Submission Window: July 1st – 17th, 2024
Payment: 3 cents per word for fiction and non-fiction, $20 for interior artwork and $100 for cover art
Theme: Weird and cosmic fiction

What do we want?

Weird and cosmic fiction under 5,000 words

When do we want it?

Twice a year: January 1-7 and July 1-17

How do we want it?

Submitted via email to [email protected] as a .doc or .docx file. Please also include a short cover letter with some background information about you, the word count of the story, and a brief synopsis.

Other Stuff!

Please only submit your work once, and please only submit one work per submission period. Please only resubmit works that have already been rejected if invited to do so.

We believe that the horror genre’s diversity is its greatest strength, and we wish that viewpoint to be reflected in our story content and our submission queues. We are especially interested in hearing from those whose voices are underrepresented in the cosmic/weird. If comfortable, feel free to drop this information in your cover letter.

We strongly favor stories that use contemporary narrative styles.

Simultaneous submissions are allowed, but please withdraw immediately upon acceptance elsewhere.

We pay 3 cents (USD) per word for original fiction.

We do not take unsolicited reprints.

What we don’t want: We do not take any work that used AI in its creation, work that uses established genre tropes in a standard way, and queries. Work written in an antiquated, Lovecraftian style is a hard sell.

Authors we love: Mike Allen, Paula D. Ashe, Mona Awad, Laird Barron, Nadia Bulkin, Nicole Cushing, Brian Evenson, Gemma Files, John Langan, Thomas Ligotti, Preemee Mohamed, Jon Padgett, Hailey Piper

Submissions (Non-Fiction) OPEN

What do we want?

Non-fiction essays that explore weird and cosmic horror concepts under 5,000 words

When do we want it?

We take nonfiction submissions all year long.

How do we want it?

Submitted via email to [email protected] as a .doc or .docx file. Please also include a short cover letter with some background information about you, the word count of the article or essay, a brief synopsis, and anything else you might like us to know.

Other Stuff!

“Weird and cosmic horror concepts” means everything from Lovecraft and his contemporaries to the role of pessimism in horror to a personal essay about the ways weird literature has interacted with your life. This is defined broadly on purpose—don’t self-reject!

We pay 3 cents (USD) per word for original non-fiction.

Creative non-fiction and Gonzo journalism are welcome and encouraged, as are critical or academic analyses, but we do not take book reviews.

Submissions (Art) OPEN

What do we want?

Pieces that you feel might be fitting to appear on the cover or in the interior of the magazine

When do we want it?

We take art submissions all year long.

How do we want it?

Submitted via email to [email protected]. If you would like us to consider your portfolio, please provide a link. If you would like us to consider a handful of specific pieces, please attach them as .jpg or .png files.

Other Stuff!

The magazine runs at a size of 5.5 x 8.5. inches.

We generally pay $20 for interior artwork and $100 for cover art. However, these are both negotiable.

We do not publish art that utilizes Artificial Intelligence (AI) in its creation.

Via: Cosmic Horror Monthly.