Stories submission guidelines

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) and horror (less gore, more fear), or any combination, that stand out from the norm; something a little different or something familiar with a different slant that someone who doesn't necessarily like any of the above genres might enjoy. Within those genres we don't mind alternative histories, crime and humour, so long as the latter works well. We like to see the darker side of humanity exposed with candor and honesty, but this needs to be balanced with an underlying faith in human nature - naivety if you like.

We don't want sword and sorcery, unless you think its content also incorporates what we do want (and that would need to be apparent right from the start); straightforward vampire or werewolf stories; magic without the science to back it up (If that confuses you then your story is unlikely to be accepted.); a story that uses already commercially established characters; and straight space opera. 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. We'll be asking for a sixty-word bio if your story is accepted.

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 DON'T put an additional space after a full stop or period. It isn't necessary and is annoying. It's an old fashioned convention that stems from early typesetting days and was taken up by typing schools. It can also create a snake pattern down the page which just looks horrible. We don't mind you disagreeing with us, just don't send your stories to us with the extra spaces. It isn't necessary to send us a bio with your submission, in fact at this point we are interested in nothing more than the submission; anything else gets stripped away before sending on to the editors. 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 (as some people have already discovered). We currently aim to respond to submissions within a month of receipt - query after six weeks.

We don't accept multiple or simultaneous submission (the latter is down to your honesty but infringing it could cause a very good story to be refused by everybody). [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. 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 . We aim to improve on all rates in the future.

A running list of contributors to each issue will also be posted on this site.

Last updated 6 May 2008