Submissions

Submissions are currently closed. They will open again sometime in 2022.

Link to the new submission system is below, in the hopes that you will actually read some of the submission guidelines.

What I’m Looking For

To steal a joke, StoryHack Magazine publishes both kinds of fiction – action and adventure.

To be more clear, by action I mean that there should be characters actively engaged with an antagonist who represents imminent physical danger. Fistfights, car chases, vine swinging (alligators or spikes below), jungle insects, all that. But the protagonist must have an active role in the plot, rather than just having stuff happen at him/her.

By adventure, I mean the character does awesome things (is proactive) in a exotic (not mundane) situation. Heroics often enter in. The protagonist can be in a cool time period, a fantasy world, or have a bizarre profession, something about his/her situation should transport me, the reader, out of the mundane world. After reading, I should be able to say a main character “had an adventure.”

I’m open to any genre, as long as there’s action and adventure. And I’m serious when I say any genre. Space opera, spy thriller, sword & sorcery, lost world, high-seas swashbuckling, occult detective, treasure hunt / explorer, western, technothriller, you’re limited only by your imagination. As to style, think Robert E. Howard, Edgar Rice Burroughs, A. Merritt, Leigh Brackett, Doc E. E. Smith, Kenneth Robinson. Think fun and energetic. I’m not partial to mopey emo fiction.

You should know that StoryHack will not be publishing erotica or extreme gore. Also, I’m not likely to accept a story that has tons of cursing.

A little humor is good, but I’m not looking for farce or screwball comedy. More Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man, less Rowan Atkinson as Mr. Bean.

Also, if you want an edge, right now I’m liking stories set in the modern era. Think action thrillers or urban fantasy.

Length-wise I’m looking for short stories and novelettes. 2,000 – 17,500 words. The sweet spot for me right now is probably 9-10k-ish. Want some tips on writing? Check out these reprints of Pulp-era writing advice. Also, Lester Dent 4 ever, people.

I’m seeking as-yet unpublished works.

Payment

I’ll pay $0.01 / word for worldwide 1st print and ebook rights with 4 months exclusivity. I can pay via check or paypal. I’ll make a sample contract available if you ask nicely.

Formatting / Sending

I’ve loosened up the formatting requirements a bit. Of course, standard short story format is fine, but not necessary.

• Permitted file formats are doc, docx, odt, rtf, even txt or plain text with markdown.
• Go ahead and put italics in italics if you’d like.
• Put your name & contact information at the top of the file.
• No need to push the approximate word count over to the right.
• Keep your fonts to standard ones that are easy to read – Times/Times new Roman or Courier/Courier new.
• Double space helps tremendously with the editing readability as do sensible margins. If the formatting is crazy, I may reject the story on that alone.

Submissions are now handled ONLY through the new submission system. Don’t email them where you did before. I know you’re creative, but please follow the instructions.

Other Stuff

Stories simultaneously submitted elsewhere are fine.

Multiple stories submitted at once, no. Wait until you get a response on the one before sending another. If you break this rule, I will reject them all without reading them.

Also, if you are an author outside of the US, you’ll need to be able to accept payment via Paypal.

Thanks

That about wraps up everything I can think of. If you have any questions, let me know.