Call for Submissions: Valancourt Book of World Horror Stories, volume 2

We are now accepting submissions for The Valancourt Book of World Horror Stories, volume 2. 

Volume 1 has been receiving excellent reviews from readers and from publications like the Washington Post, Publishers Weekly, Rue Morgue, Library Journal, and more. These books are a great opportunity for horror writers who write in languages other than English (or who write in English in countries with small publishing markets) to gain wide notice and readership for their work. 

The story must be a "horror" story; however, we define this term as broadly as possible to include stories of the occult and/or supernatural, weird fiction, tales of the unsettling, uncanny or macabre, ghost stories, etc.  Stories in adjacent genres, such as dark crime, dark fantasy, or black humor, may also be considered.

Submission Guidelines:

(1) The story must have previously been published (print, ebook, or online) in a language other than English.* We are not looking for self-published material at this time.

(2) In addition, the story must not have previously been published in English.*

* Stories written in English by writers from countries other than US/CA/UK/IRL/AU/NZ will be considered, as long as the story has not previously been published in the United States. (e.g., an English-language writer from Nigeria, India, or Singapore would be eligible).

(3) The story should be 8000 words or fewer. 

(4) If the story is written in one of the following languages, please submit it in its original language (these are all languages we read): French, Spanish, Italian, Catalan, Romanian, Portuguese, Dutch, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic, Afrikaans, or any language substantially similar to these.

(5) If the story is written in some language not listed above, it must be accompanied by a summary/description or translation into English. It is OK if the translation is not of professional/publishable quality: it is only for us to get an idea of what the story is about so that we can decide whether we would like to have a professional translation done.

(6) The deadline for submissions is April 30, 2021, but the earlier a submission is received, the more likely it will be to be chosen.

(7) Preference will be given to stories from countries not already featured in Volume 1, but writers from those countries are still invited to submit and will be considered.

(8) We are committed to diversity in all its forms. Women writers, writers of color, LGBT writers, writers whose work is in a minority indigenous language, writers from countries traditionally under-represented in American publishing, and all other diverse writers are all encouraged to submit.

(9) A fee will be paid for all stories selected. The writer will also receive a copy of the finished book.

(10) The estimated publication date of the book is December 2021.

Submissions should be sent to the editors, James D. Jenkins and Ryan Cagle, at info@valancourtbooks.com. Hard copy materials can be mailed to Valancourt Books, P.O. Box 17642, Richmond, VA 23226, USA. Please note that materials sent to us by post will not be returned.

The Valancourt Book of World Horror Stories limited edition

Our forthcoming The Valancourt Book of World Horror Stories, volume 1 is probably the most ambitious thing we've ever done. We read literally hundreds of stories originally written in close to 20 languages, from around 40 different countries. We chose our favorites, 21 of them, from 18 different countries, originally written in 13 languages. Twenty of the stories are translated into English for the first time ever, while the remaining story was published in English in the Philippines but has never been available in the U.S. or U.K. There's never been an anthology like this one (and that's not just marketing hype!)

For the first time ever, we are producing a deluxe limited edition hardcover. The book will be printed by the same printer used by Centipede Press for their limited hardcovers and will be a high-quality book.

The hardcover edition will be printed on 60# heavyweight paper and bound traditionally (like books used to be) in cloth and Smyth-sewn for durability. The cloth will feature decorative foil stamping, and the book will be dust jacketed. There will be a ribbon bookmark and decorative head and tail bands on the spine. Other bells and whistles may be announced later.

The book will be limited to 300 copies for sale.  Because it's expensive to print small runs of high-quality books, the price will be $60.  However, we are offering them at a special preorder price of $50.

Q.: I live in the U.K. Why is shipping $35, when shipping for one book on your site is normally $3.99 to the U.K.?

All our other books can be printed to order in the U.K. and shipped from there, which makes the shipping cheaper. These books will be printed in the U.S. and shipped from our office in Virginia. The book, plus packing materials, will weigh about 3 lbs (1.5 kg), and the U.S. Postal Service offers no options for economy, surface, or book rate mail -- the books have to be sent Global Priority Rate, and it is expensive. 

Q.: I ordered the paperback edition already but want to switch to the hardcover. How do I do that?

Just send us an email, and we'll be happy to apply the price you already paid for the paperback towards the hardcover edition and send you a Paypal invoice for the difference.

Q.: When will the hardcovers ship?  

The official publication date for the book is Dec. 8, so they will ship by that date, though we hope to have them in the mail sometime in October.

Q.: Will the books be signed?

Sadly, no. It's just not logistically feasible to get twenty authors in eighteen countries to sign them. It wouldn't be easy at any time, and in this age of coronavirus, it might be well nigh impossible. However, they will be individually numbered.

Quarantine Relief Package (updated Apr 1 2020)

While world governments dawdle and fumble in their response to this pandemic, we've got our own relief package to help beat the quarantine blues! (We don't know about you, but the crisis finally hit home for us when they closed the libraries and bookstores.... Empty supermarket shelves we can deal with, but empty bookshelves? Gasp!)

But while we can't cure the coronavirus, we can cure quarantine-induced boredom! 

1) FREE Audiobook Downloads

We've made thousands of FREE audiobook codes available over the past few days. As of this morning, 21 books still had downloads available for U.S. Audible users, while there are over 50 titles available to U.K. Audible users. And our authors still get paid a royalty on your free download, so you're getting great free entertainment AND helping an author! 

See the list here: http://valancourtbooksblog.blogspot.com/2020/02/free-audiobook-downloads.html

2) FREE U.S. Shipping

Even if there is a bookstore out there still open, trust us, you don't want to venture there and risk getting sick. Stay safe inside and let the books come to you instead.  From now through the end of this epidemic, we'll pay the shipping costs to get you the reading material you need.  Applies to U.S. website orders over $15 (does not apply to the 20% off preorder titles).

3) FREE Digital Copy with Order of Print Copy

So far we've not heard of virus-related shipping delays, but it's always a possibility. So, if you order a print copy from our website, you are welcome to email us and request a free MOBI (Kindle) or EPUB version to be emailed to you as well. That way, even if the mail is delayed, you can start reading immediately! (These are sent out manually and we're pretty fast, but there are delays if you order when we're sleeping, for example.)

4) CHEAP E-Books

Every Friday during this pandemic, we'll slash one of our favorite ebook titles to $2.99 for one week only. Applies to orders placed on Amazon or on our website (if ordering on our website, please note that we have to email you the files manually, so there may be a lag time of a couple hours sometimes in receiving them.)

This week's title is Michael McDowell's Southern Gothic classic COLD MOON OVER BABYLON (1980), a chilling supernatural revenge tale recently filmed in a movie version starring Christopher Lloyd. Grab it here: http://www.valancourtbooks.com/cold-moon-over-babylon-1980.html

We also have our regular March monthly $2.99 ebook specials, Gillian Freeman's eerily prescient 1965 novel of the rise to power of a far-right nationalist leader in Britain, THE LEADER, and Paul Binding's moving story of gay love in Spain, HARMONICA'S BRIDEGROOM (which has one of our all-time favorite covers):

5) BOGO Paperbacks

For a limited time, if you purchase the paperback of our first International Series title, Hubert Lampo's eerie Belgian magical realist novel THE COMING OF JOACHIM STILLER (1960), we'll automatically send you Felix Timmerman's collection of macabre Flemish tales INTIMATIONS OF DEATH totally FREE.  Offer available worldwide.

6) A Peek Ahead

And because it's important to have bright things to look forward to in dark times, here's a sneak peek at something we're working hard on. It's difficult to believe, but six months from now this whole mess will likely have blown over, and you'll be able to get your hands on this beauty, which will feature over 20 horror tales from all over the world, from Spain and Italy to Senegal and Ecuador, with all the foreign-language tales appearing in English for the first time. A preorder option and more details are here.