish McBride, Shedric Simpson, and Tamara Kaye Sellman
• 1 Copy of Camp Crypticon Seattle Writing Contest Anthology 2027

Stipulations

To be selected as a winning piece, contest entries must meet all submission guidelines and abide by all Crypticon Seattle rules and expectations. 

Submitting a story and paying your entry fee DOES NOT guarantee publication. 

We appreciate all authors who submit to the contest but all rejected stories will receive form rejections. A small group reads this contest and regrettably, they will not have time to provide feedback for each story. 

Submission deadline is January 17th, 2027