MIDNIGHT ECHO ISSUE 21 – NOW OPEN FOR SUBMISSIONS!
The AHWA is proud to open the 21st issue of Midnight Echo magazine for submissions. Submissions are open from Sunday 12/07/2026 until midnight Sunday 16/08/2026.
The theme for issue 21 is Survival.
What extremes must people go to in order to survive?
What customs and monsters must be endured in secret?
How much of yourself could you remove and still stay alive?
We are looking for fiction, poetry, non-fiction, internal art and full-colour cover art. See below for details.
IMPORTANT NOTE: please e-mail submissions to: midnightecho@australasianhorror.com. Submissions emailed to other email addresses will be ignored.
Guest Editor for Issue 21: Stephen Dedman
Stephen Dedman is the author of the novels The Art of Arrow Cutting (a Bram Stoker Award nominee) and Shadows Bite; the Shadowrun novels A Fistful of Data, For a Few Nuyen More, Dragonbones, and The Good, the Bad and the SINless; the non-fiction book May the Armed Forces Be With You: the relationship between science fiction and the United States military; and more than 120 short stories published in an eclectic range of magazines and anthologies.
He has worked as a bookseller, book reviewer, editor, actor, museum exhibit and experimental subject, and taught creative writing at the University of Western Australia and the Forensic Science Centre.
His work has been nominated for the British Science Fiction Association Award, the Black Quill Award, the Seiun Award, the Sidewise Award for Alternate History, the Spectrum Award and a sainthood (unverified at time of writing).
For an up-to-date bibliography, go to www.stephendedman.com
To purchase previous issues of Midnight Echo, click HERE!
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
Midnight Echo is the magazine of the Australasian Horror Writers Association. We seek original, previously unpublished horror fiction, poetry, and non-fiction on horror-related subjects. As the AHWA’s goal is to support the genre in Australasia, we only accept unsolicited submissions from writers in (or originally from) Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, and the Pacific Islands.
Don’t self-reject – we actively encourage submissions from everyone, especially traditionally under-represented demographics including but not limited to all ethnicities, races, sexes, sexual orientations, gender identities, disabilities, ages, or other individual status.
Fiction and Poetry: We accept all types of horror. Your story or poem should unnerve, disturb, or inspire fear. We encourage you to be courageous with your subject matter, but above all else, tell an entertaining story that will linger with our readers. Local stories with distinctly Aussie, Kiwi, or Pacific settings, characters, dilemmas, monsters, or themes are especially welcome. Please read issues of the magazine to get a feel for what we like to publish. No multiple submissions, send only your best story. No simultaneous submissions, please – we aim to respond as quickly as possible after the submission period ends. No reprints – original, previously unpublished work only, please.
We pay AU$0.05/word for fiction (that’s 5 Australian cents per word). Word limit: 5,000 words firm.
We pay AU$20 per poem. Limit up to 20 lines.
Non-Fiction: We welcome articles, creative non-fiction, and interviews on horror-related subjects. Non-fiction that has an Australasian focus (such as an interview with a local author or article about a local book or film) is preferred, but we welcome a broad range of horror-related submissions. Please read issues of the magazine to get a feel for what we like to publish.
We pay AU$30 per non-fiction article up to 5,000 words.
Note about pay rates: While AHWA would like to pay writers more for their work, the organization is run by volunteers and has limited funds. Our goal is to develop emerging Australasian writers and give them experience working with editors, which we hope is a value above and beyond what we’re able to pay for their work. However, through more writers becoming AHWA members and more readers purchasing copies of Midnight Echo or the Dead of Night anthology, the AHWA can strengthen its financial position and increase its rates.
Internal Art: We are looking for art that is dark, sinister, or scary. We pay AU$50 per piece for internal art.
Full colour cover art: We always encourage submissions of full colour cover art for each issue. We pay AU$100 for the successful piece.
The AHWA supports all creative industries and will not accept any work that is created by generative AI.
All submissions should adhere to the following formatting:
- 12pt Times New Roman font, black.
- Double spaced
- Left aligned (not justified)
- First paragraph indented
- Minimal italics
- Only .doc, .docx and .rtf file formats will be accepted.
In the subject line of the email add the type of submission (poetry, art, fiction, non-fiction) and story title.
In the body of the email, add your pen name (if using), legal name, address and a short 100-word bio.
Refer Modern Shunn Manuscript format for layout queries, but with all identifying information removed.
Submissions not meeting the above guidelines will be deleted unread.
Please e-mail submissions to: midnightecho@australasianhorror.com
PREVIOUS EDITIONS OF MIDNIGHT ECHO
Previous issues of Midnight Echo have had a variety of amazing editors:
Issue 20 – Edited by Marty Young
Issue 19 – Edited by Dan Rabarts
Issue 18 – Edited by J.S. Breukelaar
Issue 17 – Edited by Greg Chapman
Issue 16 – Edited by Tim Hawken
Issue 15 – Edited by Lee Murray
Issue 14 – Edited by Deborah Sheldon
Issue 13 – Edited by Paul Mannering with co-editors Helen Stubbs and Isobel Blackthorn
Issue 12 – Edited by Shane Jiraiya Cummings and Anthony Paul Ferguson
Issue 11 – Edited by Kaaron Warren
Issue 10 – Edited by Craig Bezant
Issue 9 – Edited by G.N. Braun
Issue 8 – Edited by Marty Young, Mark Farrugia and Amanda J. Spedding
Issue 7 – Edited by Daniel I. Russell
Issue 6 – Edited by David Conyers, Jason Fischer and David Kernot
Issue 5 – Edited by Leigh Blackmore
Issue 4 – Edited by Lee Battersby
Issue 3 – Edited by Stephen Studach
Issue 2 – Edited by Angela Challis and Shane Jiraiya Cummings
Issue 1 – Edited by Kirstyn McDermott and Ian Mond
