TAINTED GLASS PRESS
An independent publisher of literary horror, gothic, slipstream, and speculative fiction.
There is a moment in every good story when certainty begins to fail. A familiar truth reveals a crack. A comfortable answer no longer explains. What once seemed obvious becomes strange.We are interested in that moment.
TAINTED GLASS PRESS
About the Press
What If We're Wrong?The stories that move us most linger in uncertainty. They concern themselves with questions that resist easy resolution, contradictions that refuse to disappear, and mysteries that remain mysteries even after the final page. We believe fiction is at its most compelling when it approaches the unknown with curiosity rather than certainty.Why Horror?
What If We're Wrong?Why Horror?Because horror is uniquely suited to revelation. A ghost is rarely only a ghost. A monster is rarely only a monster. A haunting, a curse, a lost road, a strange house at the edge of town.These are not destinations. They are ways of seeing. Horror does more than frighten. It exposes. For us, horror is not an end in itself. It is a lens.Stories Are Questions
What If We're Wrong?
Why Horror?Stories Are QuestionsWe are drawn to stories that begin with genuine inquiry. Not stories that arrive bearing conclusions, but stories that investigate. Stories that wonder. Stories that remain curious. A story need not solve the question that inspires it. It need only ask honestly.Publishing
What If We're Wrong?
Why Horror?
Stories Are Questions
PublishingWe believe contributors should share in the value they help create. Our collections are intentionally small, carefully curated, and built through collaboration between writers, artists, editors, and readers. We do not see contributors as content suppliers. We see them as partners in the creation of the work.Stories That Remain
What If We're Wrong?
Why Horror?
Stories Are Questions
PublishingStories That RemainWe believe uncertainty is fertile ground. That curiosity matters. That horror can illuminate as well as unsettle. That stories are capable of asking questions no other form can ask. And that some questions are worth carrying long after the story ends.
Stories are questions. Answers are optional
TAINTED GLASS PRESS
Our Editorial Philosophy
Experience Before ExplanationWe are drawn to fiction that is experiential rather than explanatory. We trust readers with ambiguity. We believe the most meaningful stories invite the reader to inhabit a question rather than observe it from a distance.They do not explain uncertainty. They create the experience of uncertainty. They do not describe obsession. They immerse us within it.A story about grief should not merely discuss grief. One about desire should not merely define desire. One about fear should not merely identify fear. We are interested in fiction that allows meaning to emerge through experience.Clear answers can be satisfying. But certainty often diminishes the value of exploration.
Questions Worth Asking
The Shape of Fear
Collections As Conversations
Experience Before ExplanationQuestions Worth AskingWe believe fiction begins not with answers, but with curiosity. The stories that endure are rarely those that resolve uncertainty. More often, they deepen it, illuminate it, or approach it from an unexpected direction.They leave us carrying something unfinished. A tension. A longing. A possibility. A story need not present a thesis. It need not arrive at a conclusion.It need only concern itself with something worth asking.
The Shape of Fear
Collections As Conversations
Experience Before Explanation
Questions Worth AskingThe Shape of FearFear takes many forms. Sometimes it emerges from uncertainty. Sometimes from recognition. Sometimes from the unbearable weight of understanding.We think of horror not simply as subject matter, but as an experience that moves between these states: the unknown, the understood, and the inescapable.We do not shy away from certain subjects, be they cliches or taboos. We only ask that they be examined in a novel, curious way. In a way that affects us long after we're been subjected to it.Collections As Conversations
Experience Before Explanation
Questions Worth Asking
The Shape of FearCollections As ConversationsEach collection begins with a theme. Themes are not topics. They are invitations. A lens. A premise. A shared question.We are less interested in agreement than engagement. Less interested in consensus than conversation. The goal is not to arrive at a definitive answer. The goal is to explore the territory around the question.
Stories are questions. Answers are optional
TAINTED GLASS PRESS
Submission Guidelines
Before submitting, we encourage contributors to familiarize themselves with our editorial philosophy.
Read Our Philosophy
Current Calls:
General Call: Oct. 1 - Nov. 15
For Fiction
Preferred Length: 2,000–8,000 words
Word count should reflect the story itself, including title, epigraphs, footnotes, end-notes, and any text that forms part of the narrative.We are also accepting submissions of artwork. Specifically cover art, as well as interior artwork.
Author Statement (Required)
Include a brief statement of 50–300 words.
Tell us:
• What question inspired this story?
• What contradiction, uncertainty, fear, longing, obsession, belief, or idea sits at its
center?This will help us determine if your piece aligns with the aims of the press, as well as give insight into your intentions with the piece in the event that we wish to offer feedback.
File Formats
Accepted: DOCXWe do not accept PDF submissions. PDFs are excellent for finished books and terrible for editorial work. They create unnecessary complications during review, editing, and production, and ultimately create headaches for everyone involved, including you.File Naming
CallName.LastNameFirstName.StoryTitleFormatting
• Times New Roman
• 12-point font
• 1.5 line spacing
• 1-inch margins
• Left alignment
• Last Name,Story Title, and Page number in header
Simultaneous Submissions
Simultaneous submissions are welcome. We only ask that you notify us if your piece is accepted elsewhere.
Previously Published Work
We generally prioritize original, unpublished fiction. However, we will consider reprints on a case-by-case basis.
Artificial Intelligence
We are interested in work created through human authorship.
Before You SubmitAsk yourself:
• What question inspired your piece?
• Why does that question matter to you?
• What compelled you to explore it?If you can answer those questions, we'd like to read your work.
Rights and CompensationDownload Publishing Agreement
Download Compensation Schedule