Most events are installed on their deadline date, unless there is a long submission window or unless it's a rolling submission.
P=Poetry, N=Nonfiction, F=Fiction
- This event has passed.
F – Hearth Stories Seeking Submissions of: Cozy Fantasy
Hearth Stories publishes speculative fiction (fnatasy & science-fiction in our case) slice-of-life stories with a focus on connection, family, relationships, comfort, and the natural world (we love stories prominently featuring nature, as opposed to tech).
We accept works from 1,000 words up to 10,000. However, the ideal length may be something in the 1,500-3,500 word range. We do not currently accept poetry, non-fiction, or non-speculative work (there needs to be a fantasy or science fiction element present in the work).
Some things we like:
- Cozy, sweet, cute, kind, hopeful stories
- Caregiving, parenting, friendship, romance, and partnership stories
- Rural/pastoral life and less technologically advanced settings
- Works that take place in nature
- Stories involving food and cooking. However, we are vegan; stories that feature animal products may result in a pass on the story or a request for removal of the animal products
- Stories involving hermits, issolated places, or wandering in the woods
- Bonus points for stories backed by vegan, anarchist, eco-conscious, and anti-capitalist themes (while still fitting the above)
You may notice that none of those things have anything to do with science fiction or fantasy. We would like speculative stories with the above themes and settings. We are very into slice of life stories, the ruralism of Richard Jefferies (ruralism in general, extending to so-called “cottagecore”), and stories in general that take place in wooded places. We like witches and magic, new world stories (usually terraformed planets), alien worlds, and the small adventures of daily life. We accept simultaneous submissions (but we do not accept multiple submissions at the same time, unless specifically requested).
Pay scale
Authors deserve to be paid for their work, even by a magazine that professes itself to be non-commercial. As such we offer 1¢ per word for accepted stories (with a minimum of $20 regardless of length). We would love to be able to offer more, but we are not bringing in any money to offset the cost and the given amounts are what we, as individuals, can bear financially to support authors while continuing to release the magazine.
How to format your submission
We do not accept hard-copy manuscripts. As such, you will be sending a digital file. Here are our preferences in that regard:
- Please include, at a minimum, your e-mail address and the word count on the manuscript
- Send the file as: rtf, doc, docx, odt, or md
- Use any font and font size you like (we will adjust to our preferences anyway)
Where to send
Write to us at hearthstories@protonmail.com with the following:
- The subject will follow this format: “HS Submission: [Story Name] [Word Count]”
- The file, formatted as described above, will be attached to the e-mail (we do not accept links to files)
- The e-mail body will include, at a minimum, the author’s name and a short author bio
- The e-mail body will not include a synopsis of the story being submitted
Failure to submit in the above format will result in your story being passed on unread. We regret having to institute a format like this, but to combat a massive amount of spam we got during our last open reading period we want to know that folks at least took the time to look at these submission guidelines. If you have any trouble or you e-mailed and forgot to follow one of these items: reach out and let us know. We’re happy to work with you. Mostly we just want people to have read the guidelines. We value your time and want to read your work and appreciate you taking the time to submit to Hearth Stories.