Cemetery Gates Media was founded in 2015 by longtime friends John Brhel and Joe Sullivan and focuses on publishing fantasy and supernatural fiction. Cemetery Gates Media is based in Binghamton, New York.
They have published a number of anthologies that seemed to do well, and they have paid all contributors. The anthologies reflect a wide range of work. It’s important to note that the bulk novels and short story collections they’ve published in the past have all been self-publishing endeavors, which is to say they mostly published their own work.
They have excellent covers but they do not mention a print distributor, which usually means they do not have one.
They are currently reading submissions for My Dark Library Novella series, edited by Sadie Hartmann, who also goes by the moniker Mother Horror. They are specifically interested in the following:
- Authors who have found themselves in a genre-trap and are looking for a way to showcase another storytelling voice for a different fanbase.
- In My Dark Library you will find psychological, folk, quiet, supernatural, paranormal, body, found-footage, coming-of-age, spiritual, demonic, occult, cosmic, slasher horror.
- They’re not currently interested in extreme, science-fiction, bizarro, erotic, apocalyptic, creature/cryptid, zombie, eco, comedy horror.
Hartman also states that “I especially love cultural folklore and urban legends from BIPOC, Native American, and LGBTQ voices.” They are considering submissions from February 1st – April 1st 2022. All submissions must be between 25,000-40,000 words. Only submit complete, unpublished manuscripts in Doc or RTF formats. Include a publishing bio and brief synopsis in the body of the email. Simultaneous submissions are allowed, reprints are not. All submissions must be made via email. They are paying a $1,000 advance, with a royalty share of 60% to the author, although they don’t specify if it’s off gross or net. They are looking for five-year exclusive rights in print and digital format, worldwide in the English language. To learn more, go here. To learn more about what they are seeking in terms of formatting, go here. On May 1st they are reopening submissions to their Debut Horror Novel Series. You can learn more about this future call for submissions here; the page also has details of the themed horror fiction anthology they are accepting submissions for, until April 1st.
Emily Harstone is the author of many popular books, including The Authors Publish Guide to Manuscript Submissions, Submit, Publish, Repeat, and The 2022 Guide to Manuscript Publishers.
She regularly teaches three acclaimed courses on writing and publishing at The Writer’s Workshop at Authors Publish. You can follow her on Facebook here.
