Neon Hemlock Skull & Snake 


General Neon Hemlock Submission Notes:

  • Unless the editors are otherwise specified, you can address cover letters to “Dear editors” or “Dear dave.”  Please avoid “Dear Mr. Ring.”
  • Please submit your story in .doc or .docx file, formatted in something approaching Standard Manuscript Format.  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 always fine; please withdraw immediately if you take another offer. Stories should be previously unpublished.
  • Please no multiple submissions.  If you receive a rejection within the submission window, you may submit another story.  
  • If you joke about how straight white men are underrepresented in speculative fiction, it will not win you any points.
  • Thanks for thinking of Neon Hemlock for your work.
  • Please don't self-reject!

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 twenty-one and twenty-two will be open December 1-15. We will be welcoming stories on the theme of “strange forms” 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.
  • Translations always welcome with permission from author. Payment to be split between author and translator, or according to your agreement.
  • Authors from all countries are welcome to submit.

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.

The anthology, edited by dave ring, will include pulp heroism in conversation with Samuel R. Delany's Nevèrÿon, Conan and Red Sonja, Imaro and Xena.

Check out the crowdfund here.

The compensation level for original stories accepted to this anthology is $0.08/word

Submit stories on Submittable between November 1st, 2024 and January 15th, 2025. Please contact us if there are any accessibility concerns for any reason and we’ll work with you.

We are looking for:

  • Wordcount:  Under 6,000 words. 1-4,000 words is probably the sweet spot.
  • Concept:  Stories of queer heroes forged and tempered in the fire, fighting dark stars and bright suns, and overthrowing tyranny in all its forms. Sword and sorcery, sweat and sandals, souls and stars.  
  • What we want to see:  We are looking primarily for fantasy stories on the gritty, un-epic side of things. We expect there will be a seam of the occult and cosmic horror running through the book. We’ll also probably include a couple sword and planet stories, but that won’t be the focus. We’re using the most inclusive definition of queer. Queer, trans, ace, undefinable. Throughout, we’re looking for rich, varied and nuanced understandings of gender, family and ethnicity.
  • What we don’t want to see: We’re not interested in work which focuses on unexamined bigotry or sexual violence. While this is a darker-themed anthology, we intend to handle these subjects with care.
  • Further vibe-check notes after getting some questions about what we are looking for: We’re probably not looking for stories set on Earth. We’re probably not looking for Indiana Jones-type stories either (though maybe a secondary-world decolonial approach would be cool?).

Guidelines:

  • Please submit your story in .doc or .docx file, formatted in something approaching Standard Manuscript Format.  Use italics for italics etc.  The editor 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.
  • Translations are welcome; payment will be split between the author and translator unless there is another agreement for such between the two parties.
  • Simultaneous submissions are fine, please withdraw immediately if you take another offer. Stories should be previously unpublished.
  • Please no multiple submissions. 

Submissions are open to all.  Authors from  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 after 120 days if you haven't heard back from us yet about this project.

We’d love if you tracked your submissions on Duotrope or the Submission Grinder.  

Neon Hemlock