Homework: Glitched Grimm

Assigned by guest editor Steve Diamond!

With a guy like me as the editor of a twisted fairy tale anthology, maybe you already have a hint as to what I want. The first question you might ask is, “Does Steve want a horror take on these twists?”

Yes.

What about, “Does Steve want clever re-imaginings of the original, already-pretty-dark fairy tales?”

Also, yes.

Maybe, “Does Steve want cozy, feel-good, romance that will make women fan themselves and weep?”

Again ye… wait. No. No, I don’t want that. For the love of all that is holy, don’t send that.

It’s no secret I like my short stories infused with horror. Which is exactly why I’m editing an anthology about twisted fairy tales. Remember, original myths and fairy tales are often cautionary tales filled with horrible people and even more horrible situations. The stepsisters in Cinderella were cutting off pieces of their feet to fit in the glass slipper. You see my point?

From LawDog : “Keep in mind if we receive fifty Cinderella stories, forty-nine of you are going to be disappointed.”

So let me be very clear about what I want and DON’T want for this anthology.

1) I don’t care what fairy tale you twist. Grimm, Andersen, Perrault, etc. Doesn’t matter to me.

2) I need a pre-story sentence or two that tells me what story you are twisting.

3) I don’t necessarily need horror in the story, but I reeeeeeallllly want it. Why? I mean… have you met me? Have you read any of my short fiction? I love horror. Especially in short fiction. Help a guy out.

4) I don’t care if you modernize or futurize the fairy tale. But again, it needs to be clear what the story is.

5) No torture porn or rape. Not my thing. I’d also prefer less swearing than more.

a. On torture: I’ve written more torture scenes than the average bear. You can include it if makes sense to the story. But don’t get carried away in a Saw or Hostel sort of way.

6) You can try implementing humor, but please don’t make it the focus of the story.

7) The quality of the story is more important than the horror. Maybe this should be #1… but I want to make sure you’re paying attention.

Not paying attention is how Willy found himself in the forest of Imsoscrewed.

There you have it. Remember, I like my horror like I like my coffee: dark. Wait… I don’t drink coffee. I like my horror like I like my Mountain Dew… no, no. That doesn’t work either. My point is, I like elements of horror in my short fiction. By also remember this: the darkness of horror is often offset by light. Pure nihilism isn’t a philosophy I follow.

So, what will you write? What story will you twist? Maybe your favorite tale wasn’t already horrific enough… or maybe you always thought Hansel and Gretel had it coming. Maybe Goldilocks sounds a lot like those pretentious Hollywood sorts that need things just their way… and so imprisons the Bear family to be her servants to get everything juuuussst right.

Whatever it is, I’m here for it.

Glitched Grimm
With guest editor Steve Diamond!

Cinderella was an anarchist trying to murder the prince, and her step-family is trying to prevent her from pulling it off. Robin Hood really is the vicious bandit the Sheriff says, only robbing from the rich to give to himself. Snow White is the leader of a terrorist cell, and the queen and her huntsman are only trying to capture her and her evil dwarves before they can conduct a horrible attack. Little Red Riding Hood is trying to con Granny out of her retirement, and the Wolf is the misunderstood PI doing his best. These stories take the usual fairy tales and turn them on their head.

Opens: 07/05/25
Closes: 08/24/25
Contracts: 09/06/25
Publication: 10/03/25

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