Submission Guidelines
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Moonday Mag is a speculative magazine that welcomes all writers and artists, both established and emerging, and especially seeks to uplift marginalized voices.
We're interested in work that is surreal, wondrous, macabre, fantastic, curious, strange, otherworldly, moody, chilling, and smart. Please send along anything that feels like a dream—something that will keep us up at night, in the best way possible. We want to fall into your world and never find our way back out. We want to feel grounded in your radical magic.
We recommend reading this interview or this interview with our editor, and checking out our Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net nominations for more insight into what we're drawn to.
We are open to fiction submissions January 1st – June 30th, and all others year-round.
Step one: You will need to make an account or log in to Subfolio, our submission manager.
Step two: Choose your category and prepare your work accordingly:
Fiction → 1 piece under 4,000 words in standard manuscript formatting
Non-fiction → 1 piece under 4,000 words in standard manuscript formatting
Poetry → up to 3 poems not exceeding 5 pages collectively
Visual art → up to 10 images in 300 DPI or highest resolution available
Book reviews (to be published online only) → 1 piece under 1,000 words in standard manuscript formatting
All written work must be in an editable file type (.doc .docx .rtf etc) and images must be image files only (.jpeg .tiff .png etc).
Step three: The submission form will ask for the following information:
— your name (or pen name)
— your piece's title
— a cover letter
— your bio (in 100 words or less)
— your online links
— reprint info*
— a 1-2 sentence synopsis (for prose)
— credit line(s) and artist statement (for visual art)
— optional feedback request
WHAT WE DON'T WANT
We are (usually) not looking for: high fantasy, soft sci-fi, rhyme schemes, or work intended for children.
We are NEVER looking for: gratuitous violence, sexism, racism, or other types of discrimination against a particular group; the exoticization or fetishization of a particular group; Aryanism poorly disguised as futurism; nationalism poorly disguised as utopianism; or plagiarized, freebooted, or AI-assisted work.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Will you edit my work? → We will lightly copyedit for grammar, spelling, punctuation etc, but never intentionally interfere with stylistic choices. More substantial edits, if needed, will only happen in collaboration with the author. However, please send your work thoroughly proofread, finalized, and ready for publication!
How often can I submit? → Once every 6 months.
Do you charge a reading fee? → No! We know how it feels to want your work to be seen and hosted in a safe space for your audience, regardless of financial situation.
Do you pay? → At this time, we cannot offer compensation to our contributors, but we do offer a lifelong home for your piece, as well as the opportunity to be nominated for a Pushcart Prize or Best of the Net.
When will I hear back? → Hopefully within 90 days. If you haven't heard from us in 6+ months, chances are we love your work but haven't had the right issue to showcase it yet. However, we ask that you please do not follow up, and instead trust that your submission has been received and is still being reviewed. We promise not to leave you on read.
Are simultaneous submissions okay? → Of course! If another publication nabs your work before we can, just withdraw it ASAP via Subfolio.
*Are reprints okay? → As long as it has been at least 1 year since original publication (or the place is defunct), we're happy to give it a new home. We trust you, as the submitter, to follow the reprint rules and copyrights of other publications.
What rights do you get? → Upon acceptance, Moonday Mag receives first serial rights, first electronic rights or one-time rights for reprints, and non-exclusive electronic archive rights. You consent to us promoting your work on social media, hosting it online, and publishing it in the physical magazine. After publication, all rights revert back to the author. If reprinted, please acknowledge Moonday Mag as the first place of publication.
What should I do while I wait? → You should track your submission! Moonday Mag is proudly listed on Duotrope, Chill Subs, and The Submission Grinder. And if you aren't already using Chill Subs, we highly recommend signing up! Help us keep our stats accurate and up to date ♥