Apex Magazine has re-opened to submissions, paying five cents a word. Under their new fiction editor, Catherynne M. Valente, the guidelines have changed.
Short Story Guidelines:
1) Mail submissions to [email protected].
2) Maximum word length a firm 7,500 words.
3) Payment is .05 per word. Paid within 30 days of publication.
4) Please submit either a Microsoft Word Doc or RTF file.
5) Use standard manuscript formatting as outlined by William Shunn. Essentially–double space, 12 pt. Courier or Times New Roman, 1? borders.
6) We accept reprint submissions. However, your story must have been sold to a highly respected semi-professional (think Interzone, Weird Tales, and so forth) or professional publication (F&SF, Analog, and so on). Payment is a flat $10. Mark your story as a reprint in the subject heading of your email. Word limit for reprints is 10,000.
Poetry Guidelines:
1) Send no more than five poems at a time. No simultaneous submissions with other publishers.
2) Payment is $0.25 per line or $5 per poem, whichever is greater, paid within 30 days of publication.
3) Format your submission professionally (Writers Digest format). Single-space within stanzas.
4) Poems formatted flush left are preferred over those requiring special formatting (concrete poems, poems with staggered indentation, etc.). We’re looking for creativity of expression rather than of page layout.
5) Mail submissions to [email protected].
Rights and Rules:
1) No simultaneous submissions.
2) Average response time is 20-30 days. Please do not query until after 60 days have passed.
3) We buy first world rights, exclusive for three months, nine months of non-exclusive e-rights after those three months, and non-exclusive anthology rights for three years.
4) Stories are required to contain a dark speculative fiction element.
What are we looking for here at Apex Magazine?
We do not want hackneyed, clichéd plots or neat, tidy stories that take no risks. We do not want Idea Stories with no character development or prose style, nor do we want derivative fantasy with Tolkien’s serial numbers filed off.
What we want is sheer, unvarnished awesomeness. We want the stories it scared you to write. We want stories full of marrow and passion, stories that are twisted, strange, and beautiful. We want science fiction, fantasy, horror, and mash-ups of all three — the dark, weird stuff down at the bottom of your little literary heart. This magazine is not a publication credit, it is a place to put your secret places and dreams on display. Just so long as they have a dark speculative fiction element — we aren’t here for the quotidian.
Keep in mind that the search for awesome stories is as difficult as writing them. If you are rejected, don’t get angry — instead, become more awesome. Write something better, and better, until we have to accept you, because we have been laid low by your tale. It really is that simple.
Visit the web site: Apex Magazine Online
