Alexandra Murphy

I’m looking for stories that expand readers’ expectations of what horror can achieve, especially emotionally. I love stories that are analogous to real-world fears and terrors; explore cultures and perspectives from around the world; take risks and experiment with genre/form; and/or blend in other genres in inventive ways, so long as the horror is still at the forefront. I am particularly interested in creators and stories from LGBTQ+, BIPOC, disability, and other marginalized communities.

Favorite Subgenres

• Cosmic Horror (give me that weird, dark, existential dread; forbidden knowledge; not every creepy thing needs an answer; charming cults and ancient beings; the realization that our life is just a blink… whether that be a disappointing or marvelous revelation)
• Comedic Horror (nothing is so satisfying as feeling uncomfortable and dark and horrific, all while holding back laughter; is the humor morbid, dry, or downright absurd? All the better!)
• Social Horror (I want to see our ugly hidden truths turned outside and exaggerated so grotesquely, we couldn’t ignore them if we tried)
• Folk Horror (give me isolated settings, pagan gods, sacrifices, and that deep, guilty need to reconnect with nature)
• Small Town Horror (dark secrets, old evils, suspicious outsiders, bubbling neighborhood tension)
• Supernatural & the Occult (have something deep, dark, and magical thrown in?–curses, ghosts, and witches, oh my!–I want it)
• Body Horror (all I ask is that if you’re going to turn my stomach, try and turn my perspective, my thoughts, my morals)

I absolutely love

• Cults
• Explorations of grief
• Myths, legends, folklore, rituals, traditions, even dark nursery rhymes
• Occult, supernatural, witchcraft (would love to see a new take on Salem witches)
• Modern takes on haunted or creepy houses
• Demons & possession
• Meta or self-referential horror (think Scream, Cabin in the Woods, My Heart is a Chainsaw)
• Small town vibes
• Found anything (manuscripts, songs, letters, tomes, VHS, cassettes, etc.)
• Final girls
• Strong friendships and friend trips (think The Descent; The Return; The Ritual) 
• Aliens (but on earth; would especially love to see underwater aliens?)
• Technology making our life worse (less full on sci-fi, more Black Mirror or The Invisible Man)
• Strangers gathering or invited for a common thing that most certainly isn’t about to go terribly wrong, wink-wink (think And Then There Were None)
• Can I trust this person, but also can I afford not to trust this person (think 10 Cloverfield Lane)
• I’m a sucker for a board game / video game element (think The Blackening or Stay Alive) or puzzle-like scenarios (think Saw and Escape Room) and would love to see that work in a novel
• Monster of the week trope (think Scooby-doo or Buffy) only I want it much, much darker

I’m not usually the best fit for gothic or historical horror, dark academia, horror that is more crime-noir, investigation heavy or horror set in space (though, of course, there are always exceptions!).

Submission Guidelines

Submissions should be emailed to horrorsubmissions@pagestreetpublishing.com

Please include your query letter as the body of your email and attach the first three chapters of your manuscript as a PDF or Word document. Your query must contain:

• Your novel’s pitch (or logline), word count, and a one-page full book synopsis (including the ending).
• An author bio that describes your occupation, publishing history, social media presence, and any other relevant info that pertains to your manuscript (including any endorsements, if applicable). If you are represented by an agent, or plan to be, please note this in your bio.

All submissions must be edited and proofread. Ideally, your manuscript’s length should fall between 50 to 90k words. If you are an agent, write AGENTED in the subject line as well.

Guidelines & Details