Submissions are currently closed for the time being.
Each issue will be published on the first of every month. We'll be working hard to publish thrilling works of the strange and fantastic, and to that end we've developed a set of guidelines that contributors should take careful note of before sending us their very best.
What we want
Great science fiction. How you choose to meet this requirement is up to you. Consider that science fiction is merely a backdrop from which outstanding stories are written. Horror, detective, thrillers, etc., are all acceptable as long as there's some element of science fiction present (no romance or erotica). No serials, fan fiction, or anything unoriginal, please. Your story should stand on its own. Finally, we will not publish stories dealing with time travel, manipulation, or anything of the sort having to do with time.
Tasteful language. Vulgarity is acceptable as long as it serves a purpose. Don't use foul language just for the sake of using foul language. The same goes for imagery. Don't send us filth.
Length: 1,000 to 5,000 words.
Format: Standard manuscript. Any questions, see: http://www.shunn.net/format/story.html - we prefer Times New Roman. Cover letters are not required. If you're interested in telling us about any past publications, you may do so, however these will play no part in whether or not we accept your story. Unknown authors and those with long publication history are on equal footing here.
Reprints/Simultaneous submissions: No reprints, however simultaneous submissions are acceptable. Kindly inform us if your story is accepted elsewhere.
Send your story to: [email protected] as a .doc, .docx, or .rtf attachment. The subject of your email should be "[Submission Title] <SURNAME>" - if your subject is anything else, it will be automatically discarded by our spam filters. We try to respond meaningfully to each submission, but feel free to send us a note if you haven't heard anything in a while. Do not query before 30 days have passed. We're listed on Duotrope and we encourage you to track your submission there. You can also find our listing on www.ralan.com along with some other fantastic markets.
Rights and fees
Free submissions - This is not a vanity publication. There will never be a charge to submit a story to us.
Payment - We pay $20 for the first 2,000 words then $0.01 for each word thereafter, up to a maximum of $50 per story. Since our limit for each story is 5,000 words, this means all contributors will receive semi-professional rates of at least $0.01 per word (note: we're following Duotrope's guidelines here, which define semi-professional rates as a range from $0.01 to $0.049 per word). We'll be evaluating what we can offer on a monthly basis, and you can always find our current rates for the upcoming story here. While we'd like to pay more, it takes time to build a reader base - we hope you understand.
Rights - We retain first world rights for digital and print publication in English in all countries. Audio rights are also purchased for our featured stories, which are free to read/listen. All rights revert to the author 30 days after publication.