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FABULA ARGENTEA SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
(revised 3/9/2022)
Writers of quality fiction up to 8,000 words are invited to submit to our magazine published four times a year (January, April, October, September). We are open to most subject matter except fan fiction and erotica. Explicit language is acceptable when the story requires its usage. Sex is acceptable only if it is necessary to the story.
Give us something unexpected. Amaze us with your use of language, sense of story, and memorable characters. Give us a story that we and our readers will not be able to forget, one with an intriguing opening or premise, then follow it through to a strong ending.
We do accept previously published stories. HOWEVER, they must not be currently available in electronic form (for sale or otherwise), including on personal websites.
We prefer stories under 6000 words, but we will consider pieces up to 8,000 words.
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 generally decline the following stories with the following elements unless the stories are strong, different, and compelling:
(1) Troubled or abusive relationships, cheating partners, basic boy meets girl then boy gets/loses girl (or vice-versa).
(2) Extreme or gratuitous violence or terrorists.
(3) Drugs or killing play a prominent role.
(4) Pieces that are not stories, meaning they lack 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 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. Once a piece is accepted for publication, we will make no changes beyond basic spelling, grammar, and punctuation corrections, and the author will always be given final approval, prior to publication, over all edits. In rare cases, where we feel a piece might be acceptable with minor revisions, we will send it back to the author with our suggestions and leave it up to the author to make changes and resubmit.
Format:
All submissions should have one-inch margins. Use a standard font such as Arial, Calibri, Times Roman, or Courier New 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 accept submissions throughout the year and publish four times a year at the beginning of January, April, July, and October. We cut off submissions for a given issue approximately one month prior to each publication date. 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) 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 we require for publication.
(4) 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 otherwise. 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.
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.