Submission Guidelines

Our submissions are currently closed. But you can read Issue #1 for free now to prepare for our next open window!

We must never confuse space colonization with the conquest of space. The world beyond ours is unimaginably vast; it will be what it has always been. When humankind begins to make its home in space, it is we who will change.

Cameron M. Smith

What we’re looking for

We want stories that challenge our relationship with space—past, present, and future. Get fuckin’ wild. Show us new mythologies and undiscovered gods. Show us what emerges from a black hole when its egg finally cracks. Show us the place where science becomes magic.

Your characters don’t need to be human, but there should be something undeniably human in their story. We want social outcasts and lovable bastards. We want courageous optimism in the face of despair. We love dark fiction and elements of horror, but there should be a glimmer of hope in it all.

For a sense of our taste, our favorite authors working in this genre include Kameron Hurley, Nnedi Okorafor, and Tamsyn Muir.

What we’re not looking for

  • Humans conquering/dominating as a monolithic group. We love unapologetically kickass characters, but we want more nuanced interactions with power.
  • Moralizing from the author. We eagerly welcome stories that reveal a reader’s blindspots and/or biases. We believe the most impactful stories accomplish that through character and narrative, not by telling us how to feel.
  • Gore
  • Erotica
  • Poetry or nonfiction
  • Hateful content directed/analogized toward any group

Issue #2: Theme TBD

Check back for more information around October or November 2022.

Here is a sample of our contract: PDF link

Before You Submit

  • We are currently closed to submissions. We will reopen in late 2022 or early 2023.
  • Original, unpublished fiction only. We are not open to reprints at this time.
  • Pay is 8 cents USD/word, paid via PayPal.
  • Use any standard submission formatting that is double-spaced, 12-ish point font, and please god our eyes not Courier New.
  • 1250 words maximum. We strongly prefer flash stories from 1000-1250 words, but you can send multiple micros, as long as their total is 1250 words or fewer. This will still count as one submission. If submitting more than one story, please put them all in the same file.
    • No exceptions. Please do not query for longer stories. We can save you some time: the answer is sorry, no, we don’t have the budget at this time but we hope we will someday soon. Do not lie on Moksha to get around this. It’s not clever, and we will ban you from all future submissions with us.
  • No multiple submissions. There’s only one of me, so I’m limiting submissions to one per author during our submission period. Please do not resubmit a rejected story unless explicitly invited.
  • Simultaneous submissions are always okay. We’re in the slushpile, too. We know the pain.

How to Submit

  • Please use our Moksha portal to submit. You can send any questions to spacefantasymag(@)gmail.com.
  • Include in your cover letter: title(s), word count(s), and a brief third-person bio. If there’s anything about your life experiences that inform your work, feel free to let us know.
  • If you’re not sure how to address your cover letter, “Hi Taylor” or even a plain hello does the job just fine.
  • Submit your work as a .doc or .docx file.