Happy New Year!

We're heading into 2026 with a bunch of opportunities up our sleeve and the launch of our first book - we can't wait to share more with you!

Our open reading window has now closed

Thank you to everyone who sent us their novellas and collected short stories to consider for publication! Just like our first anthology, we were stunned by the quality of submissions we received and very much appreciate the opportunity to read your work.

Due to a busy couple of months we're a little behind schedule on responses, so thanks for your patience. We're expecting to get back to everyone who submitted to us later this month.

If you'd like editorial feedback on your submission, consider supporting our ko-fi.

What's in store for 2026?

2025 was our year for testing the waters, establishing a presence, and starting small with our first anthology call-out. Now we're looking to really get things moving.

Later this month we'll be doing an anthology reveal, sharing the title, cover, and contributor list for our first book - so you can expect this to arrive in your inbox soon!

This will be followed by anthology pre-orders opening in the spring, and the launch and publication in June. We've got a fantastic selection of folklore-inspired stories from writers all over the North, and we're incredibly excited to share the book with you.

We're also planning not one, but two anthology call-outs this year: one in early summer, and the other in the autumn. We'll be announcing the themes for these exclusively for newsletter subscribers next month, to give you plenty of time to start jotting down ideas or dusting off an old story you think will fit. As with our first anthology, these will specifically be for writers living in the North of England.

…and, as we firm up our plans, there might be more announcements to follow!

Other opportunities

• Strange Horizons is open to submissions of short fiction between the 19th and 21st January.
• The Writers' and Artists' Short Story Competition is open until the 13th February for submissions up to 2,000 words. Prizes include an Arvon Residential Writing Week.
• The Slab is currently inviting submissions to an anthology of music-themed horror stories, deadline 28th February.

As always, thank you for reading - and see you soon with news of our first anthology!

Nathaniel Spain

Editor, Carnyx Press

Find our website at www.carnyxpress.co.uk

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Carnyx Press is a limited company registered in England and Wales. Registration no. 16443369.