Coming Christmas 2024
Ghosts come in all shapes and sizes, from wispy, rarely visible ethereal shades to nearly-there beings capable of moving objects, and even those that don’t realize they’re no longer breathing. But whether they’re sticking around for one more chance to catch St. Nick, or simply must oversee the holiday preparations their way, their spectral presence can certainly liven up our holidays!
For this Holiday Hijinks anthology, I’m looking for contemporary stories with ghosts, poltergeists, and other “helpful” spirits who just can’t seem to let go of the holiday season. Are they playful or sneaky, getting into trouble or helping out? Let the Holiday Hijinks begin!
I don’t want to put too many restrictions on these stories – I’d rather let you have fun with them. Stories may be told from the human’s point of view, or from the ghost’s, but I definitely want to see the ghost as an active part of the holiday fun.
And please don’t limit yourself to Christmas! There are numerous holidays during the month of December. There’s a whole world of holiday traditions your ghosts may want to keep alive – and stories set outside the U.S. are always welcome.
As with all Holiday Hijinks stories, your story should be lighthearted and family-friendly, suitable for including in a book given as a gift or stocking stuffer.
That means:
- No pets or children in jeopardy (this would include the loss of a pet due to illness or age).
- No one gets hurt (in any meaningful way). So throwing snowballs is fine, car wrecks probably not.
- No pandemic or politics. Period.
- No swearing, sex, etc. Obviously (we hope).
To Submit:
Anthology Title: HAPPY HOLIDAY HAUNTINGS
Length: 4000 – 6000 words
NOTE: YES, we WILL consider reprints of stories previously published prior to Jan 1, 2020, for which you have reprint rights. If your story is still in another collection, that’s okay. If it’s available for free somewhere, we will ask that you pull it down once it’s been accepted. Please include the original publication information with your submission.
Submission Deadline: August 31, 2024
Anticipated release: November 29, 2024
Exclusivity/Reversion of rights: We distribute our anthologies in both paper and ebook formats across multiple retailers. We ask for 6 months exclusivity post-publication, after which we continue to market the anthology in both print and ebook formats, but you have the right to submit the story elsewhere, publish it yourself, etc., as you wish.
Pay: Royalty-Share, via PayPal
NOTE: A royalty-share anthology is only successful if all of the participants help with the promotion. We will provide art and marketing copy, and assist with promotion as we are able; but if you submit, you should also be prepared to promote the anthology to your readers – and share ideas/successes with the group, if you can!
Send your stories to: editor at camdenparkpress dot com
Submission Subject line: Please help out the office elves by using the subject line to pre-sort your story into the right inbox:
HIJINKS-Hauntings_Story Title
Attachment types accepted: DOC, DOCX, or RTF file
File Name: Please name your manuscript like this:
HIJINKS-Hauntings_Author Name_Story Title
VERY IMPORTANT: We are often receiving submissions for multiple projects at the same time, so following the Subject line and File Name guidelines will help make sure your story ends up in the correct folder.
Other: These things should go without saying, but we’ve seen them ignored too many times:
- Please keep your cover letter brief
- Use standard manuscript format (if you don’t know what that means, Google it)
- Include your name, contact information (mailing address, and email), and the story title on the manuscript
- Please review and follow the submission guidelines (above)
NOTE: Social Media stuff – We use a combination of email, Google Docs, and a private Facebook group to coordinate with authors and keep everyone aware of the project status. Just letting everyone know this ahead of time.
Have fun with these – I’m looking forward to reading all sorts of spirited Holiday Hijinks stories!