What Happened to Redline?

Since publishing the first D.O.A. anthology in 2011, Blood Bound Books has gained a reputation for extreme horror. However, we publish all forms of dark fiction including sci-fi, mystery, fantasy, and other sub-genres that don’t necessarily have an element of “extreme” horror.

In 2019, to better support our diverse authors and readers, we launched the Redline imprint, which focused on over-the-top content through novellas and long fiction. It was hoped this new label would allow fans to quickly navigate towards, or away from, extra naughty material.

Hernan Salvarezza & John McGuiggan signed on to help with acquiring manuscripts for the digital-only publication and submissions opened on December 1st, 2019. They closed on March 31st, 2020 with several shortlisted selections.

However, before the editors could make their final decisions, the imprint was put on hold. While many authors had received responses already, there was a shortlist that was still waiting. On April 28th, 2020 we asked Hernan to let those authors know that their submissions had been released.

For anyone that didn’t receive the email, here’s the message:

Redline Authors,

Thank you again for your patience and for sharing your work with us. You were one of our shortlisted novellas and we looked forward to sharing good news of an acceptance. Unfortunately, the current health crisis has taken its toll on Blood Bound Books and its owners. Our day jobs have been put into jeopardy and we have family members sick and quarantined that need our attention. As much as it pains us to do so, all manuscripts, including yours are being turned down. We wish we could give you an ETA on when your manuscript will be reevaluated, however, that’s just not possible at this time. We encourage you to submit to another market, since we are not able to give your story the attention and resources it deserves to be a successful project.

We wish you good health and safety in these trying times, and we thank you for your interest and support of Blood Bound Books.

Two months later, thankfully, my niece who was sick has recovered. There are still health issues for my mother, but we're managing better since April. Thank you to those who expressed their concern.

Although our reasons for closing Redline were valid and understandable, doing so was upsetting for us. Luckily, over the past few months, we have been able to restructure the logistics of the imprint and connect with The Splatter Club to make submissions a reality again.

Redline is now a Splatter Club imprint and its success will come from the members of that online community. To submit a story, you must be a member of The Splatter Club. Many guidelines have changed since the last submission period, so please look them over if you plan to resubmit. Do NOT use the old email addresses. There is now an online form used to improve the process. There are three ways you can submit to The Splatter Club's publications. You can find all the details here.

The doors open August 1st...

-M.C.