Rolling Deadlines: Silver Blade Magazine

This market no longer matches are ‘ongoing’ requirements and will now be listed as it is open.

Payment: $25 for novellas, $3 for flash fiction, $8 for short stories, $8 for single poems, half of those rates for reprints.
Note: Reprints accepted.
Note: While submissions are ongoing, details on cutoffs for issues are found below.

Welcome to the Silver Pen Writers Association group of publications. From this web page, you will have an opportunity to submit your work to Silver Blade Magazine.

GENERAL GUIDELINES

Give us something unexpected and well written.  Technique, voice, characterization, and language will all play a part in our decision to publish.  Amaze us with your writing, use of language, sense of story, and memorable characters.  Give us a story readers will not be able to forget and will eagerly recommend to others.

If you want us to take your work seriously, please edit and proofread carefully prior to submission.  Manuscripts with significant typographical, spelling, or grammatical errors—where we feel compelled to grab a red pen after reading the first couple of pages—will likely be rejected outright without being read further.  The following are “hard sells” here:

  • Stories possessing several of the cliché elements listed here.
  • Fan Fiction
  • Anthropomorphism (talking cats, foxes, toasters or whatever)
  • Erotica.

Our editorial policies respect the artistic license of our authors.  However, there are occasions when changes are needed that go beyond basic spelling, grammar, and punctuation corrections. In any case, the author will be given the choice of final approval, prior to publication, over substantial edits made by our staff. We appreciate your willingness to work with us in this regard.

FORMAT AND DEADLINES

All submissions should…

  • Have 1 inch margins, single spaced lines, with extra space between paragraphs
  • Refrain from using fancy headers or footers, text effects, background colors or images.
  • Use a standard font (Arial, Calibri, Times Roman, Courier) in 10, 11 or 12 point size.

Silver Blade publishes a new issue once a quarter, in the first week of February, May, August, and November. Submissions for upcoming issues cut off roughly a month before the publication date. We read submissions continuously and all works that arrive after a cut-off date will remain in the queue for the following issue. We try to respond within two months of receiving a submission. Please inquire on status after 60 days if you have not received a response from us.

 

SILVER BLADE FICTION OR ARTICLE

Flash: 250 to 1,000 words Submit Now

Short Stories: 1,000 to 7,500 words   Submit Now

Novellas: 7,500 to 20,000 words   Submit Now

Writers of cutting edge Science Fiction, Slipstream, Classic and Modern Fantasy are invited to submit their works here. Romance might be accepted, provided it has a strong fantasy element to it. Wow us. We are looking for stories beyond great, we want amazing stories. We want fantastic creatures and impossible worlds. We want characters and stories readers will remember long afterward. Submit only one (1) story per file, and upload only one file at a time.

Accepted Document Types: pdf, doc, docx, rtf

 

SILVER BLADE SPECULATIVE POETRY IN TRANSLATION

Silver Blade Magazine is featuring Speculative Poetry in Translation starting with the Summer 2015 issue. We are seeking previously unpublished English translations (unless you can submit a sufficiently fresh translation) of literary quality poems with speculative elements that have been previously published in any language except English. We prefer original works from poets other than the translator. In rare cases we will consider poems written and translated by a single author.

Please read this carefully! Submit up to three poems of any style or length (up to 500 word each in English) in a single Word (doc or docx) plus a PDF or image file for each poem in its native language to ensure proper accents and characters are preserved. Be sure the poems contain a speculative element! We also want biographies of the original poet and the translator, as well as your translation notes (no length requirement, and whether long or short, it should be substantial). Also include a statement asserting that the poem is out of copyright or if in copyright, you have obtained permission to publish both the poem in the original language, as well as the English translation. Documentation will be required before publication.

Accepted Document Types: pdf, doc, docx, jpg, png

Submit Now »

SILVER BLADE POETRY

Size limit: 1000

Please note new submission time windows; poetry will only be accepted by our Submission manager during certain periods.

Send 2 to 5 unpublished poems in a single Word file (doc or docx) via our online submission manager—Submittable. We publish literary poetry with speculative elements. We prefer free verse poetry between 10-100 lines and prose poems or flash poetry under 500 words. We will consider a limited amount of traditional form poetry, experimental poetry, found poetry (with proper citations) and a constellation of themed Haiku (or titled linked Haiku) consisting of three or more pieces, as well as bilingual submissions (with permissions if necessary-see speculative poetry in translation). Please submit your poems in a single Word file. DO NOT CAPITALIZE YOUR TITLES. Include a cover letter with all contact information, and a lit bio, in the same Word file.

Before submitting, it is highly recommended you read several recent issues and comments on our editorial focus (see the poetry editor’s 2011 interview in Six Questions For…  and the 2014 interview in Poetry Pacific).

Do not submit if you are not amenable to editorial suggestions. Optional audio files of accepted poems will be published along with the text.

By invitation only, we promote Featured Poets with an interview and 3-5 poems. Silver Blade has featured some of the most prominent literary voices in speculative poetry. The list includes winners of awards, such as the Bram Stoker Award, the Heinlein Award, Rhysling Poetry Awards; celebrated editors, including a State Poet Laureate; prolific writers, and a Nobel Prize winning chemist.

Accepted Document Types: doc, docx, (for Found poetry, also include pdf, jpg, png, as necessary)

Submit Now »

 

RIGHTS AND ROYALTIES

(revised January 27, 2014)

For previously unpublished works, Silver Pen pays a flat fee of $25 for novellas, $3 for flash fiction, $8 for short stories, $8 for single poems and $25 for Featured Poets (by invitation only). Silver Pen will pay half of these rates for previously published works. A $2 bonus will be added for authors who accept payment via Paypal (which shall be the assumed payment method unless you specifically state otherwise). Note: Only authors in the United States, Canada or the United Kingdom have the option of receiving a mailed, hand written check. Everyone else MUST use PayPal or forfeit payment.

For previously unpublished WORK, Silver Pen (PUBLISHER) requires you (AUTHOR) to:

  • grant First Global Electronic Rights to the PUBLISHER.
  • grant First Global Serial Rights to the PUBLISHER.
  • grant Archival Rights to the PUBLISHER
  • refer to Silver Blade as first place of publication if the WORK is subsequently reprinted

For previously published WORK, PUBLISHER requires the AUTHOR to:

  • grant Second Global Electronic Rights to the PUBLISHER.
  • grant Second Global Serial Rights to the PUBLISHER.
  • grant Archival Rights to the PUBLISHER

Common requirements for all WORKS:

  • AUTHOR assures PUBLISHER that submitted work is not currently published in electronic form elsewhere (including freely accessibly “public” Internet sites);
  • AUTHOR warrants that the work is original, and no other entity has reserved the rights required by Silver Pen for publication;
  • AUTHOR warrants that the work does not contain libelous material or material copyrighted by another party.
  • If, after six months, the author manages a sale of the work that requires electronic exclusivity, we will take reasonable steps to accommodate them.

The exclusive period for First Rights is 12 months. Afterward, the rights granted by the AUTHOR to the PUBLISHER for previously unpublished WORK become non-exclusive. This means the AUTHOR is free to shop the WORK around after 12 months, and the PUBLISHER retains the right to use the WORK. In addition, the AUTHOR retains Print Anthology rights immediately after publication of the WORK.

OTHER IMPORTANT POINTS

  • Pieces posted for critique on a controlled-access website (user ID and password required to access) do not count as “published.”
  • submissions –at— silverpen.org is used solely for author communication and inquiries. Writers are strongly encouraged to add it to their trusted sender email address list.
  • All submissions must be submitted through our Submittable web page. Works sent to submissions –at— silverpen.org will be deleted without reading them.
  • We allow simultaneous submissions, but please let us know immediately if your work has been accepted elsewhere. We are an all-volunteer organization and our time is limited.
  • Multiple submissions are welcome, but we will not publish more than one piece by an author in any single issue (exception: Poetry submissions to SB).
  • If you use Duotrope, please remember to report your responses. It helps keep us honest.

Now, click one of the buttons below to submit your work!

Via: Silver Blade.

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