Taking Submissions: Translunar Travelers Lounge First 2024 Window

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Submission Window: March 15th-21st POC, March 22nd-April 15th, everyone
Payment: 3 cents per word, with a minimum of $20
Theme: Speculative Fiction in the science fiction or fantasy variety

We are open annually for submissions from March 15th through April 15th for our August issue, and from September 15th through October 15th for our February issue.

The first week of submissions (March 15-21 and Sept 15-21) is reserved for writers of color. The remainder of the window will be for general submissions. If you’re a writer of color who submits during that first week and you hear back from us before the general window closes, you’re welcome to send a second submission during that time.

We are not interested in machine-generated (AI/LLM) characters, plots, or text of any kind. Spellcheckers and grammar checkers that run off machine learning are absolutely fine by us (though we also don’t want you to let a machine strip out your natural writing voice in the name of someone else’s idealized grammar!)

HOW TO SUBMIT

SUBMIT YOUR STORIES HERE

WHAT TO SUBMIT

The short version:

  • We pay $0.03 per word with a minimum of $20 in exchange for first world electronic rights in English. We ask for an exclusivity period of 3 months from date of publication.
  • Maximum 5,000 words.
  • Your story must contain speculative elements: that means science fiction or fantasy.
  • We do not accept nonfiction.
  • No simultaneous submissions.
  • Only one submission per writer per open period.
  • We aim to make our final decisions within a month and a half of the close of submissions (i.e. by May 31st for the spring period, and by November 30th for the fall period). You will often receive a response much sooner. If you haven’t heard from us by that time, please query at the above address.

The long version:

Broadly defined, the type of fiction we are looking for is “fun”. Yes, that descriptor is highly subjective, and ultimately it comes down to the personal preferences of the editors. However, here are a few road signs to get you started on the path into our hearts.

A fun story, at its core, is one that works on the premise that things aren’t all bad; that ultimately, good wins out. This doesn’t necessarily mean that your story has to be silly or lighthearted (though it certainly can be). Joy can be made all the more powerful when juxtaposed against tragedy. In the end, though, there should be hope, and we want stories that are truly fun for as many different kinds of people as possible.

Swashbuckling adventure, deadly intrigue, and gleeful romance are some of the most obvious examples of what we’re looking for, but we won’t say no to more subtle or complicated topics, as long as they fit under the wider “fun” umbrella.

We HIGHLY ENCOURAGE submissions from authors of marginalized ethnicities, sexualities, genders, abilities and perspectives. If you are an author whose experience is not often represented, we absolutely want to hear from you. YES, YOU. If you’re comfortable sharing this information with us in your cover letter, please do.

What we’re enthusiastic about:

  • Characters of all genders and sexualities or lack thereof
  • Settings in non-Western cultures
  • Friendship
  • Happy marriages
  • Stories that pass the Bechdel test and/or the Mako Mori test
  • Afrofuturism
  • Neurodivergent characters
  • Characters with disabilities

What we’re NOT looking for:

  • Non-speculative fiction. That means no historical stories (outside of historical fantasy), no contemporary romance, no general literary fiction.
  • Pedophilia and rape, especially stories that glorify those things or use them as cheap ways of sidelining female characters.
  • Violence is okay, but torture porn is not. In other words, the violence should serve the story, not BE the story.
  • Similarly, sex is okay, but erotica is not. (There’s nothing wrong with erotica! We’re just not the market for it.)
  • No fanfiction.
  • No revenge fantasies against shrewish, nagging wives and girlfriends.
  • No stories about how humanity is basically terrible.
  • No works previously published in English. This includes anything that has been published on your own website. In other words, we don’t accept reprints unless it was previously published in a language other than English.
  • No stories that we’ve already rejected unless we specifically request a rewrite.

If you’re not sure if your story is what we’re looking for, please send it to us and let us decide! DON’T SELF REJECT.

Via: Translunar Travelers Lounge.

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