Baffling Magazine currently publishes two to three flash story a month on our Patreon. Subsequently, each quarter of published work is shared for free online on our website. We will publish additional work each month as our Patreon grows and will share those guidelines as we get closer to each milestone.

The compensation level for original stories accepted to Baffling Magazine is $0.08/word. Stories will be published first on our Patreon, then made available in our quarterly issues, and finally in an annual print anthology. 

Submissions for issues seventeen and eighteen will be open December 1-15. We will be welcoming stories on the theme of “sex” as well as unthemed stories. 

Note on timeliness: We are a slow market. Simsub is acceptable and encouraged.

We are looking for:

• Wordcount:   Under 1,200 words.  We especially love to see more stories under 500 words.
• What we want to see:  We are looking for speculative stories that explore science fiction, fantasy, and horror with a queer bent. We want queer stories and we want trans stories and we want aro/ace stories. We want indefinable stories. We welcome weird, slipstream, and interstitial writing.
• What we don’t want to see:  We’re not interested in unexamined bigotry or sexual violence; pieces that include such should be nuanced or looking at the post-event experience of the survivors.

Guidelines:

• Please submit your story in .doc or .docx file, formatted in something approaching modern Standard Manuscript Format.  Please use italics for italics etc.  One of the editors has a slight aversion to Courier and a fondness for Georgia.
• Please include a cover/query letter with the title, length, and a brief bio.  You may include links to your website/social media, and previous publications if any.  Please don’t stress about this cover letter, if we have additional questions about your submission, we’ll ask them.
• Simultaneous submissions are fine, please withdraw immediately if you take another offer.
• Stories should be previously unpublished. “Published” in this case includes stories posted on your Patreon.
• Please no multiple submissions.  If you receive a rejection within the submission window, you may submit another story, though it’s not common for us to reply that quickly.

Submissions are open to all.  Neon Hemlock Press is particularly interested in queer stories and authors.  Authors from all underrepresented backgrounds and marginalized communities are strongly encouraged to submit.  Please don’t self-reject. 

You should receive a confirmation of your submission via email. Please query us via the Submittable messages section or at bafflingmag@neonhemlock.com after 120 days if you haven’t heard from us.