Submission Guidelines
Here's what we're looking for:
Genre:
Horror, any variant. This, meaning that we will accept anything from supernatural, goblin-ghoul-zombie-thumping-in-the-night types of works to more subtle, mundane terrors. Please see Marcy Kennedy's Crash Course in Horror Sub-Genres for reference on genre parameters.
Nothing is original, but a unique spin on a classic theme can be just as impactful as a fresh concept. As such, we do not consider zombies, vampires, and werewolves to be a "hard sell" by default.
That being said, there are some materials that we will not accept:
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Stories featuring excessive violence for its own sake (i.e., gore or violence that is not justified by the overall story)
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In that vein: extensive, unjustified descriptions of sexual assault will result in the immediate rejection of your manuscript.
We hope that you can disturb us without relying on these devices.
Fiction:
Microfiction (up to 250 words)
Flash Fiction (up to 1,000 words)
Short Stories (1,250 to 10,000 words)
We strongly prefer short stories to flash and microfiction, but acknowledge that great things can be accomplished in under 1,000 words.
Multiple submissions from one author in the fiction category will not be accepted.
Poetry:
Up to three poems by a single author within a given submission period, not to exceed ten pages in total.
Non-fiction:
All non-fiction works will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Please send a short query to publisher@novelnoctule.com before submitting any non-fiction materials. Payment for non-fiction materials will be made upon publication of suitable copy, not upon acceptance of pitch.
Artwork: All artwork will be considered for inclusion in Novel Noctule on a rolling basis, granted that the work coincides with the current theme.
Formatting:
Materials are to be sent in standard manuscript format to publisher@novelnoctule.com as a PDF or Word document. Entries submitted in the body of your email will not be considered for publication. Please see William Shunn's article on standard manuscript formatting for reference.
Throughout our first submission period, we tried our best to help writers re-submit their poorly formatted manuscripts. WE CAN NO LONGER PROVIDE GENTLE REMINDERS! It uses up a lot of time and energy. Out of respect for our publication (and our limited resources) please read the submission guidelines before submitting, and send your work in standard manuscript format.
Bottom line: It doesn't have to be perfect, but it has to be clear, readable, and include all of the required information. Standard fonts only.
Language: English
Compensation: It's very important to us that we pay writers and artists for their work. But, we are an individually-funded, small publication. As such, we can only offer compensation of $10 US dollars for all accepted works via PayPal. As our readership grows, we hope to increase this rate.
Rights: Novel Noctule is granted exclusive, first world rights to the submitted work upon acceptance for a period of six months. Exceptions require written permission from the publisher. Rights include worldwide audio and printing. After the six month period, the author is free to distribute the work as they see fit.
Archival and re-publishing rights are maintained indefinitely by the magazine on a non-exclusive basis.
No unsolicited reprints.
Simultaneous submissions are allowed, but please notify us upon acceptance elsewhere.
Closed
Current theme:
Misfortune
We welcome submissions from both emerging and established writers.
All work should be submitted via email to publisher@novelnoctule.com. Submissions should be in standard manuscript format and include word count.
Haphazardly formatted manuscripts will not be considered.