Welcome to Round 5 of the Lunar Awards: Horror
The Lunar Awards is a yearlong event broken into six rounds focusing on three genres (Fantasy, Horror, and Science Fiction). At the end of the year, we’ll publish the winning stories in a physical book.
My name is Shaina Read, author of Kindling, admin at
Macabre Monday, and I’m your Horror Ambassador for the Lunar Awards.
Please read this post in its entirety before submitting a story. Any entries that do not follow the guidelines will not be accepted.
Your participation and stories make this event possible. Thanks for giving the Lunar Awards a chance. We wish you the best of luck! And please comment or DM us with any questions.
Your Judge: Keith Long of Loser’s Fiction
Hello everyone, I’m Keith and I’m very excited to judge this round of horror stories for the Lunar Awards. You may or may not have seen my little hand around here on Substack. I’m a writer of all sorts of things, yet I continue to find myself pulled in the direction of telling horror stories. Fear, grief, pain, loss, unease, unknowns — all of these things are universal and get at one aspect of what it means to be human.
Horror takes us deep into the unlit spaces of our very selves, a flight of backless stairs descending into a void, down, off and away into a nothing which you know intellectually is empty, yet a part of you still sharpens its awareness, scans the impossible dark as if something could be there, hiding.
This is how horror works and why it is so powerful. It’s a collaboration between writer and reader, where the author uses the mind of the reader against them. When done well, horror can leave an impression like nothing else — it unsettles the dust on childhood knowledge, that here in the dark, the rules are different. You should tread lightly, because what you knew intellectually gets superseded by that childhood knowledge. So give me your best horror, make me feel that sharpening awareness, that tensing up, and take away my certainty.
Season 11 | Round 5 Details
Please read the FAQ for complete rules and word limits. If you have questions, ask in the comments.
Horror includes any of its subgenres: Historical, Supernatural, Gothic, Psychological, Slasher, Body, Monster, Cosmic (Lovecraftian), Folk, Survival, Sci-Fi, Campy, Post-Apocalyptic. Your story will be considered as long as it heavily features Horror elements.
Round 5 Schedule
September 20 - Open call for submissions.
October 1 - Submissions close, judging begins.
October 26 - Winner and runner-up announced.
Prizes
The winner will receive a permanent link on the Past Winners page.
The winner and runner-up will be offered a publication contract to be featured in the Lunar Awards next anthology.
Featured authors in the anthology will receive a copy of the book after publication.
For entry
Submit your story here:
Or copy/paste this link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1U70SCqobwX6bhgycCtdgbg_KZAMz0zr4HgUvDuz6-H4/edit?ts=6ab0805d
How do the awards work?
A writer subscribes to the Lunar Awards and is notified via a post when a new round starts.
The writer reads the rules, selects a story that fits the genre or theme, removes any attributable information (e.g., author name, website, Substack links), and submits the story via the round’s form.
A round lasts roughly 37 days (10 days for submissions and 27 days for judging). When it ends, subscribers receive a post identifying the winner and the runner-up.
What are the general award entry rules?
It must be written in English.
It must be a .docx or .pdf file format.
It must be speculative (Science Fiction, Fantasy, or Horror).
Only one submission per writer per round is allowed.
A submission will only be considered once. Do not resubmit the same short story over multiple rounds, even if it has been edited.
A comment on the round’s post does not have to accompany your form submission during the submission period. But you may add one if you desire.
The previous round winner of any genre is not eligible to participate in the following rounds for that season.
What are the Short Story category award entry rules?
It must be between 1000–10,000 words. Word count limitations are necessary to maintain fairness.
It must be a short story. Micro fiction, flash fiction, novellas, novelettes, novels, or serials will not be accepted.
Choose-your-own-adventure or interactive fiction will not be eligible.
You must own the rights to your story.
It can be published on Substack on any date. It doesn’t have to be published during the submission timeframe for the round.
It must be standalone (no serials or parts), but it can be a part of an anthology or a shared universe.
It must match the current round’s genre.
What is a Short Story?
A great short story makes a promise at the start and makes good on that promise by the end. Don’t leave the reader hanging. You can use an even balance of character, plot, and setting, or you can lean heavily into any of those. Avoid familiar tropes, but don’t be afraid to explore common themes from a fresh perspective. It should be polished to the best of your ability. Editorial control over the entire piece is essential – you know what to leave and what to cut. However, it will not be rejected for a few spelling mistakes.
Images are not allowed.
What is Speculative Fiction?
Speculative is the broad range of genres encompassing Science Fiction and Fantasy, including hard science fiction, fables, sword and sorcery, creature features, space opera, time travel, low fantasy, magic realism, etc. There are too many sub-genres to name them all. Dark speculative is allowed, which may cross over into Horror.
The subject matter is left to the author’s imagination.
Do I have to subscribe to the Lunar Awards to be considered?
Yes. The winner will be announced here before an author is contacted directly. This will also be the central location to announce future seasons, essays, reviews, and interviews.
Is there a reading or award entry fee?
Never!
Are AI submissions allowed?
Absolutely not. If you have to ask how much or how little AI can be used to write the story, you should not submit it for consideration.
What are the judging criteria?
In short, the Lunar Awards look at:
Genre suitability
Mastery of storytelling
Originality
Editorial control
Discrimination Policy:
The Lunar Awards doesn’t discriminate or give preferential treatment. Decisions are made purely on the merits outlined in the judging criteria. Personal bios of any kind should not be included in the comments or submissions. Anyone who wants to know more about you can visit your Substack. Credentials are not necessary. The number of publication subscribers, comments, and likes on a short story doesn’t matter. The goal is to find and award the absolute best speculative fiction on Substack.
Why only a 10-day round for each genre?
It limits the number of entries, and having only one genre per round allows writers to compete against their peers.
Is there an actual award?
The winning submission will be permanently linked on the Past Winners page. The submission and author will also be featured in a spotlight post.
Winning and runner-up writers will be offered a publishing contract to be included in the official Lunar Awards annual anthology.
Submit your story here:
Or copy/paste this link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1U70SCqobwX6bhgycCtdgbg_KZAMz0zr4HgUvDuz6-H4/edit?ts=6ab0805d
Just submitted my contribution to this competition.
I love reading and writing all three genres this contest covers, but I have to confess that horror is my favorite for short stories. I'm thrilled to be taking part in this contest again. Good luck to all the authors who enter.