Deadline: October 31st, 2019
Payment: $15

BROADSWORDS AND BLASTERS is looking for quality submissions in the pulp magazine tradition. What does that mean? We want your tales of:

• sword and sorcery;
• westerns (Weird or otherwise);
• horror (Cosmic, Southern Gothic, visceral, and psychological);
• detective tales;
• two-fisted action;
• retro science fiction.

1. Tales should feature strong characters and visceral action. No navel-gazing.
   • Despite having great action, detailed settings, and iconic characters, much of old-school pulp is unfortunately emblematic of limited cultural ideals that we have no interest in propagating. As such, we encourage diverse characters and welcome stories that subvert the standard pulp formula.
2. We prefer clear descriptions. While we appreciate poetic prose, the reader has to be able to understand what is happening.
3. For rating guidelines (language, descriptions) we are looking at a hard R-rating as the maximum we will publish. That is to say, we don’t shy away from cursing, gore, or sex, but such content needs to serve the story, not be there for the sake of being there.
4. Word count: Submissions must be 2,000 to 5,000 words. Anything outside these limits will be rejected.
5. Please submit stories in either .rtf, .doc, or .docx. Use standard submission format. http://www.shunn.net/format/story.html.
6. We do not accept reprints.
7. We do not accept multiple submissions. Please submit only one story at a time.
8. We do accept simultaneous submissions, but please tell us in the body of the email that you are submitting to more than one publication. If the story is accepted elsewhere, please let us know as soon as possible.

Payment and terms

1. We pay a flat $15.00 per story upon publication. All payments will be made through PayPal.
2. All published contributors will receive a comp electronic copy.
3. We claim first exclusive rights for print and digital, with the exclusive period lasting for 30 days after date of first publication.
4. We claim nonexclusive rights after that time to display, copy, publish, distribute, transmit, and sell stories, in electronic or physical form, as part of the magazine. (This is to keep the listings up at Amazon and other stores who sell the issues.)

How to Submit

1. Email your submission to [email protected]
2. Use the subject line Submission: (the title of your story)
3. Include a short cover letter in the body of your email. Mention the title of your story and a brief elevator-pitch story summary. The cover letter should also include a short author biography (100 words or less). Don’t forget to mention any social media accounts (Facebook, twitter, etc) you would like to have included with your bio.
4. Our goal is to reply within 2 – 4 weeks of the submission window closing. If you haven’t heard from us after 30 days of the window closing, please send a query to [email protected]. Please include the title of the story you are querying about.

Via: Broadswords and Blasters.