When’s the contest running?
Submissions are typically open from November through January.
When is the print issue published?
It gets published in the spring of the year the contest closes, normally in May.
How are the prizes figured out for the issue?
Rather than a flat prize, for the sake of transparency, we offer a percentage of the total submission fees to our winners, so the more competition, the greater the spoils. The exact percentage may vary between contests but will be made available on the submission guidelines when the contest opens (the last two years, the winners and honorable mentions split 45% of the total entry fees). All contributors receive a copy of the printed issue and have their submission fee refunded.
What's that look like in reality? For 2022, our winner got $360 and our honorable mention got $160. For 2021, each winner received $103, and the honorable mentions received $55.
Where’s the rest of that money going?
Submittable keeps $1.49 of each entry fee (roughly 15%) until we figure out a good way to do it outside of Submittable. A portion will be set aside for the production of the print issue. If we have any left over after printing costs, it's split between the contributors and our current partner charity.
You can see more details about the usual contest period, submission process, and prizes on the page below. When our contest is open, specific info about the current theme and how to submit will be on our Submissions page.
To order an issue and get an idea of our contest-winning work, scroll down past the guidelines or check out our Issues page.
Honorable Mention: "The Blight of St. Jerome" by Jeremy Steltzner
Prose Winner: "Stage Five" by Nikki Ummel
Honorable Mentions: Remi Recchia and Andrew Alexander Mobbs
$13 gets you the book, full-color postcards with the issue's featured art, and a broadside poster
$13 for our special second print issue, themed Oops All Genre!
Enjoy various works of sci-fi, horror, and fantasy.
Shipping included.
