Submissions

Art credit to Anypoland

We are currently reading for our Winter 2026 issue!

The theme for this issue is Metamorphosis.

Metamorphosis: a complete change of form, structure, or substance. It is an imperative of life, and for many, the only means of survival.

Please send us Fiction, Flash Fiction, Poetry, and Art that speak to the nature of metamorphosis. Keep in mind that our reading of our themed submissions is broad and may not be taken literally.

The deadline to submit to the Winter 2026 issue is January 12th at midnight EST. All of the general submission guidelines outlined below apply.

The best way to learn what we like is by reading it. You can read our full Summer 2025 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  • Submissions must be original works of your own (not AI-generated) and unpublished.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:

Support The Fantastic Other with our Feedback Response Option:

Have a story or poem that you can’t seem to find a home for? Curious about our thoughts regarding your submission? We are running an extended Feedback Response period from September 1st to November 30th. For a small donation, we’ll share our feedback, what we love about your submission, and our ideas for how it might be improved.

You can explore our Feedback Response options here.