Guidelines

We're not going to waste your time with obscure and lengthy guidelines, and we hope you won't waste ours by neglecting to read these brief tips. If it's not already clear, we're primarily seeking engaging and original stories in the Fantasy, Science Fiction, and Horror realm. That said, we're looking for fiction that has literary merit above all else. Give us a conflict that cannot be ignored; give us a character that commands attention; give us a novel situation or a compelling predicament or a totally unique angle on a familiar trope. Send us a good piece of fiction and we'll figure out everything else later.

Edit your manuscript. Gaping plot holes, typos, mistakes, and cliched writing is certain to be rejected. No idea is clever enough to overpower bad or unpolished writing. We cannot stress this enough: edit your manuscript.

Hyper analyze your first page. Then, hyper analyze your first chapter. There's an overwhelmingly high chance that our editors will recognize within the first page whether or not they'll read the full chapter, and within the first chapter they will almost always know if they're reading the full manuscript. If you've ever earnestly explained to someone that 'it gets really good around chapter three,' know that while your friends, peers, and allies might be willing to invest an hour into you based on good faith, our editors simply don't have the time.

Write a query that loosely follows this formula: When (event happens), [main character, age x] must (action) or else (consequences). Your query should be 2-3 paragraphs, followed up with a brief bio. Don't overthink the query, but don't ignore it, either. Remember, this is the first text our editors will read.

As of 12/8/2023, I'm really looking for mainstream horror, commercial fantasy / science fiction, and generally just anything that's well polished.