Submissions

We welcome stories from everyone. We are keen to curate a culturally diverse magazine and amplify the widest possible range of voices.

We believe sharing stories builds connections and empathy. Writers from all marginalised groups are encouraged to submit. 

Schedule

Submissions:

  • We aim to publish every 6 to 8 weeks

  • We'll have themed issues occasionally (one of us always wants 'pirates'). These calls will have clear deadlines

 
Issue One :

  • Went live 18th October 2024

 
Issue Two :

  • closed for subs

  • Published 12th December 2024

 
Issue Three:

What are we looking for?

​​Fiction is our first love. But when does the little bit of truthful grit inside your pearl of a story become creative nonfiction? When does your flash become a prose poem? We aren't rejecting those neither one nor t'other pieces out of hand but we are only looking for prose unless we specify otherwise in a themed sub call

We want the odds socks that rock. Things that make you go hmmm. The shyly anarchic, the wisdom of fools, the absurd heartbreakers.

There are no genre requirements, and none that are specifically off limits, but science fiction and high fantasy are likely to be a hard sell due to our personal preferences. See also droopy women not willing to take charge of their own destiny (or at least to give it a try)

What we like

If what we were looking for was an animal it would be a bottom-feeder ugly bastard fish, with feathers on its fins and a coxcomb.

Riding a penny farthing

 

Maybe your stuff’s not scary enough to be horror, not enough gags to be humour, not lyrical enough to be literary - but it's definitely not bland: it’s kind of scary, funny, slightly lyrical and just a bit weird

Who wants it?

Where does it belong?

With Us! We want it!​

​We may not accept it because our tastes are fickle dandelion seeds that float on the breeze (and/or it may not fit the overall feel of the next edition)

What to expect from us

  • We review submissions on a rolling basis

  • We acknowledge receipt by return

  • We read every story with care and respect

  • Every submission will get a response

  • For our general submissions you should receive a decision within three weeks

    -if you haven't heard with a month please chase us) 

  • For themed submissions with a closing date, we will send out decisions no more than two weeks after the closing date (although if your submission clearly doesn't meet our brief, we will let you know this sooner)

  • We will offer a little feedback if we feel we have something constructive to offer

  • If we accept your work, we may suggest light edits (but the work always remains yours, as does the final decision)

The basics

Prose only please!

  • Send us fiction between 50 - 1,000 words (we won't be counting them so this is a ballpark).​ We want stand-alone pieces, not sections of a longer work

  • You can send up to four pieces at a time (in one document, please) but 1,000 words should be the total limit

  • We're not fussy about font, size or spacing; just not pink Comic Sans

  • If you've selected a particular font or spacing as an artistic choice, please let us know so we don't change your vision to match our standard formatting. (But our website is limited)

  • Include a short (up to 100-word, 3rd person) author bio. If you forget, we'll check with you. If you really don't wanna, cool beans

 No thanks to

  • No previously published stuff

  • No AI-generated work - we only want human-made voices please!

  • No hate speech, no punching down (punch up by all means, we love that, do it, go on, do it)

  • We are grown-ups so most topics and genres (or not quite genres, or mixed genres) are fine. We draw the line at cannabalism, no one is getting eaten by another human on our watch. They might get eaten by bears though, if Cap'n Dave is feeling peckish

  • No extracts from longer work - unless the extract works as a stand-alone story

What we'd like from you

We respect the shit out of you, please, please return the favour

  • Simultaneous Submissions are fine - we want you to get your words out in the world - just withdraw via email if it's accepted elsewhere. Let us know where and when, and we'll cheerlead

  • Only get in touch about a submission if you haven't heard either way after 30 days. Cap'n Dave is often otherwise engaged so bear with (Geddit? Geddit? It's funny because he's a - oh, never mind)

  • Wait to hear from us before submitting again

  • Please give us a content warning for anything triggering. It won't rule your work out, but we might choose to read it tomorrow if we're having a bad day. One of us really, really gets squeamish about squirrels and jelly - so in the unlikely event you've written about a marauding trifle squirrel, please content warn the hell out of that baby (this is not a joke, we have a taxidermied bear as our EIC, we’re a bit odd)

Guidelines

Please read the guidelines every time you're thinking of submitting

Cap'n Dave is a bear given to fandanglement, who might change what he's looking for if his rum rations run low or his lunch gives him indigestion
 
There is no charge for submitting work but unfortunately, we can't pay you for it either.

We ONLY accept submissions through our DUOSUMA page.

Click button below to reach it

Submit through Duosuma