10p051: (Split) Scream with us! Volumes 1-3 back in print! Submissions open for Volume 5!
A chill runs up your spine and crawls into your brain, The freezing touch of fear, It's driving me insane, although you tried to fight, You're dragged from the silence where you hide, 'Til you scream
Happy SPLIT SCREAM DAY, Tenebrous Cult!
SPLIT SCREAM Part One: What Has Come Before
After relaunching the SPLIT SCREAM series under the Tenebrous banner last Halloween with Volume Four, the first three volumes of Editor Alex Ebenstein’s acclaimed novelette-anthology series are back in print too; and for those who didn’t experience their Horrors the first time around, we’re (practically) giving them away.
For the next 48 hours, you can get the first three SPLIT SCREAM volumes for ONE BUCK.
You can also get all three volumes in print—together or separate—at more than 20% off.
If you’re just after single volumes, we’ve got you covered:
Buy SPLIT SCREAM Volume One here. Features:
The Guts of Myth – Carson Winter
It’s 1973. British-American thug Byron is tasked with finding the occultist Allosaurus D’Ambrosere, given only handwritten instructions and two hateful associates. Where they’re going, they’ll find blood red skies, obsidian towers, and a deep thirst for violence. But will they find the man who calls himself the Golden King? The Guts of Myth is Weird horror that snaps like hardboiled noir with vistas lifted straight from Beksinski.
The Mourner Across the Flames – Scott J. Moses
The world is a salt-ridden dystopia. Bharath, an exile given to hallucinations, is ordered to escort an emaciated mourner across the barren flats. The journey reveals the existence of a monster, evolved to live in the After among the remaining humans. But which is worse—the monster new to Bharath, or the humans who robbed him of his love? The Mourner Across the Flames is a grief-stricken tale of spiraling delusion held afloat by enduring love.
“SPLIT SCREAM feels like a sleek, bullet-sized iteration of the ACE Doubles I devoured back in the day. Winter and Moses go hard with transdimensional Lovecraftian body horror and far-future Pulp.” - Laird Barron, The Imago Sequence, The Croning
Buy SPLIT SCREAM Volume Two here. Features:
The Shivering World – Cynthia Gómez
Nayeli’s brilliance should be enough to outshine the darkness she longs to leave behind, but she fears she’ll never get further than what her unstable mother can provide: a sofa bed in a garage. She’s determined to transfer to a good college and get out, but the men in her life-a violent neighbor, a greedy landlord, her mother’s predatory boyfriend-stand in her way. Only once she encounters the supernatural, a being she suspects to be La Llorona herself, does Nayeli begin to truly see the power she is capable of. But at what cost? The Shivering World is a Faustian bargain in a place of poverty and gentrification, where supernatural terrors meet the horrors of escaping to a new life.
What Ate the Angels – M. Lopes da Silva
Non-binary ASMR artist November discovers the sound of a giant heartbeat beneath Los Angeles, which only they seem to hear. When their vore-loving partner Heather, a City Hall archivist, grows ill and can’t get the healthcare she needs, they believe they will find a solution through the thrum. November journeys underground, through abandoned Prohibition-era tunnels, to the den of a creature born from the fabric of the city itself: oil, bones, chemicals-and souls. What Ate the Angels is queer body horror full of dread and pulpy, throbbing filth.
“The combined stories are a beautifully organic Latinx experience. Delicious and terrifying and takes you to literal depths you won’t expect.” - V. Castro, The Haunting of Alejandra
Buy SPLIT SCREAM Volume Three here. Features:
So Quiet, So White – Patrick Barb
Roger Grimsby, a small-town curmudgeon known for his ‘80s horror paperback cover art, believes an ancient, bloodthirsty entity with ties to his family may have reemerged. But how does this connect to his wayward grandson, who prying police detectives and grieving parents blame for a recent knife attack massacre at a nearby summer camp? So Quiet, So White is cosmic folk horror that balances the act of creation through destructive forces, with the Grimsby family at the fulcrum. Prepare for bloodshed, and the beauty found within.
Imago Expulsio (The Red Animal of Our Blood) – J.A.W. McCarthy
Shauna’s infatuation with the enigmatic painter she meets at art school escalates into unwavering devotion when she learns about the mercilessly brutal cat and mouse game that has consumed Elise’s life. She vows to protect her, to keep her safe—but how far will she go to keep her promise? A self-portrait vomits viscera and the sinister secrets that lie at the heart of the decadently deranged Imago Expulsio (The Red Animal of Our Blood), where body parts and gore become fine art.
“A real kick in the head, combining the urgency of the short form with the characterization, texture and nuance of longer works. Both authors deserve recognition for the maturity and ingenuity of their writing.” - S.P. Miskowski, I Wish I Was Like You
While we’re thrilled and honored to be the Keepers of the SPLIT SCREAM legacy, we are also eternally restless and looking to the future. Which is why it’s time to open submissions for the next volume!
SPLIT SCREAM Part Two: Submissions are Open Now
From today through the end of January, SPLIT SCREAM editor Alex Ebenstein is open for NOVELETTE submissions!
All the info is here but here are the relevant deets:
Word Count: 10.000 to 20.000
Payment: Modest advance + Industry standard royalties
Reprints: No
Simultaneous Submissions: Yes
Genre: New Weird Horror. Wanna know what that means, and what floats our boat? Read this.
Target Age Group: Mature Audiences
Rights: World English first rights in print, electronic, and ebook, and a three-year exclusivity period. All copyright belongs to the author.
Got a New Weird Horror novelette that’s perfect for us?
Reminder: submissions close on January 31st, wherever the clock strikes last.
MOUTH is Open Wide for Preorders
About MOUTH:
Screenwriter Joshua Hull (Glorious) makes his longform prose debut!
After a stranger leaves him a secluded property, drifter Rusty finds himself the caretaker of a massive, tooth-filled mouth in the ground…and it’s hungry.
His situation is complicated by Abigail, a wannabe filmmaker who stumbles on the secret. Together, the odd pair set out to discover the origins of Mouth and the hidden history of its former owner, setting in motion an outlandish scheme that could endanger them all.
“One of the wildest and strangest stories I’ve read in years. Harrowing, unpredictable, and breathtakingly cinematic, MOUTH is a delicious macabre gem.”
Jonathan Janz, Author of Marla and Children of the Dark
“A fun yet beautifully haunting piece with layers of darkness and light.”
Michael J. Seidlinger, author of Anybody Home?
“Absolutely disturbing and hilariously funny. This is Joshua Hull at his finest. A must for lovers of surreal and weird horror."
Rebekah McKendry, director of Glorious
We’ve got a tease of Kristofor Harris’ phenomenal interior artwork for MOUTH to show off as well:
MOUTH is out March 15th; preorder it now. We’ll have early copies for sale at Scarelastic Book Fair as well, which is a perfect segue to talk about…
THE 2024 TENEBROUS TOUR DATES!
So far we have four conventions lined up this year; there’s always the possibility we’ll add some more—HP Lovecraft Film Festival here in Portland was a great time last year; I’d love to put in actual facetime at Printers Row Lit Fest in Chicago; and I owe a raincheck to BizarroCon, should they choose to host another round—but in the meantime, here’s where you can catch Team Tenebrous this year:
Scarelastic Book Fair is Saturday March 2nd at Scarlet Brewing in McCordsville, Indiana. Joshua Hull, author of MOUTH, is one of the main organizers, and SPLIT SCREAM editor Alex Ebenstein will be in attendance as well!
Ghoulish Book Festival was one of the best shows we’ve attended, in any capacity, so returning there is a no brainer. We’ll be in San Antonio March 15-17.
StokerCon is the big bash of the year; not just in terms of scale, but it’s also the event that lures 10p Editor-in-Chief Alex Woodroe out from her Romanian trappings. We’ll be celebrating Tenebrous New Year—whatever the hell that means— April 30-May 2 in San Diego.
VoidCon - I was bummed to miss this show—and some of my favorite creators in the Indie Horror community—last year. Never again. We’ll be in Huntington, West Virginia, Septemer 27-29, and we’ll find out if we’re CVLT enough to hang with the lunatics there. My guess is…maybe?
That’ll do it for us this week. Happy SPLIT SCREAM DAY to those who celebrate.
Hail Indie Horror.
Hail the Tenebrous Cult.
Hail SPLIT SCREAM.
Matt + Alex + Alex E.