Submission Window: June 1st – 15th, 2025
Payment: Fiction: 8 cents per word, Poetry: $50, Non-fiction: $100
Theme: Stories with anthropomorphized animals as protagonists in any realm of speculative fiction

Deeply animal, deeply human

We’re on the trail. We got our noses to the ground. In this den there are plott hounds sniffing out for quality animal-centric speculative fiction. Here at Plott Hound Magazine, we want stories that really dig deep into what it’s like to be an animal yet also teach us what it means to be human. Both deeply animal and deeply human. Humans have had enough stories to go around and more. It’s time to make some room for the ones with paws, claws, fangs, and tails. Let’s hear them howl, roar, growl, and hiss. Here, they run wild. Throw us a good bone to chew on. Help us fill this space to make it a dazzling menagerie.

Prose Submission Guidelines

-Word limit for original short fiction:
1000 (minimum) – 5000 words (maximum)
sweet spot/preferred: 3000 – 4000 words

-Maximum word limit for original flash fiction: 999 words

-Reprints: not accepted at this time

-Pay rate: 8 cents/word

-Format: Standard Manuscript Format. 12 point Times New Roman, double spaced, .doc or .docx files. Mailing address and phone number are not required on the header.

-Simultaneous submissions are allowed! Just make sure to give us a howl if your submission has been accepted elsewhere before we make a decision on it.

-Multiple submissions: you may submit one piece per category at a given time.

-If a submission is declined and the submission period is still open, you may send another. Currently there is no cooldown period between submissions during an open submission window.

-Cover letter do’s and don’ts:
> Include author name, name of submission, word count, best 2-3 publishing credits (if applicable, we don’t want an entire resume)
> Include any personal or educational experience pertinent to the story. (For example, if you are a marine biologist and your story features marine animals, do mention that!)
> Inclusion of content warnings is optional, but appreciated.
> Please keep the cover letter polite and concise. Author bio is only needed upon acceptance of the piece.
> Do not summarize your story in the cover letter. Let the submission speak for itself.
> The cover letter is a brief introduction; it has no weight in the decision to accept or reject. The decision rests solely on the merit and strength of a piece.

-Translations to English: allowed, welcomed, and encouraged! They must be original short fiction or flash within the corresponding word limits. In the cover letter, please state that the work is translated into English from (original language), and include names of the original author and translator. Do not submit unauthorized translations without knowledge or consent from the original author.

-Cover letter for translations: if you are the translator, please include a letter from the original rights holder confirming that translation rights are available for purchase.

–Plott Hound Magazine welcomes and encourages submissions from writers of all races, religion (creed), gender expression, sexual orientation, age, ancestry, disability, marital status, and military status.

-Stories should be submitted through Moksha (see the Submit page). The link to Moksha will not be provided when submissions are closed. Do not submit through email or postal service.

-Post submission process: Plott Hound Magazine uses a tiered system of editors and readers to make decisions on short story and flash fiction submissions. All prose submissions will undergo initial review by first readers. If a first reader decides that a submission is worth further consideration, you will receive a hold notice through Moksha, and the submission is passed up to the editor in-chief, who will then make the final decision to reject or accept for publication.

POETRY Submission Guidelines

Plott Hound publishes 1-3 poems per issue. We’d love to see animal-centric speculative poems in all forms, from free verse to a sonnet to a canto in terza rima.

-Send 1-5 poems/up to 5 pages in a single document.

-Maximum submission length: please send no more than 5 pages (i.e. if you have a single 5-page poem, please send only one poem).

-Format: 12 pt serif font (Courier, Times), single space. See Shunn’s poetry manuscript format.

-Pay rate: $50

-Reprints, simultaneous submissions, and other logistics: see Prose Submission Guidelines above

What We’re Looking For:
-Stories with anthropomorphized animals as viewpoint characters and protagonists
-Animal-centric speculative fiction (fantasy, science fiction, horror)
-Underrepresented voices (BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, disabled, neurodivergent) that engage with animal myths, tales, and futures
-Stories with uncommonly written about animals as protagonists
-Stories that dig deep into the senses and experience of animals
-Stories that explore the cultures and societies of animals, not just cultures and societies with animals. Think of rabbit language and warren infrastructure in Watership Down, or the clans and warrior code of feral cats in Warriors.

What We Don’t Want:
-Stories with human viewpoint characters or protagonists
-Stories under or over the word limit
-Stories that contain no speculative element (no fantasy, sci-fi, and/or horror)
-Stories of simply animals doing animal things (closely ties in with lack of speculative element)
-Stories with animals reduced to silly cute sidekicks, props, punchlines, or the butt of jokes
-“Zipperback fiction” where the “animals” are either human characters obviously and clumsily rewritten to be animals, or if the animals were human, the change would hardly impact the story
-Stories for children or middle grade
-AI-generated works
-Glorifying violence toward and abuse of women, children, animals
-Glorifying homophobia, transphobia, racism, sexism, ableism
-Gratuitous violence, sex, and erotica
-Positive depictions of pedophilia and bestiality

List of common species and tropes:
This is not a list to say that writing about these species and tropes is prohibited, only that because we get so many submissions on them, they will have to work a lot harder to stand out.
-dogs
-cats
-dragons
-corvids like ravens and crows
-witches’ familiars
-subjects of intelligence experiments

NONFICTION ESSAY Submission Guidelines

Plott Hound aims to publish one essay per issue. Animals hold a special place in our hearts and within the communities and cultures we belong to. We would like you to share that significance and impact. Do you have a particular connection to an animal through a scholarly or spiritual background? We invite you to impart that knowledge as well. You can write about one particular animal or many. We will accept pitches through Moksha. Upon acceptance of that pitch, a fully written article may be submitted. You may send a previously declined pitch to the next open submission period.

-Pay rate: $100
-Word range: 1000 – 2500 words

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ):
-Do animal characters have to be from real life?
No, not at all! Show us stories with animals real and imagined. Give us the magical and fantastical creatures from myth and folklore, like dragons, werewolves, and unicorns. You can even have fictional species of your own creation! The animal world is one of staggering diversity. We want stories that acknowledge and celebrate this.

-Can human characters be in the story?
Yes, human characters can be included (as many or as little as you want), but the protagonist and focus of the story must be an animal.

-What about alien characters?
Alien protagonists are allowed as long as they’re recognizably bestial/creature-esque and not too humanoid. Think Star Wars Dugs, Ewoks, and Geonosians, not Twi’leks and Togrutis or Vulcans from Star Trek.

-What about shapeshifters?
Shapeshifters constantly, precariously teeter on that liminal boundary between man and beast. With that in mind, if your story has shapeshifters as the focus and protagonist choice, show us that inner beast roiling beneath the human skin. If the shapeshifter character(s) are too human, it’s likely not a good fit for the magazine.

-Do fungi count as animals?
Unfortunately they do not, as fungi occupy a kingdom of life that is neither plant nor animal. Perhaps they can occupy a special issue of their own…But for general submissions and the time being, no fungi stories.

-What if my story has a protagonist that’s a fusion/chimera of plant and animal, or fungi and animal?
Fusions and chimeras are fair game! It would have to be a pass, however, if the protagonist has strictly the characteristics of a plant or fungi.

-Do you give feedback to submissions?
At the second round level, perhaps. If the rejection comes from the first readers, no. Given the high volume of submissions we receive, there is simply not enough time and energy to leave individualized feedback.

-Can I submit film or TV scripts?
No, we do not accept scripts.

Examples of works that fit Plott Hound’s vision and aesthetic:
–Watership Down and Plague Dogs by Richard Adams
–Warriors series by Erin Hunter
–The Sight and Fire Bringer by David Clement-Davies
–Beastars by Paru Itagaki
-“Jackalope Wives” by Ursula Vernon (Apex)
-”The Bookmaking Habits of Select Species” by Ken Liu (Lightspeed)
-“The Starship and the Temple Cat” by Yoon Ha Lee (Beneath Ceaseless Skies)
-“Swarm X1048 – Ethological Field Report: Canis Lupus Familiaris, ‘6’” by F.E. Choe (Clarkesworld)
-“The Tale of the Three Beautiful Raptor Sisters, and the Prince Who Was Made of Meat” by Brooke Bolander (Uncanny)
-“By The Mother’s Trunk” by Lisa Bradley (Fireside Fiction)

Policy on AI-Generated Submissions:
Plott Hound Magazine will not accept or publish submissions of any kind that were written or assisted by AI tools such as ChatGPT and Sudowrite. This magazine full of stories on animals wants 100% human effort and creativity. This stance on prohibiting involvement of AI extends to all and any art featured for the magazine.

Contact:
For submission queries and submission-related questions, please direct them to [email protected].

Via: Plott Hound Magazine.