Now Accepting Short Comics!!

Short Comic Submission Guidelines
All comics must be ready to print. We cannot accept scripts, sketches, or proposals. Comics must tell a complete story. Though there is no specific length, ideally, we are looking for comics 15 pages or less. Please email all comics as a JPG file. Comics must be clear and readable in a digital format.

To get a taste of what we publish, visit our Web site.

Why submit?

I answer "life's most difficult calls."

I'm a call specialist which primarily consists of answering phones for funeral homes. Perfect for a horror writer/editor, right? For the sake of this blog: "Hells to the yeah!"

Three days a week I sit in a near-windowless cement block in a suburb of Philly. Our cubicles are diced like a Rubix cube that had just fallen to his doom from the top of the Eiffel Tower. My soul is connected to a headset, it's cord crawling around a Mac the size of a baby elephant. And I talk to widow's who just want to pick up their husband's ashes. Did I mention he died three years ago? It really isn't that bad, but that isn't how I want to be remembered.

J.K. Rowling said that she'd like to be remembered as the girl who did her best with the talent she has. Good answer, Jo! This is where you come in:

I don't care what anyone says: everyone has at least one talent. Maybe you can make a mean grilled cheese sandwich or write a Best Selling novel. Perhaps you make a mean grilled cheese sandwich while writing that novel! Whatever it is, you're talented. And if you're an artist you have to share your work. It should be a law.

How else are you going to be recognized if you don't put your work out there? When your story is published or your art piece is printed anywhere, you just left a legacy. You are forever archived and when humans are nothing more than babbling, technological fools hovering in their metallic Lazy Boy hooked up to oxygen, you will still have a place on earth.

And, although I'm not sure if it's scientifically proven, getting published boosts your confidence. I know when I see my name in print I gleam. Someone thought my work was good enough to be showcased!

So do it.

I dare you. Take a swig of Tainted Tea and live forever.

Tainted Tea Needs Artists

Tainted Tea is looking for graphic artists. We need help with posters, stickers, and maybe Web site design.

Email us at TaintedTea.Editors@gmail.com

Stay tuned: Tainted Tea's Web site!!! Coming soon.

Tainted Tea is here for all fans of the macabre, not just writers.

While we're setting up our Web site, this blog is intended to keep us seeping into your mind. We hope our blog posts keep your hearts thumping and your foreheads sweating.

Inaugural issue is set for press this Fall, '09. Keep your work coming. In case you've missed them, here are the submission guidelines and a rough idea of the type of fiction that chokes our chicken.

Just a Friendly Reminder

Tainted Tea needs you! Remember, we accept work on a rolling submission basis, so feel free to email your stories, poetry, or art at any time. We love reading and looking at art work.

Here's a rough idea of what we're looking for. But feel free to submit any type of story, poem or artwork that evokes a sense of fear, shock, or horror, or all of the above.

We're also happy to answer any questions you have, so send them over to TaintedTea.Editors@gmail.com

Please see our Submission Guidelines for more info.

What Type of Story Are You Writng?

Allow me to reiterate: "horror is an emotion." Sure there are other writing elements thrown in such as plot, character and short sentences (this helps with your stories pace), but the core of it all is the emotional aspect.

Yet, within the horror genre there are sub-genres. In the article "What Type of Book Are You Writing?" from the magazine Writing Basics, author Michael J.Vaughn breaks down genres such as romance and Sci-Fi/Fantasy, but most importantly: Horror.

Here are a few types of sub-genres Vaughn mentions that the editors of Tainted Tea particularly get hot for:

• Comic Horror: horror stories that wither spoof horror conventions or that mix gore with dark humor.

• Fabulist: derived from "fable," an ancient tradition in which objects, animals or forces of nature are anthropomorphized in order to deliver a moral lesson.

• Hauntings: a classic form centering on possession by ghosts, demons or poltergeists, particularly of some sort of structure.

• Quiet Horror: subtly written horror that uses atmosphere and mood, rather than graphic description, to create fear and suspense.

• Weird Tales: inspired by the magazine of the same name, a more traditional form featuring strange and uncanny events ("Twilight Zone").
  

• Zombie: tales featuring dead people who return to commit mayhem on the living.

We've mentioned before that we are open to considering any and all horror, so don't be shy. Show us what you've got. Didn't your mother tell you to share? You wouldn't want to disappoint Mama, would you?

When to submit

Tainted Tea accepts work on a rolling submission basis. We read all year round. If you're willing to submit, we're more than willing to read. Thanks for your interest.

For complete submission guidelines visit our previous blog post. We'd also like to remind you that as time goes on, the editors may change the submission guidelines, so please sure to reread the posts before submitting work.

In the mean time, read this:

"The Professor's Teddy Bear" by Theodore Sturgeon (in Masterpieces of Terror and the Supernatural Selected by Marvin Kaye).

Submission Guidelines

Tainted Tea accepts short stories, narrative poetry, and all forms of printed art. Though we know horror isn't all monsters chasing large-breasted women, submissions must evoke fear, shock, or tension.

Please, no novels. Or Twilights.

Tainted Tea also accepts horror movie reviews.

All work must be original and created by the writer/artist. We will accept work that has been previously published as long as the creator owns the rights.

Please email all submissions to TaintedTea.Editors@gmail.com The editors are Kris Fossett and Shane R. Toogood.

Short Story Guidelines
Though there is no specific length, we would prefer short stories under 10 pages (approximately 2,500 words), double-spaced, in a professionally accepted font. Stories must be sent as either a DOC or RTF file. Please include: your name or pseudonym, the title, and the number of words on the first page of the story. On each page of the story, include your name or pseudonym and the page number.

Narrative Poetry Guidelines
Poems must tell a story, with a beginning, middle, and end. As with the short stories, there is no specific length, but we would prefer all narrative poems under 10 pages (approximately 2,500 words), double-spaced, in a professionally accepted font. Poems must be sent as either a DOC or RTF file. Please include: your name of pseudonym, the title, and the number of words on the first page of the poem. On each page of the poem, include your name or pseudonym and the page number.

Printed Art Guidelines
All images must be emailed as either a JPEG or PDF file, with 72 to 150 dpi. We accept everything to photographs to paintings to collages, as long as we can print it online. Please include your name or pseudonym and the title of your work with your email.

Movie Review Guidelines
We accept reviews on obscure, campy horror movies, like Dead Alive, Pinocchio's Revenge, or Blood Freak. Please keep all reviews between 250-500 words, double-spaced, in a professionally accepted font. Please include: your name or pseudonym, the title of the movie, and the number of words with your review.

Simultaneous Submissions
We do not want any writer or artist to miss an opportunity. Therefore, we accept simultaneous submissions.

Response Time
Depending on the amount of work we receive, our response time can vary between three to ten weeks.

Writer/Artist Compensation
Unfortunately, we can't offer monetary compensation for writers/artists at this time. But what we can offer is a beautiful byline.

"Nothing stinks like a pile of unpublished writing."
~Sylvia Plath

In Summary...

Over the last few blog posts, we here at Tainted Tea have made many decisions on the content we are accepting for our new literary magazine. So, here it is, in one handy blog post:

Tainted Tea is a horror literary magazine brought to you by Shane R. Toogood and Kris Fossett's company, SHAKE Publishing.

We are looking for:

• Short stories
• Photographs
• Paintings
• Sketches
• Collages
• Actually, any sort of art we can print
  
• Narrative poetry
• Movie Reviews

See our previous post on submission guidelines. There will be an updated submission guidelines post soon.

Please, email all submissions at TaintedTea.Editors@gmail.com. If you have any questions about the magazine, writing, art, or anything, feel free to contact us.

What did the mummy director say at the end of the movie?

"THAT'S A WRAP!"




We failed to mention that we also love movies, so send us your reviews. The more obscure the better--think Pinocchio's Revenge:



Movie Review Guidelines
Since we only publish quarterly, we expect that the movie reviews will not be timely, but that's okay! Send reviews on the past and present between 250-500 words. Refer to previous post on submission guidelines for short stories.

"Thrilled me--filled me with fantastic terrors never felt before"

Now accepting narrative poetry!

Please see previous post for submission guidelines, and try to keep all poems under 10 pages. (Editor's note: We cannot read nor publish the next Rime of the Ancient Mariner.)

Content Needed for First Issue

To all horror writers and artists: Tainted Tea needs your work. Lack of publishing experience is not an issue. We are looking for new talent, and we want our magazine to be one of your first bylines.

Please see previous post for our submission guidelines. Be sure to email your work to TaintedTea.Editors@gmail.com

Submission Guidelines

Submission Guidelines

Tainted Tea accepts short stories, narrative poetry, and all forms of printed art. Though we know horror isn't all monsters chasing large-breasted women, submissions must evoke fear, shock, or tension.

Please, no novels. Or Twilights.

Tainted Tea also accepts horror movie reviews.

All work must be original and created by the writer/artist. We will accept work that has been previously published as long as the creator owns the rights.

Please email all submissions to TaintedTea.Editors@gmail.com.

Short Story Guidelines
Though there is no specific length, we would prefer short stories under 10 pages (approximately 2,500 words), double-spaced, in a professionally accepted font. Please include: your name or pseudonym, the title, and the number of words on the first page of the story. On each page of the story, include your name or pseudonym and the page number.

Narrative Poetry Guidelines
Poems must tell a story, with a beginning, middle, and end.  As with the short stories, there is no specific length, but we would prefer all narrative poems under 10 pages (approximately 2,500 words), double-spaced, in a professionally accepted font. Please include: your name of pseudonym, the title, and the number of words on the first page of the poem. On each page of the poem, include your name or pseudonym and the page number.

Printed Art Guidelines
All images must be emailed as either a JPEG or PDF file, with 72 to 150 dpi. We accept everything from photographs to paintings to collages as long as we can print it online. Please include your name or pseudonym and the title of your work with your email.

Movie Review Guidelines
We accept reviews on all horror films. As we are published quarterly, there is no need for timeliness. However, we do love obscure, campy horror movies, like The Evil Dead, Zombie Strippers or Plan 9 from Outer Space. Please keep all reviews between 250-500 words, double-spaced, in a professionally accepted font. Please include: your name or pseudonym, the title of the movie, and the number of words with your review.

Simultaneous Submissions
We do not want any writer or artist to miss an opportunity. Therefore, we accept simultaneous submissions.

Response Time
Depending on the amount of work we receive, our response time can vary, but usually we respond between three to ten weeks.

Writer/Artist Compensation
Unfortunately, we can't offer any compensation for writers/artists at this time. But what we can offer is a beautiful byline and bragging rights.

Rights
Tainted Tea publishes First North American Serial Rights. However, the writer/artist's work will remain in the archives online for purchase.

"Nothing stinks like a pile of unpublished writing."
~Sylvia Plath