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
Submissions
Submissions:
We aim to publish every quarter
We'll have themed issues occasionally. These calls will have clear deadlines
We only accept submissions through our Duotrope page - use the button below to reach it
Don’t put your name on the document - we only want to know who you are after we’ve accepted a piece
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
Though even then 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)
There are no genre requirements, and nothing that is specifically off limits though Jack is a feminist and won’t take kindly to misogyny or gratuitous violence or anything that smacks of intolerance of any kind (seems a shame to have to mention it, but we are where we are)
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
For themed submissions with a closing date, we will send out decisions no more than two weeks after the closing date
We will offer a little feedback if we feel we have something constructive to offer
The basics
Send us fiction between 50 - 1,000 words We want stand-alone pieces, not sections of a longer work
We aren’t going to decline your story based on spelling, punctuation or grammar - we look only at content in the selection process
We may suggest edits - this will be a collaborative process based on mutual agreement. If we can’t agree (never happened yet) then either you or I can withdraw the piece
Preference for Times New Roman, double spaced, 12 font
If you've selected a different font or spacing as an artistic choice let us know -but be aware our website doesn’t easily support non-standard forms
No thanks to
No previously published stuff
Poetry (love poetry but this is a prose lit mag)
No AI-generated work - we only want human-made voices please!
No hate speech, no punching down
We are grown-ups so most topics and genres (or not quite genres, or mixed genres) are fine
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 (either way) 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
