MURDER BALLADS: An Anthology of Death & Beauty

Now Open for Submissions

Pig Head Productions is seeking short fiction, poetry, and hybrid work for Murder Ballads: An Anthology of Death & Beauty—a collection exploring the places where violence and beauty collide.

All accepted works will be featured on the Nightmares & Grief Podcast and published in a paperback and ebook anthology through Pig Head Productions.

What We Want

We want stories about murder. We want them to be beautiful.

That's it. Any genre. Any format. Literary fiction, horror, noir, magical realism, poetry, flash, prose poetry—we don't care what box it fits in. We care that it's well-crafted and that it finds something gorgeous or haunting or human in the act of killing.

Give us the lullaby sung over a shallow grave. The love letter written in blood. The quiet moment after the violence ends and something terrible and tender remains.

Guidelines

  • Word count: ~2,500 words (approximately 20 minutes of recorded audio)

  • Genre/format: Open. Prose, poetry, hybrid—all welcome.

  • Theme: It must involve a murder. It must be beautiful. How you interpret that is up to you.

  • Simultaneous submissions: Yes. Notify us immediately if your piece is accepted elsewhere.

  • Multiple submissions: No. One submission per author.

  • Previously published work: No. We acquire first publication rights.

  • Submission window: March 1 – August 31, 2025

  • Response time: All submitters will receive a response by October 31, 2025.

How to Submit

Submit via our Google Form: https://tinyurl.com/murderballadssubmissions

If you are unable to use the Google Form, you may email your submission to derrick@derrickheisey.com with the subject line "MURDER BALLADS SUBMISSION".

Your email must include:

  • Your full legal name (and pen name, if applicable)

  • Title of your work

  • A short bio (2–3 sentences)

  • Whether you are located in the Tri-Cities, WA area

  • Your submission as a .doc, .docx, or .pdf attachment

  • Website or social media link (optional)

By submitting via email, you confirm that your work is original, has not been previously published, and is not currently under contract elsewhere.

What We're Offering

Let's be upfront: this is not a paying market.

What accepted contributors receive:

  • One contributor copy of the paperback anthology (shipped to you)

  • Your work read on the Nightmares & Grief Podcast, with full author credit, bio, and links in the show notes and video description

  • A QR code in the anthology linking readers directly to your story's podcast/YouTube episode

  • A publication credit with Pig Head Productions

If you are in the Tri-Cities, Washington area, you'll have the option to record and read your own story for the podcast. Otherwise, your story will be read by the editor.

Podcast episodes will be released weekly, in the order stories appear in the anthology.

Rights

We acquire first publication rights and audio rights in perpetuity (including podcast, YouTube, and any future audio distribution platforms).

All other rights remain with the author. You may republish your work elsewhere after the anthology is published, provided you credit Murder Ballads as the original place of publication.

Reversion clause: If the anthology goes out of print and remains unavailable for 12 consecutive months, first publication rights revert to the author upon written request. If the associated audio content (podcast/YouTube episode) is removed and remains unavailable for 12 consecutive months, audio rights revert to the author.

About

Murder Ballads is edited by Derrick Heisey and published by Pig Head Productions.

The Nightmares & Grief Podcast is a horror fiction podcast exploring grief, identity, and the dark corners we'd rather not look at. Listen wherever you get your podcasts.

Questions? Contact: derrick@derrickheisey.com