Denver Horror Collective is seeking submissions for a Science Fiction Horror anthology: SINISTER SYSTEMS. Send us your stories of first contact gone wrong, the bio weapon that escapes containment, or an AI bleeding into the real world with disastrous results. We’re looking for mad science (Resident Evil), cosmic horror (Event Horizon), incomprehensible alien life (Annihilation), and more.

What we’re NOT looking for:

Please no heavy-handed politics. Politics can be part of the story, but it shouldn’t be the main theme. We want a strong speculative element, and make it scary!

No depictions of sexual assault, child abuse, or animal cruelty. These topics can be dealt with, but only if they happen ‘off-screen.’

We’re looking primarily for sci-fi horror; the following may be considered, but will be a hard sell: steampunk/dieselpunk/solarpunk, slipstream, alternate history, space fantasy.

If we suspect you have used generative AI or plagiarized any of the story, it will be instantly rejected.

The details:

1.5k-6k words length – hard limit

Submit stories as a Word Doc – .doc or .docx or .rtf

Please use the Modern Manuscript format:

• 12 point, easily readable font
• Double spaced lines
• 1″ margins

Simultaneous submissions are acceptable, but please let us know as soon as possible if your story is accepted elsewhere. No reprints for this anthology.

Please, no personal information on your document; include that information in the email only. Subject line should be written as: [Title] – [Author’s Last Name]

Send submissions to submissions@denverhorror.com

Submissions open from 1/12/26 – 2/13/26

For accepted stories, payment is ten dollars ($10) for the first 1,000 words, then a half (1/2) cent per word up to 6,000 words.