Welcome to The Pitch, a monthly discussion thread of the best speculative fiction on Substack, introduced by the authors themselves!
Whether you’re a reader searching for new worlds or a writer ready to promote your latest piece, this thread is for you! Here’s how it works:
📝 Are you a writer?
Head to the comments and add:
A link to the speculative fiction that will keep your readers up at night (short story, serial chapter, anthology excerpt, essay, etc.).
A 1–2 sentence pitch to hook new readers.
Bonus: Share the inspiration behind the story, a moodboard, the first line, favorite reader tropes. Be creative!
🔖Are you a reader?
Head to the comments:
Browse the comments to discover fresh speculative fiction directly from the authors.
Like the ones that catch your eye.
Leave a comment on a story you enjoyed—it makes a writer’s day and starts great conversations.
Already have a favorite ghost story to fit the theme of this spooky month (on or off Substack)? Leave a comment to drop a rec of your own!
🖖Support the Community
Want to help these stories reach more readers?
Restack. Restack this thread. Restack the stories you are reading. Let fellow Substackers know what you enjoy.
Share it to Reddit, Discord, X, Instagram, Facebook, share it with your mom, uncle, best friend, grandpa, neighbor who weirdly does yardwork at midnight—anywhere speculative fiction lives, let them hear from you.
Your word of mouth holds so much power. The more you share, the more readers will read, the more connections we build. Let’s keep the signal strong.
https://tonymcnichol.substack.com/
Good morning, all...three weeks in to Substack, and beginning to get my bearings; so many talented folks here, and I've read so much great work here in such a short period of time. I invite you to visit my Substack "The Lengthening Shadow", where you will find several short horror/speculative stories that I wrote over the past couple of weeks; the most recent is titled "Fly". Looking forward to reading everyone's work here...! Thanks, Tony
Gautin’s Errand is the story of a young boy entrusted with a sudden burden too great for most men to bear. Born with a crippled leg, and without even understanding his mission, Gautin must carry a package through absolute peril, all to save his family—and his father—who have only ever treated him with contempt.
https://open.substack.com/pub/ericfalden/p/gautins-errand?r=3ecd72&utm_medium=ios