Once again, your humble editors have taken leave of their collective senses and have decided to once more call for stories. If you read this and it is after October 31, 2019… our deepest condolences but the window has closed, the ritual is complete and we’ve said too much.

2,000 to 5,000 words. No exceptions. No serials. No novellas. No 500 word pitches for a story that exists only in ephemera.

Send it in .doc, .docx, or .rtf format. If you nail it to our front door, we will admire your dedication while the local constabulary cart you away. Those devotees to the forbidden .pdf will be sacrificed to some forgotten demigod of wrack and ruin and your submission will go unread. Those who send links that we must click in order to read your submission shall have their names stricken from the record and be mentioned no more.

Acceptable genres? A short list would include sword-and-sorcery, retro scifi, noir, detective, Western (weird and otherwise). What we want are stories that are heavy with action and filled with memorable characters. We hold a certain fondness for giant monsters, pirates, thieves of all types, blackhearted rogues, mavericks, and sword swingers. If your characters can solve the problem with nothing more complex than a conversation and a push of a button, your story is not for us.

When will we get back to you? Our goal is no later than November 30th. This will depend highly on the (admittedly tenuous) sanity of the editors and exactly how many submissions we become inundated with.

We pay $15… which, while not much, should at least get you a burrito most places. Maybe even a beverage to wash it down with.

All other guidelines are here!