Great News! Apex Magazine Is Reopening!

So… I had logged out for the night and decided to catch up on my email before passing out. Now, I’ve got news to share with you that we can all be excited about! Apex Magazine will soon be taking submissions once more! Not only that but they’ll be raising their rates to the current SFWA pro-rates of 8 cents per word when they do!

We’ve got the press release below and I’ll share a few key points from their blog post announcing their return right here!

• The Kickstarter is currently scheduled for a mid-July 2020 launch. Obviously, things may have to be tweaked a bit, but pandemic permitting, that’s our goal!
• Issue 121 is scheduled for an early January 2021 release.
• Issue 121 will contain original fiction by Alix E. Harrow, Merc Fenn Wolfmoor, and Cassandra Khaw.
• At least two, possibly more, slots for Issue 121 will come from an open submissions pool. (The open submissions announcement will come in the coming weeks as plans are solidified.) Future issues will be mostly filled from the slush like they were pre-hiatus.
• Fiction rates are increasing to meet the SFWA pro-rate standard of $.08/word. Nonfiction rates are increasing to $100/an essay. (Note, a Kickstarter stretch goal will include an increase to the fiction and nonfiction rates.)
• Standard practice will now be payment upon acceptance, versus the previous practice of payment upon publication. 
• Apex Magazine will follow a new bi-monthly publication schedule with one issue every two months for a total of six issues a year. The amount of yearly fiction published will remain the same as before, but this will allow for a more manageable production schedule of the zine.
  • Each issue will feature 25-30k words of fiction, two non-fiction pieces, two author interviews, and the cover artist feature.
• Pay will increase for cover art licenses.

The core editorial team will be Jason Sizemore as editor-in-chief, Lesley Conner as managing editor, and Maurice Broaddus as assistant editor. And (drum roll please) we’re welcoming Shana DuBois to the Apex family as our new associate editor!

KT Bryski will continue her work as our podcast producer and host. We will resume our monthly podcast in January 2021. 

If you want to know more, be sure to check out the press release below!

Apex Magazine today announced plans for a January 2021 relaunch. The magazine will shift to a bi-monthly publication schedule. There are also plans for a subscription drive, a July 2020 Kickstarter, and additional fundraising efforts in advance of the relaunch. Apex Magazine also plans for increased pay rates for fiction and non-fiction, creating another SWFA pro-level fiction market.

Apex Magazine will shift from a monthly to a bi-monhtly publication with six issues publishing each year. Every issue of the magazine will include 25-30k words, approximately six fiction stories, two non-fiction pieces, two author interviews, and a cover artist feature. Additional details surrounding future submission periods will be forthcoming.

Fundraising plans, to include a subscription drive and a summer Kickstarter, will allow for a revamped website design and an increase in pay rates across the board. Fiction rates will increase to $.08/word and non-fiction rates will increase to $100/essay. There are also plans for a revamped website to create a more cohesive online experience for readers and listeners of the Apex Podcast.

An award-winning genre short fiction market with more than a decade of publishing history under its belt, Apex Magazine is poised to make a comeback bigger and better than ever come January 2021. Be on the lookout for more news surrounding the Kickstarter and submission details in the coming weeks.

I have no doubt that Apex will be able to meet their Kickstarter goals. This has always been a solid outlet of fiction and we’re thrilled that they’ll soon be back!

Also, on a personal note, Jason Sizemore we’re glad that you’re feeling better!