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FABULA ARGENTEA SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
(rev 4/26/20)
Writers of quality fiction up to 8,000 words are invited to submit to our quarterly magazine.
We publish four times a year (January, April, July, October) and are open to most subject matter (but no fan fiction or erotica). Explicit language is acceptable when the story requires its usage. Sex is acceptable only if it is necessary and adds to the story.
Give us something unexpected. Amaze us with your writing, use of language, sense of story, and memorable characters. Give us a story that we and our readers will not be able to forget. Give us an intriguing opening or premise, then follow it through to a strong ending. Pieces that don’t do this will usually be declined.
We accept previously published exceptional stories, but we prefer that pieces not be currently available online or were published more than five years ago.
We prefer stories under 6000 words, but we will consider pieces up to 8,000 words. This is a change from our previous 10,000 limit because we found almost none over that length compelling enough for us.
Due to the number of submissions we receive, any piece over 5000 words that does not immediately grab our attention with a strong opening or compelling writing will likely be declined with only a partial read. We will include a comment to that effect when we decline it.
Please do not send us pieces similar to ones we’ve recently published. Unless they take us in a new direction, we’re probably going to decline them. We want something we haven’t published, not retakes on what we already have.
What we generally decline unless they are really powerful or bring us a DIFFERENT AND UNEXPECTED angle or voice:
(1) “Relationship stories” that involve troubled or abusive relationships, cheating partners, and boy-meets-girl, then boy-loses-girl (or vice-versa).
(2) Stories about extreme or gratuitous violence or terrorists.
(3) Stories where drugs or killing play a prominent role.
(4) Pieces that are not stories, meaning they do not contain conflict and a resolution or resonance.
(5) Stories about or reference some current event or individual in the news. If the story would not have impact or significance ten or twenty years from now, we’re not interested.
Each published piece will include a comment on “Why we chose to publish” stating why the editors selected it and considered it exceptional.
Our editorial policies respect the artistic license of our authors. However, there are rare occasions when changes are needed that go beyond basic spelling, grammar, and punctuation corrections. The author will always be given final approval, prior to publication, over all edits, even minor ones.
Format:
All submissions should have one-inch margins. Use a standard font such as, Arial, Calibri, Times Roman, Courier in 11 pt or 12 pt size. Line spacing is unimportant. Please refrain from using fancy headers or footers, text effects, background colors or images because these will not be reproduced in the final published piece.
Submission periods:
We publish at the beginning of January, May, and September. We cut off submissions for a given issue approximately one month before. Submissions after a cut-off date will be considered for the next issue. We try to respond within two to three weeks.
Rights and Payment:
Fabula Argentea pays a flat fee of $5 for pieces up to 1000 words), $10 for 1000-5000 words), and $15 for 5000-8000 words.
All payments are made via PayPal. If you live within the U.S. and cannot use PayPal, we will make occasional accommodation and send a check, but we prefer not to have to do this. Outside the U.S., Paypal is the only payment option.
Our terms of publication:
(1) For previously unpublished WORK—
The AUTHOR grants First World Rights to the PUBLISHER.
The AUTHOR grants Archival Rights to the PUBLISHER
(2) For previously published WORK—
The AUTHOR grants World Reprint Rights to the PUBLISHER.
The AUTHOR grants Archival Rights to the PUBLISHER
(3) Assurance that submitted work is not currently published elsewhere (including freely accessibly “public” Internet sites).
(4) Authors must warrant that they are the sole author of the work, that the work is original, and that no other entity has reserved the rights required by Silver Pen for publication.
(5) Authors must warrant that the work does not contain libelous material or material copyrighted by another party.
Other important points:
Pieces posted for critique on a controlled-access website (user ID and password required to access) do not count as “published.”
All submissions must be submitted through our Submittable web page unless we request a piece directly via email. Unsolicited submissions sent directly to our email address will not be read.
We allow simultaneous submissions, but please let us know immediately if your work has been accepted elsewhere. We are an all-volunteer organization and our time is limited.
Multiple submissions are welcome, but we generally will not publish more than one piece by an author in any single issue.
If you use Duotrope, please remember to report your responses. It helps keep us honest.