Leviathan

The Leviathan. A mythical creature now used as metaphor for obstacles, physical or conceptual, too large to overcome.

Give us your larger-than-life antagonists - dragons, evil corporations, a kraken in the sea, an alien spaceship, machines that control reality, etc. verses the hero who must fight anyway. This theme is open to interpretation, and we love creative twists.

Genre: All short stories and poems must include the theme and be speculative, meaning science fiction, fantasy, horror, or similar. If in doubt, don’t self-reject – send it to us!

AI: We are not considering submissions written, co-written, or assisted by AI. If a real person didn’t write it, why should a real person read it?

Dates: Submissions open on November 15, 2026 and close on January 15, 2027 at 11:59pm Eastern Standard Time.

Short Story Guidelines

Word limit: up to 5,000

Format: please follow Shunn modern manuscript format:

https://www.shunn.net/format/classic/

Pay rate*: 3 cents per word. $5.50 minimum.

Language: English. We accept stories from all over the world. Translations are welcome and encouraged, even if the work has been previously published in another language.

Rights: First world English print right.

Simultaneous submissions: Yes. Please let us know right away if your story is accepted elsewhere.

Reprints: No.

Poems

Word limit: Up to three poems, 60 lines each/total

Format: please format as you would like it to appear on the page

Pay rate*: 25 cents/line. $5.50 minimum

Language: English (We accept poems from all over the world. Translations are welcome and encouraged, even if the work has been previously published in another language.)

Rights: First world English print right.

Simultaneous submissions: Yes. Please let us know right away if your poem is accepted elsewhere.

Reprints: No.

*This project is guaranteed to go to print. It will be partially funded by a Kickstarter campaign.

Again, no AI-generated stories.