Spec the Halls is a contest for speculative winter holiday-themed fiction, artwork, and poetry. The holiday may be fictional or real; it may be Christmas or Yuletide as we know and love it, or it may be something much stranger. I like the idea of spreading holiday cheer...strange, twisted, and whimsical holiday cheer.
Readers
Every week until Christmas, I will post featured selections on
the main page. You may also sign up to receive the Spec the Halls weekly email, containing contest news and links to weekly featured selections, by sending an email to specthehalls@gmail.com with "Subscribe" in the subject line.
Writers, Artists, and Poets
What do I mean by speculative? I mean science fiction, fantasy, or even horror, of traditional and modern varieties. Mixed-genre and slipstream submissions are welcomed. Horror must be of the supernatural, dark science fiction, or dark fantasy variety. However, although I am including horror, I am not accepting relentlessly downbeat stories. Full submission guidelines can be found
here. Submissions are open from Thanksgiving to Christmas. Submitting earlier rather than later (when there's less competition) gives your creation a better chance of being a Featured Submission.
Spread the word
Please pass this information along to others that you think may be interested, either in submitting or in subscribing to the newsletter. Also, feel free to use the icon.