CLOSED: Syntax & Salt

Syntax & Salt closed at the end of 2019

Payment: $10

Syntax & Salt publishes one regular issue a season. We are open to general submissions year round, with the following publication dates in 2019:

• March 20
• June 21
• September 22 
• December 21 

Here is how you win our hearts and minds:

• Speculative fiction with a literary bent (please see our Read This page for ideas on what we tend to like.)
• Science Fiction that doesn’t blame technology for the fall of humanity
• Fantasy that takes advantage of the genre and eschews easy tropes
• We especially want to see and publish a lot more work by BIPOC and  LGTBQIA people
• Stories that take up 3500 words or less
• Edited, polished manuscripts
• Old stories told in a new way
• New stories told in an old way
• Sad endings that don’t rely on gimmicks or shock value
• Happy endings that hurt a little bit
• Beautiful prose and well developed plot

Thank you, but no thank you to:

• Imperialism/colonialism – we’re not interested in stories where the displacement of indigenous people/species is acceptable or desired.
• Fetishization of the ‘other’
• Erotica. A touch of the erotic is fine, but should not be the focus.
• Fat shaming – fatness is not a personality type, nor should it be positioned as such.
• Ableist, sexist, xenophobic, racist, transphobic, or homophobic language or themes will result in immediate rejections.
• Violence for the sake of violence
• Damsels in Distress™
• Superior elves, grumbling dwarves or any sort of Tolkien regurgitation
• Robots who want to destroy all of humanity because it’s logical and we can’t stop them anyway because somehow no one remembers how to program the damn things anymore.
• Mermaids – we receive far too many mermaid stories.
• Fairy tale fan fiction – we’d rather you just make your own fairy tale up out of the ether, if we’re honest.
• Zombies, vampires, werewolves, etc. Not our thing.
• Cultural fetishism and appropriation
• Any fantasy story where people are subjugated because it’s “historically accurate to humanity.” This is not historical fiction.
• Stereotypical characterization
• We’re good with profanity, but it needs to fit the story
• Poetry – the thing is, we love it, but we’re not there yet
• Rape stories are vital stories. Many of the rape stories we’ve read in our careers as writers and slushers and editors do not explore the nuances of character available, and use the act of rape for shock value or to create a victimized character who can be saved.

Here’s how you submit:

• All submissions must be completely absent of identifying information or they will be rejected without being read.
• For the sake of formatting, please read our easy guidelines here. Remember to remove ALL identifying information from your submission manuscript.
• That does mean we prefer Times New Roman or Arial, 12pt., double-spaced. We won’t reject you out right for deviations, unless you submit in comic sans — that’s just not ok. Real talk, double-spacing makes life a lot easier for our readers. Be nice to our readers.
• Please do not underline for italics, and do not use double spaces after periods.
• We are indifferent to cover letters — if you send one, we just want to know what you’re submitting, and the length of your submission. A brief third person bio can be included, or we’ll ask for one upon acceptance.
• One submission at a time please, and give us 24 hours after we’ve sent you a response to submit again. You are welcome to submit four times in a year.
• We will respond within 90 days of submission letting you know if your piece has been accepted, held over, or if we’ve decided to pass. Please do not query until that time has passed.
• Simultaneous submissions are not welcome.
• Use the Submittable link below.
• Don’t forget: remove all identifying information.

Legal Things:

• Syntax & Salt pays $10USD by PayPal for each story, regardless of length, with the exception of one Editor’s Choice story per issue, which will garner a $25USD payment via PayPal. Payment is guaranteed within 10 business days of the current issue going live.
• Syntax & Salt supports and welcomes stories by and about individuals of all ages, classes, disabilities, ethnicities, genders, nationalities, races, religions, and sexual orientations.
• Syntax & Salt purchases first worldwide English-language serial and electronic rights. Each story we purchase will be published on syntaxandsalt.com in an electronic quarterly issue. Each story we purchase may be included in print or electronic anthology collections. You must notify us in writing if you do not wish to be included in these collections. We may also excerpt stories  for promotional purposes. The author retains all other rights.

Via: Syntax & Salt.