Short Fantasy Publishers

[rol7805]

Hope this is the right place to ask this. I've been working on some short fantasy (around 5000 words). There seem to be a fair number of science fiction magazines that publish short fiction, but a smaller set of short fantasy publishers. Does anyone have some they would recommend, or a site that lists some? I've submitted to Leading Edge. I enjoy the stories they publish, and I love that they give feedback on every submitted story.

[Ian Whates]

Hi, rol,

Take the trouble to look around Ralan's site: Ralan's Webstravaganza - Ralan.com

If you use the menu on the right and take a look at 'Semi & Pro Markets' first, then 'Anthology Markets' and 'Paying Markets', you'll find just about every venue for short speculative fiction listed, with details on what type they like, what they pay and how long they tend to take to respond to submissions, along with links to the various websites.

It can all be a bit bewildering when you first visit -- there's so much info -- but it's a fabulous resource once you get used to it...

And good luck!

[iansales]

I prefer duotrope.com, which includes a submissions tracker.

[Tirellan]

I particularly like Black Gate Magazine (Black Gate: Adventures in Fantasy Literature. Edited by John O'Neill) which specialises in adventure fantasy. Beautifully put together mag too

[Ian Whates]

Originally Posted by Tirellan

I particularly like Black Gate Magazine (Black Gate: Adventures in Fantasy Literature. Edited by John O'Neill) which specialises in adventure fantasy. Beautifully put together mag too

Good magazine, certainly, but unfortunately they haven't been open to unsolicited fiction submissions for the best part of two years.

[rol7805]

Thanks for the tips. I had seen Ralan's before but not really delved into it. Quite the resource! I found what I hope is a good match for one of my stories (Realms of Fantasy).

[Ian Whates]

Good luck, Rol. Realms of Fantasy is a very good market, certainly, but they do have an awful lot of submissions each month and only take a small percentage.

If you do get turned down, the important thing to remember is that it isn't a personal comment on your story. Simply send it on to another market you believe it to be ideal for. I had a story called "The Gift of Joy" turned down by ten different venues, finally placing it with a webzine called TQR, who published it October 2007. This year the story featured on the five-strong shortlist for best short story in the BSFA Awards, alongside tales by Ken MacLeod (which won), Ted Chiang, Chaz Brenchley and Alastair Reynolds.

A rejectuion is just an invitation to submit somewhere else. And because a story doesn't exactly match what one given editor is looking for at that specific time, doesn't mean it won't be ideal for the next one.

[Tirellan]

Originally Posted by rol7805

Thanks for the tips. I had seen Ralan's before but not really delved into it. Quite the resource! I found what I hope is a good match for one of my stories (Realms of Fantasy).

If you sell to RoF on your first submisison you realise we will have to kill you.
Some of us have been trying to get in there for years!

[Doctor Sax]

Sounds like a challenge!

[walker206]

You might also check out the "qualifying markets" list over at the SFWA website.

I tried to post the link, but this forum wouldn't allow me to, apparently because I don't have 15 posts or something. Yeeeaaahh, that makes sense.

Guess you'll have to find it yourself. Shouldn't be too hard.

[Scarfy]

Originally Posted by walker206

I tried to post the link, but this forum wouldn't allow me to, apparently because I don't have 15 posts or something. Yeeeaaahh, that makes sense.

It's probably an anti-spam measure so, yes, it does make sense.

[Ian Whates]

Originally Posted by Scarfy

It's probably an anti-spam measure so, yes, it does make sense.

Yes, Scarfy, it is; that plus an attempt to prevent people from joining the forums simply to self-promote without any intention of hanging around and actually contributing to the community.

The rule might occasionally cause frustration in cases such as this, but most genuine members chalk up 15 posts pretty rapidly, so the problem goes away.

[ctg]

Originally Posted by Ian Whates

Yes, Scarfy, it is; that plus an attempt to prevent people from joining the forums simply to self-promote without any intention of hanging around and actually contributing to the community.

The rule might occasionally cause frustration in cases such as this, but most genuine members chalk up 15 posts pretty rapidly, so the problem goes away.

It's a good thing to provoke new members to post, but it is not as irritating measure as the one hour editing limit. There's been so many times when I have spotted a mistake and I wanted to edit it out, but I couldn't, as the window of opportunity (to edit) had closed.

[Scarfy]

Originally Posted by ctg

It's a good thing to provoke new members to post, but it is not as irritating measure as the one hour editing limit. There's been so many times when I have spotted a mistake and I wanted to edit it out, but I couldn't, as the window of opportunity (to edit) had closed.

Ah... the plight of the writer...

[Meadowhawk]

Originally Posted by iansales

I prefer duotrope.com, which includes a submissions tracker.

Duotrope is a great resource, it handles much of the mundane left brain tasks with which many writers seem to struggle (I can't imagine WHY?). I recommend it to aspiring writers all the time. It has the ability to reduce anxiety with the submission tracking as well, because it will let you know when submission has gone past the avg. queue time for a given market.

I have the power, walker206 (mwuhahaha) Membership Requirements

As mentioned, RofF, F&SF, and IGMS are probably three of the most desired professional markets for short Fantasy fiction. I also love the work Clarkesworld does.