UPDATED MARCH 2023: They did not release a book in 2022 as expected, and so I’m tentativly marking them as defunct.
Bad Dream Entertainment is a small press that focuses on publishing dark fiction, horror, science fiction, and humor. They were founded in 2013 by Brett Reistroffer. Early on Reistroffer self-published his first book through the press, and he continues to edit the anthologies they publish, but he has branched out since then to publish full-length work by others.
Bad Dream Entertainment has published five books over all, which is not much of a track record, but it is something. You can view their catalogue here.
They are currently seeking novel and novella-length weird Gothic fiction manuscripts.
This is what they have to say about the call; “We are looking for Gothic stories with weird fiction elements; this umbrella covers a broad range of themes, styles, and subjects as long as it feels decidedly Gothic, especially with strong horror elements (this is Bad Dream Entertainment, after all, not Mild Dream Entertainment). Shelley meets Cronenberg, Radcliffe meets Lovecraft, Poe meets Kafka, Stoker meets VanderMeer. Bizarro, New Weird, Cosmic Horror, and every other sub genre that embraces the strange are welcome. The setting can be period, present, near-future, futuristic, or something else entirely.”
Do not submit anything that does not meet this criteria.
They allow simultaneous submissions, which means work can also be submitted elsewhere, but not multiple submissions, which means you can only submit one manuscript to them.
Instead of an advance they have a different system that is described below.
“Bad Dream Entertainment pays $600-800 (depending on manuscript length) for a six-year exclusivity to the publishing rights plus a percentage on sales; this is not an advance (i.e. a loan paid back through sales), but is a fee for the publishing rights. Rights purchased will be world-wide exclusive in print and digital but for English language only (rights-reversion optional after licensing term). Royalties will be based on gross sales since we operate on a POD distribution model and are usually 20-30% depending on the agreement.”
They are closing to submissions once they find an appropriate manuscript. I will update this review when that happens. They try to respond to all submissions within 2-4 weeks.
Their detailed submission guidelines are available here.
Emily Harstone is the author of many popular books, including The Authors Publish Guide to Manuscript Submissions, Submit, Publish, Repeat, and The 2020 Guide to Manuscript Publishers.
She regularly teaches three acclaimed courses on writing and publishing at The Writer’s Workshop at Authors Publish.
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