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This Week in Speculative Fiction with The Horror Tree for 11/20/2025
Stuart Conover
November 21, 2025
In partnership with
Word of the week: Facetiae - a book of witty or humorous sayings. Or (this meaning is outdated) pornographic literature.
Hi readers and writers! Welcome back (or if it is your first time here, hello there) to the Horror Tree Newsletter. It was my birthday this week, so my attention has been divided between the ‘birthday blues’ and the internal fight to celebrate it, so, of course, I haven’t achieved any writing. I hope to rectify it soon. Snow has arrived in the UK, bringing its usual chaos on the roads, so I think it is safe to say that we can now start getting ready for the next big holiday. This week’s writing prompt reflects this, so let’s write some Creepmas stories! To get me in the mood, I always listen to Lacuna Coil’s ‘Naughty Christmas’ song. Do you have a playlist or a song recommendation?
You can find me (Corinne Pollard) lurking on Bluesky @corinnepwriter.bsky.social, Instagram & Threads @Corinnepwriter and my new website, corinnepollard.wordpress.com Now, onto the latest articles on writing from around the web.
In this Newsletter, you'll find...
🌟 Horror Tree / Trembling With Fear Updates
Hi all.
As mentioned last week, Lauren has started working on the next physical edition of Trembling With Fear, so right now it’s knee deep in editing, formatting, and cover hunting for it. On top of that, I’ve been putting a dent in our TBR pile of short stories from our last short story window, upcoming holiday special window, and our always-open windows!
For personal writing news, I’ve got at least three more accepted stories that I can’t wait to share with you once TOCs are announced and whatnot, as well as 10 shorts sitting out in submission land. Fingers crossed, at least a couple of those will be accepted! 🙂
Now, for the standards:
- Thank you so much to everyone who has become a Patreon for Horror Tree. We honestly couldn't make it without you all!
- Offhand, if you've ordered Trembling With Fear Volume 6, we'd appreciate a review!
For those who are looking to connect with Horror Tree on places that aren’t Twitter, we’re also in BlueSky and Threads. I am also now on BlueSky and Threads.
And now, I will return you to your regularly scheduled newsletter!
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-Suzan Palumbo Author of Countess and Skin Thief.
🌟 Articles
This week I’m sharing articles from Business and Craft. Firstly, Writers In The Storm looks at how to accomplish self-publishing in 2025. There’s great practical tips from the cover design to the main self-publishing platforms. This article could help you decide whether self-publishing is for you. Next in Business, Author Marketing Experts advise on how to maximize/boost your book’s pre-orders with a smaller audience. You don’t need thousands of fans waiting for your book pre-orders to pay off, instead Author Marketing Experts suggest that you focus on a 30 day window showing generosity, clarity, and curiosity. Intriguing with practical advice. Lastly, in craft Mythcreants explores how to develop the best low points in your protagonist’s journey/plot. Also Mythcreants looks at why low points are important and their effects. If your story is already a dark story with many low points, then you’ll need to consider how to develop even lower points to keep your reader engaged.
Business:
Writers In The Storm: “Charting Your Course #2: Self-Publishing in 2025”
Author Marketing Experts: “How to Maximize Book Pre-Orders (Even With a Small Audience)”
Craft:
Mythcreants: “Creating Low Points for Your Protagonists”
From Horror Tree:
🌟 Free Fiction Roundup
This week’s free fiction is mostly horror from a coin-collecting demon slayer to a spider-possessed teacher. Firstly “Coin Flip” is a first-person flash dark fantasy about an immortal man seeking to fulfill a debt by rescuing humans from demons. With each slain demon, he receives a slice of a silver coin. This story has a rich imagination that could easily be turned into a longer narrative. By the end of the story, the reader will learn the immortal man’s name and it is the key to understanding the whole scenario and so clever! Next, “Who Are You Wearing?” is a sci-fi horror flash about a father who takes odd jobs to survive and look after his daughter after a nasty divorce. His suit which is called an exo allows him superpowers in order to get the jobs done. There is a plot twist which brought the whole superhero and villain trope to the front of the story. Next, “Our Mother, The Dark Damp Earth” is a folk horror story about a village who must harvest the land each year. The men achieve this and must sing to Mother Earth no matter what, even when the earth swallows any man who falters. This is folk horror at its finest! Lastly, “We Were Never Afraid of the Spider” is a strange story about a teacher called Mrs. Winters who has a large spider growing out of her back. This is deemed normal by the children in her class as they recount their classroom days. It is a compelling read with a good imagination. Enjoy reading!
“Coin Flip” by Aeryn Rudel at Flash Point SF.
“Who Are You Wearing?” by Russell Nichols at Uncanny Magazine.
“Our Mother, the Dark Damp Earth” by Laila Amado at Crow & Cross Keys.
“We Were Never Afraid of the Spider” by Timothy Fox at The Molotov Cocktail.
🌟 Writing Prompt
Writing Exercise: You Better Not Cry
Your protagonist knows what he wants for Christmas and sends his wish list to the North Pole. It doesn’t matter to him that he doesn’t believe in Santa Claus nor does he care if his wish comes true or not.
When Christmas Eve arrives, he stays up and hears two pairs of footsteps. Two people entered his home.
There was a familiar ‘Ho Ho Ho’ which brought a smile to his face, but those footsteps quickly left. The second pair of footsteps were slow, dragging something heavy with a thump, thump, thump up the stairs.
But instead of reaching your protagonist’s door, these footsteps misdirect to his parents' separate rooms.
Your protagonist freezes as his wish list flashes in his mind. I wish my parents would leave me alone.
What happens next is up to you…Let your imagination run wild!
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🌟 Weekly Post Roundup
The Faerie Cat - Volume 3 Open for Submissions ✨ Writers, poets, and dreamers - The Faerie Cat seeks tales of Celtic myth, faerie magic, and speculative wonder. 💫 Accepting: • Fantasy, speculative, and horror fiction • Poetry (10–40 lines) • Essays on Celtic or Pagan traditions 💰 Pay: 0.01c/word 🕛 Deadline: Feb 2, 2026
| Adventitious Issue 1 – Paying Market Open Call ✨ Adventitious is seeking stories for Issue 1 that surprise and inspire wonder through voice, character, or plot. Sci-fi, fantasy, surreal, and offbeat realistic tales are all welcome. 📅 Submissions: Dec 1–5, 2025 (or until 200 subs) 💰 Pay: $0.08 USD/word for originals, 1¢/word for reprints 📝 Flash, short stories, and novelettes considered 🔗 Guidelines & details → https://horrortree.com/taking-submissions-adventitious-issue-1/ |
The Phantom Pulse - 2026 Submissions Open 🕯️ The Phantom Pulse is open Jan 1–Feb 14, 2026! Seeking speculative fiction that lingers in the grey corners of humanity - dread that seeps under the skin, strange obsessions, and the beautifully bizarre. 💰 $0.03/word (unpublished) | We’re Here: Best Queer Speculative Fiction 2025 - Submission Call Submit your 2025 queer speculative fiction reprints to WE’RE HERE: The Best Queer Speculative Fiction 2025. Seeking stories under 17,500 words that explore queerness or transness in any speculative genre. 💰 Pay: 1¢ per word 📅 Deadline: Dec 31, 2025 📚 Reprints only - including self-published Full guidelines → |
Nyctalocos: A Collection of Night Terrors – Open for Submissions 🌙 Submit your story to Nyctalocos: A Collection of Night Terrors - an anthology exploring sleep paralysis, nightmares, and the unseen terrors of the night. 💀 Genre: Horror 💰 Pay: $10 per 1K words + contributor copy 🕛 Deadline: February 28, 2026 | Hollow Oak Presents: Acorns – Ongoing Speculative Fiction Call Submit your 1,000–1,500 word speculative short story to Hollow Oak Presents: Acorns. They’re seeking short, punchy fiction with a strong speculative element, especially fantasy, for digital publication. 💵 Payment: $5 per accepted story 🧙♀️ Speculative element required (magic, monsters, or strange realities) Full guidelines → https://horrortree.com/ongoing-submissions-hollow-oak-presents-acorns/
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