Submissions open for Beautiful and Terrifying: Tales and Visions from the Edge of the Uncanny

There’s beauty in the things that unnerve us. Beautiful and Terrifying is the next anthology from Elderfly Press—an exploration of the eerie, the intimate, and the in-between. Submissions are now open for short stories, poetry, and black-and-white art that linger in the shadows of the strange and the sublime.

This collection seeks work that blurs boundaries—between beauty and fear, humanity and monstrosity, love and decay. We’re drawn to dark, literary narratives and haunting imagery that leave readers with a sense of wonder and unease. Not every story needs to fit neatly into horror or realism; the best pieces often live in the uncanny space between.

What Elderfly Press is looking for:

This anthology invites a wide range of voices and forms with themes of transformation, obsession, decay, beauty, violence, or the supernatural:

• Genre fiction: horror, speculative, gothic, dystopian, weird, sci-fi, supernatural—anything that chills, disturbs, or unsettles
• Literary fiction: moody, shadowed, emotionally raw
• Poetry: rooted in chaos, shadow, or change
• Visual art: black-and-white art that captures the eerie, surreal, or dreamlike

Submission guidelines

• Short stories: 1,000–5,000 words
• Poetry: up to 5 poems (1–3 pages each)
• Black-and-white art: up to 5 pieces; JPG or PNG; 300dpi preferred

Send original, unpublished work. Simultaneous submissions are fine—just notify Elderfly if your piece is accepted elsewhere.

Deadline: March 15, 2026
Compensation: A free digital copy, discounted print copy, and promotional support
Rights: First World English Rights and non-exclusive anthology rights—contributors retain ownership of their work

To submit

Email your submission to submissions@elderflybooks.com
Subject line: Beautiful and Terrifying Submission – [Your Name]

Include:

• A brief cover letter (name, bio up to 50 words, and social links if you’d like)
• Your submission as a DOCX, PDF, or JPG/PNG file
• If submitting multiple pieces, attach them as a single file

Questions? Email info@elderflybooks.com

Elderfly Press publishes dark, literary works that explore the beautiful and the unsettling. Our anthologies feature fiction, poetry, and art that challenge, disturb, and linger long after the final page. Proceeds from these projects help fund the future brick-and-mortar home of Elderfly Books & Gifts in central Illinois.

Now available in print and on Kindle!

Now that Jack has been forced to reflect on everything he has to lose, he resolves to do better. He’s determined to spend more time at home with his family and repair the relationships that have suffered over the years while he’s been so focused on work. But as Callie’s behavior becomes increasingly bizarre, Jack realizes he has a lot more room to improve than he realized – and it might be too late to save his daughter after all.

For fans of We Need to Talk About Kevin, The Push, and Baby Teeth.