Sobelo Books announces a cosmic horror novella call for BIPOC authors.

BIPOC is generally intended to reflect people whose ethnicities or racial groups include: Black, Indigenous or Native American, Latino/a, Asian & Pacific Islander. If your ethnicity or racial group is not the majority in the country in which this novella will be published, the United States, this means you!

Why are we doing this?

To us, there is a difference between placing a welcome mat on the porch and opening the door. Sobelo Books is opening the door. Les and Lucas are on the couch, waiting for you. Don’t worry, there’s room between us. And don’t mind the dog, he’ll only bite if he doesn’t trust you or really wants to. We want to read the story only you can tell and are excited at the diverse perspectives this call will bring.

Why cosmic horror?

There’s more room in the horror sandbox than ever before, but there are some underexplored corners of it. Claim your corner. Plant your flag. What does cosmic horror mean for a person of color? Again, this is the story only you can tell.

How will this call work?

By HWA definition, a novella (long fiction by Stoker category) is less than 40K words. Whether you reach that word count or get close, it’s a significant investment of time and creativity.

• For this call, we want to see 2.5K words of your story. This could be a short story version of your novella or a chapter of it.

• In addition to this, we want your outline of the story. This will give us a sense of your voice and writing skill as well as an understanding of the journey.

The call opens 1 March and will close 31 March 2025.

• Email your submission, both the story or chapter and your outline, to Les@sobelobooks.com and Lucas@sobelobooks.com.

• Please include “BIPOC Cosmic” and your story title in the subject line.

• If you have questions prior to the submission window, email either Les or Lucas. We do not have a set number of submissions we will accept.

What does it pay?

If accepted, Sobelo Books will pay an advance of $500. Royalties are comparable to other reputable indie horror presses. Cover art, editing, and formatting are all paid for by Sobelo Books.

Finally, we do not consider ourselves publishers only. We are partners and collaborators. Our hope is to elevate your vision to its highest heights.

If this call is not for you please consider sharing!

Les & Lucas,
Cofounders, Sobelo Books LLC