The Butterfly Effect: An Anthology of Broken Wings

Butterfly Charity Anthology

 

Make a choice. What you'll decide will change the outcome of the story. Even the smallest action can have the biggest consequence.

 

The Butterfly Effect: wherein a small change in starting conditions can lead to vastly different outcomes. It evokes the idea that a small butterfly flapping its wings could, hypothetically, cause a typhoon.

 

We're looking for horror stories that reflect this theme. What if the murderer kills your friend instead of you? What happens after with the life you weren't supposed to have? What if you pick a horror book over another and end up inside the story? How will you survive if you haven't read the end? What if you take the bus rather than walk home? What if?

 

Think The Cabin in the Woods when a monster item is chosen. Look at Until Dawn or any of the other The Dark Pictures Anthology games — what happens if you turn right to follow the pleading voice or turn left to rejoin the group? Or even Life is Strange which isn't horror...but could be.

 

We’ve seen a lot of really great takes on the concept of the “butterfly effect” in horror, and now we want to see YOUR take! We're open to all sub-genres of horror so be creative with it!
 

SUBMISSION WINDOW:

 

August 6th - September 30th

 

WORDCOUNT:

 

1k-5k 

 

PAYMENT:

 

This is a charity anthology. All contributors will receive a contributor package with the physical book and a few other goodies. (Yes, this includes international acceptances!) All proceeds go to Butterfly Wonderland! This is an organization that funds education, conservation, and the care of butterflies! Did you know that many butterfly species are almost extinct? The Monarch is but one that is on the endangered list. Help us raise money to save some of our most beautiful pollinators. Find more information about Butterfly Wonderland here: https://butterflywonderland.com/foundation2/

 

 

WHAT THEY'RE SEEKING:

 

We are seeking stories that make us question reality. How big of an impact can one thing make? How does a decision affect all reality? We want stories that push the boundaries of this concept and really make us second guess what thing reflects in another. 

 

PLEASE DON'T SEND:

 

• Stories that are not horror

• Stories that do not reflect the theme of the butterfly effect (This means the story must cohesively express the use of this theme)

• Nothing racist/sexist/homophobic/transphobic/etc. Bigoted characters are fine (we’d love to see a few of those get eaten) but we won’t be accepting stories with harmful takeaways.

• This should go without saying, but we’re going to say it, NO AI GENERATED STORIES. We will blacklist you if you submit a story that you did not write.

 

REPRINTS: [YES/NO]

 

SIMULTANEOUS SUBMISSIONS: [YES/NO]

 

We are allowing simultaneous submissions BUT please include a note if it is being considered elsewhere, and please let us know as soon as possible if you have a piece accepted elsewhere or otherwise need to withdraw it from consideration.

 

MULTIPLE SUBMISSIONS: [YES/NO]

 

A total story count has not yet been decided for this call.

 

We’ll read up to three stories from a single writer, but will not be accepting more than one piece per author. Please submit all your pieces in the same email if submitting multiples.

 

EXTRA INFORMATION:

 

We are accepting stories from all voices. We are not interested in excluding any voices based on sex, gender, orientation, or background. 

 

We also won’t be giving preferential treatment to established writers. We will be looking only at the quality and thematic relevance of the stories. As such, we welcome and encourage submissions from writers with few or no publication credits.

 

Please note, this project will not be released until 2025. 

 

FORMATTING GUIDELINES:

 

We ask that you put the title of the piece and your name/pen name as the subject line and at the top so we can easily track submissions. 

 

Please keep documents plain, including no headers or page numbers. All of those things will be done in the editing and formatting stage. 

 

We ask that you keep fiction in a .doc or .docx file. 

 

If there is something else you think we might be interested in that we have not listed, or you have other questions, please feel free to query.

 

Please note, anything submitted not meeting these requests will be ignored. It makes it increasingly difficult as one person to manage stories when the details of the call are ignored.

 

SUBMITTING:

 

All submissions should be sent to [voicesfromthemausoleum@gmail.com]

 

We are not super picky about cover letters, which can be addressed to Angel, Editors, etc. We do however ask that you follow the guidelines listed below to help us keep track of your submission:

 

• Please email us with the subject SUBMISSION: [Title] – Author Name - Word Count
  (Example: SUBMISSION: The Flapping of Wings - Angel Krause - 2,578)

• Include your cover letter in the body of the email with any information you’d like us to know about you, your piece, relevant trigger warnings, etc. This should include author bio and any socials you’d like included if your story is selected.

• Please remember to tell us if what you’re submitting is a simultaneous submission.

• Don’t forget to attach your work as a .doc or .docx file, along with a short, third person author bio.

 

Please note, anything submitted not meeting these requests will be ignored. It makes it increasingly difficult as one person to manage stories when the details of the call are ignored.

 

ESTIMATED RESPONSE TIME:

 

You will receive a “received” email confirming your submission was received and accepted for consideration within 48 hours. If you do not receive a note and you are certain you submitted based on the requirements, feel free to email or DM Angel from Voices or Lauren Carter. 

 

We will not be sending any acceptances/rejections until after the submission window has closed. (Unless a submission doesn't follow guidelines for this call.)

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RIGHTS REQUESTED:

 

We ask for Worldwide First Publication Rights, and 6 Month Exclusivity following the publication of the anthology. Exceptions will be made for “Best of” considerations upon request if the anthology is credited as the initial publisher.