The Ghoulish Times | 02.02.24
Hello and welcome to The Ghoulish Times. My name is Max Booth III and this is my spooky newsletter.
GHOULISH TALES ISSUE #2 COMING SOON
Well, ghouls, it’s been a hell of a long wait, but we are pleased to announce that, after an embarrassing delay, the second issue of Ghoulish Tales should finally be shipping out to readers by the end of the month. Check out the updated cover, featuring each author’s name, along with the full table of contents below:
The second issue of Ghoulish Tales features stories & essays from Saswati Chatterjee, Jen Conley, Lor Gislason, Jess Hagemann, Justin Lutz, Lena Ng, Shannon Riley, E. F. Schraeder, Danger Slater, perfect kiss strickoll, Jennifer Elise Wang, and Stephanie M. Wytovich. Cover art by Betty Rocksteady.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction by Max Booth III
“Skulls” by Jen Conley
“What it Takes to Swallow a Dog” by Stephanie M. Wytovich
“The Halloween Horror Show” by Lena Ng
“Print or Die” by Justin Lutz
“Goop by Goop: Blobiversary Edition” by Lor Gislason
“A Certain Level of Discretion” by Jess Hagemann
“The One with the Gas Station” by Shannon Riley
“Hair Problems” by Danger Slater
“The Act One Dog: Animals & Horror” by E. F. Schraeder
“Lucy West is Not a Stage Name” by Jennifer Elise Wang
“The Skin of Reema Lal” by Saswati Chatterjee
“Jude Doe” by perfect kiss strickoll
Purchase the issue HERE or subscribe to the magazine HERE.
I love putting this magazine together. It is also incredibly expensive due to how much we're paying authors (10c per word). Issue #2 we went, uh, waaay overbudget on, which was my fault, and a little why it's so delayed. But man. Sometimes you fall in love with a group of stories so hard, you can't stand the thought of rejecting any of them.
Anyway.
Editing a magazine is badass.
Ghoulish Tales is the coolest thing ever.
I would like to continue working on this magazine for many more years. However, that won't be possible without more readers and subscriptions, so if you like weird horror stories and can swing it, please subscribe!
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OPEN CALL FOR SHORT STORY & ESSAY SUBMISSIONS
And, since we have now revealed the table of contents and pre-order information for Ghoulish Tales Issue #2, so we thought it would also be the perfect time to announce that we are officially considering submissions for issue #3, which we aim to publish later this summer.
First, if you are not already familiar with the style & tone of the magazine, we highly encourage you to read one of our previous issues.
What we are after: short stories that fit our personal definition of the word GHOULISH, which is “fun horror that aims to celebrate all things spooky.”
Note that we said fun, not funny. Comedic stories are definitely allowed, but it’s not all we’re looking to receive. We want stories that remind us why we love the horror genre. We want to have a perverted little smile across our face while reading. Make us slobber like idiots. Turn us into the Sickos.jpeg meme.
We are also interested in non-fiction about the horror genre.
GUIDELINES
Deadline: March 29, 2024 (11:59 PM CST)
Word count: 5,000 max (short stories); 2,000 max (non-fiction)
Payment: 10c per word
Simultaneous Submissions: Yes
Multiple Submissions: No (Please only submit one story per open call. If we reject you, do not resubmit until we reopen for the next issue.)
Reprints: No
AI Submissions: No. Please note if you are caught sending us an AI story, you will be blacklisted from ever publishing with us in the future. Don’t do it.
How to submit: Send all stories & essays to ghoulishsubmissions @ gmail dot com with [TITLE] – [ LAST NAME] – [STORY/ESSAY] – [WORD COUNT] in the subject line. Please do not copy/paste the story in the body of the email. We prefer Word doc attachments if possible. All inquiries can also be directed to the same address.
As you wait, feel free to come hang out in the GHOULISH discord with 1,000+ other likeminded ghouls.
Thank you and good luck!
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GHOULISH BOOK FESTIVAL INCOMING
First, for those who have already secured a badge for next month's Ghoulish Book Festival, please check your SPAM folder if you haven't already received some emails from the book fest within the last day or two. We have sent out survey links about panel participation, as well as emails about the book fest's ghost tour, mass author signing, and spooky campfire contest.
As a reminder: the Ghoulish Book Festival will occur in downtown San Antonio on March 15, 16, 17. Our Ghouls of Honor will include Daniel Kraus, RJ Joseph, and Jessica McHugh.
As always: this will be the last time we host & organize a book festival, until I inevitably change my mind two days after wrapping up this year's festival and commit to it all over again.
If you are planning on attending the festival but haven't secured a badge, yet you are interested in participating in any of the activities I mentioned above, I recommend buying a badge ASAP. The cutoff date for participation in panels, readings, and signings is this Monday at 11:59pm. I will resend the surveys and emails out to any new badge holders until that date. Afterward, you may still snag a badge, but we will have already started scheduling the program.
Every badge purchased helps us fund this massive, insane weekend of horror delights. It is very much appreciated.
Buy a badge HERE.
Alternatively--or, additionally--we are also currently seeking sponsorships for the festival.
Interested in purchasing an advertisement in our program book and donating to our swag bag?
Good news for you, then!
We are offering three types of sponsorships, ranging from $50 to $300. Click HERE for more details.
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And now, here is a Tiktok I made about unlikable characters.