Submission Guidelines
Fiction
Crime and Suspense publishes stories in the crime, suspense, and thriller genres. We are especially interested in mysteries and detective stories. We love hard-boiled and noir. Other genres we consider include horror, espionage, and action/adventure. Please review some of our past issues to get an idea of what we publish.
Violence, profanity, and explicit content are acceptable as long as it is not gratuitous. Don't be obscene for mere shock value. It's unlikely to either shock or impress us.
Our preferred length is between 2,000 and 6,000 words, but we will consider flash fiction as short as 500 words and longer stories up to 10,000 words.
Email your manuscript as an attachment in .doc, .docx, or .rtf format. Double-space text and use 1" margins. The top of the first page should have your real name and email address, followed by the title of your story and your name as you would like it to appear in publication. The subject line of your email should contain the word "Submission" and the title of your story. Include a short bio in the body of the email. If your story is accepted, you have the option of sending a photo to include with your bio.
Crime and Suspense buys first serial publication rights for the ebook and first online publication rights for the web site. The story must be exclusive to us and cannot be published elsewhere for at least six months. We may also offer to purchase rights to republish the story in an annual print anthology. The author retains all other copyrights.
Payment varies, but is typically between $5 and $10, depending on length. Authors get paid by check or PayPal upon publication.
Send your submission to submissions@crimeandsuspense.com.
Images
Crime and Suspense buys photographs and illustrations to use as cover art and to accompany stories. Artists can submit their original work to submissions@crimeandsuspense.com with the subject line "Image Submission."
Video
If you are interested in submitting a video, please send your query to submissions@crimeandsuspense.com with the subject line containing "Video Submission" and the title of your film. Include a link to a clip or trailer if possible. We consider both short and feature-length films for online distribution.