Submissions

Art credit to Wangphan

We are currently reading for our Summer 2026 issue!

Unlike our winter issues, our summer issues are open-themed. That means we want to see whatever strange, surreal, enchanting, unsettling, or misfit work of fiction, flash fiction, poetry, or art that you’ve got!

The deadline to submit to the Summer 2026 issue is June 13th at midnight EDT. Please read all of the general guidelines carefully before submitting.

The best way to find out what we like to read is by reading it yourself. You can read our latest issue, the Winter 2026 "Metamorphosis" issue, here. You might just find something you like, too!

General Guidelines:

  • All submissions should follow the core code of the magazine: write or illustrate something fantastic. We are interested in all things fantasy, sci-fi, paranormal, surrealist, fabulist, and magical realist. Show off your weird!
  • Submissions must be original works of your own (not AI-generated) and unpublished. “Publication” includes previous posts on social media and blog pages.
  • We do not discriminate based on race, sex, sexuality, ethnicity, nationality, disabilities, or religious beliefs. In fact, we welcome and celebrate diversity in our contributors. Similarly, we will not publish works that promote discrimination or bigotry of any kind. Please do not send us work that denigrates women or minorities.
  • We acquire First North American Serial Rights on submissions we elect to publish. On publication, rights revert back to the author. We request that you credit us as the initial publisher.
  • Cover letters are optional, but let us know what name you wish to be published under and your personal pronouns, along with a short bio (3-4 sentences). If you have a social media handle you’d like us to use, please let us know.
  • Simultaneous submissions are accepted, but please inform us as soon as conveniently possible if your submission is accepted elsewhere.
  • We are currently only able to offer a token payment of 5 USD for each accepted piece, paid through PayPal. We hope to improve this payment in the future.

Fiction and Flash Fiction:

  • Fiction submissions should be no longer than 3,500 words.
  • Fiction submissions that are 1,000 words or fewer will be reviewed as flash fiction.
  • Fiction submissions should be double-spaced and in a size 12, no-nonsense font (Arial, Times New Roman, etc).
  • Please send no more than two fiction pieces and two flash fiction pieces per issue.
  • We can work with Word DOC, DOCX, and PDF files for fiction submissions.

Poetry

  • Each submitted poem should be no longer than 50 lines and under three pages.
  • Please send us no more than four poems per issue.
  • We can work with Word DOC, DOCX, and PDF files for poetry submissions.

Art

  • We have no limits on the number of art submissions each artist can submit per issue.
  • For art, we can take JPG, PNG, and PDF files.

Submit

  • Please send your submissions to fantasticother@gmail.com, with either Fiction, Flash Fiction, Poetry, or Art in the email title. Include your submission as an attachment. If you are submitting for multiple genres, please send those in separate emails. Include all submissions of one type in a single file.

Support The Fantastic Other with our Quick Response Option:

We have paused Quick Response Submissions while we work on preparations for the Winter 2026 Issue. We thank you for your understanding and plan to reopen this option soon.

Support The Fantastic Other with our Feedback Response Option:

We have paused Feedback Response Submissions while we work on preparations for the Winter 2026 Issue. We thank you for your understanding and plan to reopen this option soon.