Deadline: January 31st, 2021
Payment: 10 cents per word
Theme: Speculative Fiction of all types

What we Publish: Original fiction and poetry, all of which must be broadly “speculative fiction” (science fiction, fantasy, alt-history, magical realism, slipstream, or in some other way altered reality).

Length: 12,000 words or less preferred, but you may submit stories up to 20,000 words. 30 lines or fewer for poetry.

Rights Purchased: First worldwide English-language rights.

Payment: $0.10/word up to 3,000 words for fiction. $300 flat rate above that. $10/poem flat rate for poetry.

Simultaneous Submissions: Accepted. Please let us know immediately if your work sells elsewhere.

Multiple Submissions: Accepted on a trial basis. Please do not dump your entire trunk on us or this will change. For fiction, please submit each story separately. For poetry, please submit up to 10 poems in a single file. If you receive a rejection during a submission window, you may submit again with another story or another batch of poems.

Reprints: By solicitation only. Query if your work was previously published but obscurely enough that you think it should not count.

Translations: Accepted for first worldwide English publication.

Response Time: We strive to respond to all submissions in less than 90 days.

Query Address: departuremirror [at] gmail

Submission Portal: Moksha

Departure Mirror Quarterly stories are:

• Current. Astute readers should be able to see how your story addresses the world we live in right now.
• Well written.
• Accessible to a mainstream American audience.
• Diverse. We mean this not only in terms of the types of stories we publish, but also in terms of the types of authors we publish. Writers from historically underrepresented and oppressed groups are especially encouraged to submit. We particularly like stories that take the outsider’s perspective.
• Anti-violence. We do not publish anything that promotes or glorifies violence, including threats of violence and coercion. (Minimum necessary force in self-defense can be acceptable if it is portrayed as regrettable rather than triumphant.) Stories certainly can contain violence (it is a fact of life), but violence should not be shown as the correct solution to the problem. Government-sanctioned violence is violence, so resolution through military action, police use-of-force, capital punishment, etc. is included in this policy. In societies in which laws are enforced through coercion and violence (such as ours), passing a law would also be included in this policy. We accept stories that highlight the inappropriateness of violence. We particularly like stories that show us a better way.
• Unexpected. Speak truth to power. Invent something new. Advance a conversation. Subvert a trope. Bring us an unheard voice. Surprise us.

Departure Mirror Quarterly poems are:

• Readable by someone with no formal training in poetry.
• Reflowable. Poems that depend on typography for their meaning do not fare well in two of our three formats. Visual poetry does not work at all.
• Evocative.
• Speculative. Make sure there is a clear SF/F element, please.

I’m told that my original guidelines were long and rambling, so here’s the short version: Transport me to another world while reflecting on this one (or, as we say, make your story a “departure” and a “mirror”).

I like stories that tap into the current cultural zeitgeist. I do not shy away from “issue” stories, but I’m not fond of anything that is overtly didactic.

I firmly believe that all humans are inherently created equal and have equal (if differently distributed) potential.  I do not like stories that preach otherwise or depend on other assumptions.  I’m generally not fond of “chosen one” stories for that reason.  Treat members of oppressed minorities with the same respect you give members of the dominant group(s), please.

Every editor says, “Read the magazine.” Yes, please read Departure Mirror Quarterly before submitting. But remember that every story that is published enters into conversation with every other story being published, so it’s important to read not only this magazine but also the other pro-rate SF/F magazines. n.b. that you are not truly “in conversation” if you’re just repeating what others have said. Feel free to riff on the same themes and ideas and/or to take the conversation somewhere else, but stories that are just like something that I just published are a hard sell.

Each issue is planned out at 20,000 words. Longer stories need to fit in the format without feeling like they dominate. Shorter pieces need to work well with the longer ones. Since you cannot know what else I have acquired or am considering, don’t be alarmed by a rejection that says your work is not right for us at this time. I’ve rejected a good many stories that were otherwise perfect “departure mirrors.” I reject a lot of stories I’ve loved as not right for us. Rejections aren’t personal.

We’re a new publication. We’re likely to make mistakes. I’m sure these guidelines will need to evolve over time. Thank you for joining us on this journey. I look forward to reading your work.

The submission guidelines above are true in general. This section provides more details about the current (or upcoming) submission window.

The January submission period is for the Spring 2021 issue. We expect our greatest need from the slush will be for middle-length short stories (around 3,000-4,000 words).

We will be deliberately restricting the number of dark and downbeat stories in the Spring issue, and we don’t anticipate buying anything escapist.

For Spring 2021, we’re going to be avoiding stories about kids at schools for magic, furry stories, apocalypse pieces, European fairytale retellings, steampunk, and antihero stories.

We will be particularly looking for pieces about rebuilding, stories that celebrate diversity, and anything that captures the nuances of things that are on the minds of American readers today.

Submissions sent to the query address will be deleted unread.

Via: Departure Mirror.