CLOSED: Fantastic Stories of the Imagination

Payment: 15 cents per word on acceptance for original stories (maximum of $500.00) or $25.00 flat fee for reprints.

What we want: We accept original stories up to 3000 words in length, and reprints of any length. Read the latest issues of Fantastic Stories for prime examples of stories we love.

We want stories that cover the entire science fiction and fantasy spectrum. We love everything from magic realism to hard SF. We want a story to surprise us and to take us to unexpected places. We love word play, and would like to see stories with a literary bent, though decidedly not a pretentious bent. We could spend some time telling you what we don’t want, but we’ve found that good stories can make us buy them regardless of how many of our rules they violate.

We welcome stories from underrepresented communities and cultures, and are always looking for submissions with diverse characters; it’s a big world, with room for everyone to have their story told. Let your imagination run wild, push the limits of genre, or send us something traditional. We want it to see it all.

Format: Submissions should be sent as RTF attachments in standard manuscript form. PLEASE DO NOT underline italics. This is an artifact of the days before electronic files. Mark stories original or reprint in the subject line of your e-mail. No simultaneous submissions please (though we do accept multiple submissions, a max of two at a time).

Please include an author bio with your submission.

Payment: 15 cents per word on acceptance for original stories, and 1 cent per word (up to $100, and a minimum of $25) for reprints.

Rights: Original stories will be licensed for the web as well as a print version of the magazine, an e-version of the magazine, and two annual anthologies. One anthology will collect all the original stories from the year and be available in both print and electronic editions. The other will collect all of the fiction from the webzine and be released only as an electronic book. Reprints will be licensed for a print version of the magazine, an e-version of the magazine, and one annual anthology. Rights for original fiction are exclusive for 120 days after publication (and then non-exclusive), reprint rights are always non-exclusive.

Response time: We try to respond within two weeks, if not sooner. If you haven’t heard back within eight weeks, please send a query to the email address below.

Email submissions to:

[email protected]

(Please do not reply to rejection letters with new submissions. Instead, use the above address as instructed.)

Via: Fantastic Stories of the Imagination.