We publish science fiction and fantasy, broadly defined.
What we want:
- style – We want writers who use language beautifully – so that words aren’t just the carrier for your story, they’re part of the scenery. We want the poetry of Roger Zelazny, the finesse and ingenuity of Jack Vance.
- mood – We want stories with atmosphere, where mood is an important element. Think Patricia A. McKillip or Richard Llewellyn.
- character – We want stories with characters – real people with real emotions, whether those people are aliens or trolls or both. Think Arthur C. Clarke or Richard Adams.
- intellect and emotion – We want writing that makes us think and feel. We want the intellect of A. A. Attanasio, the social awareness of Ursula K. Le Guin, the impact of George R. R. Martin’ short fiction.
Whom do we like?
In addition to the above, we like Walter M. Miller, Jr., Richard Cowper, Theodore Sturgeon, Samuel Delany, James Thurber, Orson Scott Card, K. J. Parker, Robin Hobb, Julie Czerneda, Sean Stewart, Mari Ness, Ken Liu, Oliver Buckram, Fran Wilde, and a host of others. Not enough cues? See our reviews.
How long can my story be?
As long as it needs to be. Keep in mind, though, that we’re looking to average 4,000 words/per story; 1,000 to 6,000 words is the sweet spot. We’re unlikely to publish serials.
What we don’t want:
- isms – We want stories with a modern perspective, not worlds that recreate historical mistakes. If your story is about gender relations, by all means have subservient women (or subservient men, or subservient gender neutrals) if it’s relevant. If that’s not what your story’s about, we’re not interested in a standard medieval model where men are in charge because they’re men, or a distant future world where skin color (or sexual orientation, or …) works just like it does today. Dream bigger.
- retreads – we don’t mind if the concept of your story is something the world has seen before, so long as you do something new with it. But don’t send us Tolkien and Clarke with the names changed and a fresh coat of paint.
Hard sell
Nothing is out of bounds; we don’t want to set limits on imagination. However, we’re less likely to be interested in military SF, time travel, vampires, or zombies.
Other
- Reprints: No, unless specifically solicited.
- Simultaneous: Yes, but if you sell your piece elsewhere, please withdraw it through Submittable.
- Multiple: Yes, within reason (two pieces at a time).
Format
Follow the industry standard format defined by William Shunn. He has templates available, or you can use ours (LibreOffice, Word). We prefer a proportional, serif font like Cambria or Caladea.
Your story should be in one of the following file formats: ODT, DOC, DOCX, RTF.
Rights and payment:
Fiction
We pay a semi-pro rate of $.01/word. We’re buying the rights to:
- post the story on our website – exclusive for 6 months from publication, non-exclusive for the life of the magazine.
- include the story in a monthly issue sent to Patreon supporters.
- include the story in a best-of anthology published within the calendar year after your story is published in our magazine.
A sample contract is here.
Art
We buy one piece of art per month, at a flat rate of $50. Art submitted must be 1563 x 2500 pixels, or a multiple thereof; templates are available as XCF, PSD, and JPG. We buy non-exclusive rights for use on our website, in a monthly issue, and in an annual anthology.
Content should include science fiction or fantasy elements. We’re not keen on violence or erotica. We won’t take any pieces that show animals in subjugation.
A sample contract is here.
Payment process
We pay when we accept the piece, regardless of publication date. We pay only through PayPal.
How we’ll respond:
- turnaround – we’ll try to respond within two weeks. Track your submission at Submission Grinderor Duotrope; we try to watch those figures as well as our own. We’ll likely be a bit slower when we first start up.
- feedback – we’ll try to give feedback on the content your story, and on what page we decided the story wasn’t for us.
How to submit:
IFF you’ve read all the above,
