Submission Window: May 19th – June 1st, 2023
Payment: 8 cents per word
Theme: “An effusively enthusiastic or ecstatic expression of feeling” in the SF, fantasy, space opera, hopepunk genres

Theme: Rhapsody of the Spheres – SF, fantasy, space opera, hopepunk

The dictionary defines a rhapsody as “an effusively enthusiastic or  ecstatic expression of feeling.” In ancient Greece, a rhapsody was also part of an epic poem of a suitable length for reciting.

Edie Brickell waxed rhapsodic about a smile on a dog, and Queen and Liszt gave us their musical Bohemian and Hungarian rhapsodies, respectively.

Please give us a speculative fiction story or poem about what would make us happy right now.

Reading Period (open): May 19 – June 1, 2023
Writer Deadline: June 1, 2023
Publication Date: August 2023

Submissions Guidelines

As of: March 3, 2023

We do themed anthologies. We are not currently accepting unsolicited reprints. We have also discussed the types of stories we prefer in an interview (note that the pay rate has increased) at D.L. Snell’s Market Scoops.

We are temporarily closed for submissions.

Stories should be submitted in either Microsoft Word (using double spacing), RTF,  or plain text. They should be between 1,500 and 3,000 words. Be sure they are the final version (any Review comments removed). Flash humor pieces (Grins and Gurgles) should be short, around 600-1,000 words.

Please don’t send simultaneous or multiple submissions. If a story has been rejected, you can then send another (limit 2 per reading period). Please verify that your story is original, unpublished, and not written using AI.

Submit by email to

[email protected]

either as an attachment (Word, RTF) or in the body of the mail (text).

In the Subject: line of the email, please put

flatsubmit:Title_of_Your_Work

to avoid being deemed a canned meat product based on ham.

If the work is for the humor section, please note that in the body of your email. A brief bio and a one- or two-sentence synopsis in the body of your email would also be helpful to us.

Use the following template (basically, follow William Shunn’s Standard Manuscript Format):

Your Name

Address (mailing)

Email address

Word count

[10 blank lines]

Title

Byline

Body of story

——–

Our response time is expected to be about 8 weeks (or less if the writer deadline is coming up soon).

Remuneration

As of: June 14, 2019

Your story must be original work, with the digital rights unencumbered. Accepted stories will be paid at the flat rate of 8 cents per word (U.S./SFWA professional rate), in return for the first publication rights to the story for six months after publication. All other rights will remain with the author. We no longer offer royalties. If your story is selected as the lead story, we request permission to podcast the story as a free sample portion of the anthology. We welcome new writers.

Third Flatiron will price and market your story as part of an anthology. We will format the story for the most popular electronic readers and platforms. You agree that we may distribute a sample (portion of the story) to potential customers.

For non-U.S. submissions, we prefer to pay via PayPal, if you have such an account.

Most books (except “year’s best” collections) will be available for sale in trade paperback.

Authors selected for publication will also be entitled to one free online copy of the anthology.

Call via: Third Flatiron’s Homepage and submission details from there submission guidelines.