Stories submission guidelines

CLOSED:
Until further notice.

We are looking for stories (and poems) of:

• Dark speculative fiction.
  • This includes elements of science fiction (not so much pure science or space opera)
  • Fantasy (fantastic as opposed to sword and sorcery)
  • Horror (less gore, more fear)
  • Or any combination, that stands out from the norm
  • Alternative histories

We don't want:

• Sword and sorcery
• Straightforward vampire or werewolf stories
• Magic without the science
• A story that uses already commercially established characters
• Space opera without darkness

However, if you think your story is going to knock our socks off regardless of what we've advised then send it anyway; you never know . . . . Also refrain from giving us a load of background - we won't read it and it's just extra baggage in our mail box. By all means say hello but keep it brief. Please don't tell us we're going to like your story - let us judge.

We only accept e-mail submissions. Stories and scripts should be sent in Word doc or rtf format as an e-mail attachment to subs@murkydepths.com with the subject line "SUBMISSION: Story title". Please use standard manuscript format, a sample of good practice can be found here except for the following: Please avoid putting an additional space after a full stop or period. It isn't necessary to send us a bio with your submission - we'll ask for one when your story is accepted. Poems should be sent to poetry@murkydepths.com as attachments or in the body of the e-mail. Significant deviation from these guidelines will result in your submission being rejected. We currently aim to respond to submissions within a month of receipt - query after six weeks.

We don't accept multiple or simultaneous submissions. [Multiple is when we are sent more than one story by the same contributor, simultaneous is when the same story is sent to more than one magazine.]

By submitting your work to Murky Depths you are confirming it is your own and that you have full rights to the work. We require first publishing rights. All other rights revert to the creator three months after publication. Work remains the copyright of the creator at all times. It would be a nice gesture, upon republication at any time in the future, to include "originally published in Murky Depths magazine" with a link to our site, but we're not going to make that obligatory!

Story length

No less than 500 words and no more than 5,000 words (the limit is non negotiable and 5k means 5k - 5,001 is over the limit - we use MS Word to count).

We may consider stories up to 10,000 words if a 250-word synopsis floats our boat. By synopsis we mean the whole story in 250 words - not blurb! Use SUBMISSION SYNOPSIS: Title (word count) as your subject line.

Poems

We mainly take short stories but will accept poems (preferably narrative rather than lyrical) if they tell a story within the above genres and within 50 lines or thereabouts.

Payment

All contributors will receive a credit, brief bio and link, and two free copies (worth at least £13.98) of the issue of Murky Depths in which their work appears. Additional copies can be bought at a good discount. We aim to improve on all rates in the future.

A running list of contributors also appears here.