Specul8 Publishing

Specul8 Publishing Strange minds welcome. Sanity optional. Specul8 Publishing is the demented brain child of Rockhampton based author TC Phillips.

Specul8 Publishing: where TC Phillips turned his oddball ideas into a haven for Aussie and Kiwi writers who love all things weird, wild, and wonderfully speculative. After stumbling his way into a series of anthologies, literary journals and other international publications he was struck with the idea to try and ferret out other like-minded writers, freaks and miscreants a little closer to home. I

n 2014 he launched Specul8: Central Queensland Journal of Speculative Fiction and was shocked to learn there were far more of his type of twisted people out there than he ever bargained for. Three years and four bumper issues later, we set our sights a little farther afield and morphed into Specul8 Publishing, offering an independent publishing avenue for Australian and New Zealand based writers working in the kinds of speculative genres which really excite us. Whether sci-fi, horror, fantasy, steampunk or anything else in between, the stranger and more fantastical the better.

This is super weird, going back and attempting to recreate the original layout of our inaugural issue of Specul8: Centra...
12/07/2025

This is super weird, going back and attempting to recreate the original layout of our inaugural issue of Specul8: Central Queensland Journal of Speculative Fiction (without the benefit of any of our original assets) for our 10th anniversary edition re-release.

New edition needs a new foreword, though.

It's been nearly 10 years since we started with this malarkey, and we couldn't be prouder of the literary anarchy we've ...
11/07/2025

It's been nearly 10 years since we started with this malarkey, and we couldn't be prouder of the literary anarchy we've unleashed upon the world since then.

A big thanks to the authors and readers who have been part of our journey into the wilderland so far, and also for those yet to join us.

Thank you, Specul8ors. You beautifully bizarre and totally twisted miscreants.

11/07/2025

“Hello, Dexter Morgan.”

Hello Specul8ors! It's your good ol' Uncle Henley Hackenslash here.Don't forget we're DYING to see your most WICKED tale...
11/07/2025

Hello Specul8ors! It's your good ol' Uncle Henley Hackenslash here.

Don't forget we're DYING to see your most WICKED tales. Give us some GARISHLY GRUSOME GORE and SADISTIC SCREAMS. And don't forget the STABBY-STABBY!

Knives, Nightmares & Neon: An 80s Slasher Anthology
Submissions open until August 31, 2025
www.specul8.com.au/submissions

Amazon’s #3 most gifted anthology. We’re coming for you George RR Martin
09/07/2025

Amazon’s #3 most gifted anthology. We’re coming for you George RR Martin

How’s your entry coming along for our latest Flash Fiction Challenge prompt?
08/07/2025

How’s your entry coming along for our latest Flash Fiction Challenge prompt?

Central Queensland's own independent press Specul8 Publishing, specialising in all forms of speculative fiction.

We've had some great entries since we rebooted our Flash Fiction Challenge at the start of the year, but we're also coll...
05/07/2025

We've had some great entries since we rebooted our Flash Fiction Challenge at the start of the year, but we're also collating all those stories into our inaugural Christmas annual.

On July 25, Christmas in July, we'll even unwrap the official cover. In the meantime, here's a little something-something to whet your appetite.

Don't forget, there are still plenty of opportunities to get your own story added as we drop a new image prompt every fortnight.

Okay Specul8ors, while we're waiting for more gnarly 80s horror subs to come in for Knives, Nightmares & Neon, let's pla...
05/07/2025

Okay Specul8ors, while we're waiting for more gnarly 80s horror subs to come in for Knives, Nightmares & Neon, let's play a game...

Say you’re trapped in an '80s horror flick — think big hair, fog machines, and a killer with a boombox full of bad vibes. 👻🔪

What are your RULES to SURVIVE? Drop your answers below👇

Also, don't forget, submissions for our 80s slasher anthology close August 31, 2025
https://www.specul8.com.au/submissions

Pour one out for Mr Blonde. RIP Michael Madsen
04/07/2025

Pour one out for Mr Blonde. RIP Michael Madsen

Mr. Blonde (Michael Madsen) takes out a razor and waxes poetic about music from the 1970's before he takes to a cop's ear. ...

Sick of doomscrolling your way through your phone? Why not do yourself a favour and swap out all the ragebait and the bl...
04/07/2025

Sick of doomscrolling your way through your phone? Why not do yourself a favour and swap out all the ragebait and the bleak state of current affairs for a few moments of blissful reprieve by delving headfirst into some micro-doses of creative fiction?

Check out our latest Flash Fiction Challenge winner, "The Last Strike" by Etienne Lombard

The hammer trembled in Marcus's weathered hands as he raised it above the glowing steel. Forty years of striking iron, and still his heart raced at the sight of metal kissed by fire—orange-white and …

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We love storytellers, those passionate people who pour their souls into their work and yearn to share it with the world. That's what we do, at Specul8 we believe in stories that are worth sharing.