The Boring, Necessary Bits

We Want: Works with fantastical elements: scary, happy, creepy, heartbreaking, bizarre, hilarious, whatever. While you can see our “Loves” lower on the page, we’re pretty open to anything that’s worth picking up.

We (Probably) Won’t: Pick up works not tied to or containing fantastical elements. It’s kinda our thing. (However, some themes may lean more heavily on a specific genre or reality. Interpret accordingly.)

Where to Tread Lightly: We’re pretty open-minded and okay with just about anything, but there better be a reason for it to be in the work. The darker, more explicit you go, the more we’ll really need to see its necessity to the work. We don’t want shock / horror / violence for its own sake.

Definitely Will Not Publish: Any work that is hateful towards any race, creed, religion, gender, or identity. This aims to be an inclusive space.

Your work must be ORIGINAL. We will not accept any AI-Generated work.

Excluding non-fiction submissions, it must be complete. For these shorter forms, we need to see the whole thing to make an informed decision.

We accept simultaneous submissions, but ask that you let us know up front—and if / when it gets picked up by another venue as soon as possible.

If your work is accepted, please wait one year before submitting again. (We want to include as many folks as possible!)

Each Issue will be themed. However you interpret that theme is up to you. We do NOT need your reasoning behind it.

Please Note: Deadlines may close earlier if the issue fills!

2024 Themes and Deadlines

~ In the Dark - Jan. 31 - What happens in the dark? What lurks there? Show me those intimate moments—or the ones that will freak me the fuck out. Or any combination therein.

~ WET - April 30 - I’ve gotten some submissions that this theme just feels “right.” So… yeah… take this how you will and show me something “wet.”

~ W3IRD - July 31 - At this point, the “Weird” themes have become some of my favorite issues, so let’s keep it weird with a third installment!

Rights: We request one-time, first publishing rights in print and digital PDF forms. All rights will be retained by the creator. We simply ask that when / if published elsewhere, acknowledgment is given to its appearance within The Quarter(ly).

If a “Best of” or Collected Anthology is published, publication rights will be renegotiated for that publication.

Payment: We aim to be a paying venue, even if it’s just enough for a cup of coffee. Upon agreement of publication, we’ll pay contributors $5 and a PDF contributor copy.

However, in some instances where we’d like to publish a single poem, short work, or piece of art, we may not have the budget for a payout. We may offer publication for a Digital Copy of the PDF only. (We totally understand if you’d rather not, though!) Please feel free to let us know up front if you do not want to be considered with this option.

Here’s a brief, incomplete list of ways to increase your rejection chances:

• Start your story with a narrator waking up and / or not knowing where they are.

• Sending multiple submissions more than 1k words each, at one time.

• Lots! Of! Exclamation! Points! (Let the context guide the excitement.)

• Only sending rhyming poetry. (While I don’t mind some, rhyming poems are not a personal preference and increase the chance of rejection with each new rhyme .)

~ Other Voices - Now Available (Order Here!)

~ Myths, Fables, and Folklore - Now Available (Order Here!)

~ Let’s Get Weird - (Order Here!)

~ ENDS - (Order Here!)

~ Burn This Fucker Down (Order Here)

~ Let’s Go to the Movies - (Order Here!)

~ Weirder Still - (Order Here!)

~ Laughter and Tears - (Order Here!)

Vol 9 - In the Dark - 709 Submissions, 49 Acceptances, 27 Offered Payment, Acceptance Rate ~7%

In 2023, The Quarter(ly) received a total of 1,775 submissions!

Of those, 200 were accepted, for an approximate rate of 11%.*

90 Submissions were offered the option of payment, and 110 accepted a PDF as payment.

*Note that acceptance rates were higher / lower for different themes, as our lowest themed submission had around 300 subs, while our highest almost hit 650.