Guidelines.

You must be 18 years or older to submit to Ink Bleeds Press. We cannot consider work from authors under 18, and by submitting you confirm that you meet this age requirement.

Literary horror is horror written with the care of literary fiction. It cares about character, voice, language, and meaning as much as it cares about fear. The dread comes from what the story reveals about people: grief, guilt, obsession, isolation, the body, the past that won’t stay buried. It lingers because it means something, not because it shocks.

Literary horror is the heart of everything we do at Ink Bleeds Press. Every piece we publish should be both well crafted and genuinely unsettling.

We want literary horror with teeth. Strange and weird fiction soaked in dread and psychological weight. Dark stories that linger after the last line. Poetry that unsettles. Art that makes us look twice, then look away. We love work that is atmospheric, unsettling, and written with care.

Literary and weird are just as important to us as horror. But even weird fiction must carry horror elements: dread, menace, wrongness, or fear. Strange for its own sake, without darkness, isn’t a fit.

• Overtly sexual material written just to shock, where the sexuality serves no purpose in the story.
• Senseless, tropey, or gratuitous violence with no purpose beyond gore. Visceral elements, violence, and gore are welcome when refined and earned, but they must have clear narrative purpose, weird and literary craft must dominate the horror, never shock value for its own sake.
• Horror that relies only on clichés, cheap jump-scares, or formula instead of craft.

• Flash Fiction: 100 to 1,000 words
• Short Stories: up to 2,000 words
• Poetry: up to 3 pieces
• Visual Art: up to 3 pieces
• For longer stories, please reach out to the editing team with a story synopsis and word length for consideration. Longer works should be exceptional, and must still follow our edit and polish guidelines.

• Submit through the submission portal on our submissions page, in response to an open call.
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• Fiction and poetry: .docx (preferred) or .pdf, double spaced, with your name, title, and word count on the first page
• Art: image files, with your name, title, and a short description if you like
• Select the category and enter your work’s title in the submission form.
• Include a bio of up to 100 words. Feel free to add any plugs you’d like to share, such as your website, socials, or other published work.

AI is only allowed for editing purposes. The prose, the poetry, the art, and the ideas must be the author’s own. Work generated by AI will be rejected.

We do not support plagiarism of any kind. Due to the growing virulence of plagiarism, every piece with potential for publication will go through a plagiarism check. All writing, poetry, and art must be your own original work. Plagiarized submissions will be disqualified, and may bar the author from future consideration.

• Expect a response within 4 weeks. Ink Bleeds Press is a one-person operation; thank you for your patience. If you haven’t heard back after 30 days, feel free to send us a polite nudge.
• Simultaneous submissions are welcome, but please let us know right away if your work is accepted somewhere else.
• We generally do not accept reprints unless we ask for them.

• We ask for exclusive first publishing rights, plus the right to archive your work digitally.
• You will be credited as the author of your work.
• Copyright and ownership stay with you.
• Once your work has appeared in Ink Bleeds Press, you are free to publish it elsewhere.
• If your work is published again, we ask that you mention Ink Bleeds Press as the original publisher.
• By submitting, you agree to allow editorial changes of formatting and small changes in prose as the editors see necessary.

Payment is a digital copy of the zine and our undying gratitude. Ink Bleeds Press is a small operation funded out of the editor’s pocket. We hope to grow to the point where we can offer financial payment to our writers and artists.

Each call lists its own deadline. We may close a call early if we receive enough work to fill the issue, so don’t wait until the last minute.

• Read the call you’re submitting to and follow its word counts and theme.
• Edit before you submit. Submissions must be publish-ready to the best of your ability. Proofread and edit your work for spelling, grammar, and formatting before sending it. Send your final, polished draft, not a first draft. Work that clearly hasn’t been self-edited may be declined without further review.
• Make sure the work is yours and has not been generated by AI.
• Include your name, title, word count, and bio.