If in doubt, feel free to send your story in and let our editors decide. Sexual themes and stories with strong sexual content are acceptable, but Lightspeed is not a market for erotica. Stories that have never before been published in the English language would be considered “original.” We welcome the submission of translations of stories from other languages. You can see the rest of our staff on our Staff Page. Lightspeed is edited and published by John Joseph Adams. If you submit your gallery, we will review it and get in touch if we want to commission something. Review Copies: If you would like information about how to submit books for review, you may send review copies to editor John Joseph Adams at the mailing address your publicity department likely already has on file (either for Lightspeed, Nightmare, or The Geek’s Guide to the Galaxy) email for more information.Īrt: If you wish to have your art considered for Lightspeed Magazine (either science fiction or fantasy), please send an inquiry, along with a link to an online gallery (if possible), to Please note that we only use 12 covers per year. We are not open to submissions or queries in this area. Nonfiction: All of our nonfiction is currently assigned in-house. Reprints: All of our reprints are currently solicited. We appreciate the thought, but it is unnecessary and will just clutter up our editorial inbox.ĭiversity Statement: We believe that the science fiction/fantasy genre’s diversity is its greatest strength, and we wish that viewpoint to be reflected in our story content and our submission queues we welcome submissions from writers of every race, religion, nationality, gender, and sexual orientation.ĪI-Generated Content Policy: Until the ethical questions surrounding the use of AI tools such as ChatGPT for commercial purposes are resolved, we will not accept submissions that are written with-or entirely by-AI. Please do not respond to rejection letters, even just to say “Thanks for the quick turnaround” etc. We will reply to submissions as quickly as possible, but expect that replies might take as long as a month. If we say, “send more,” however, it does mean that we hope to see something else from you. Rejections/Response Times: We cannot offer personalized feedback on each story.

Please do not email your submissions to this address. Questions/Problems: Email for all fiction-related inquiries, or if you have any trouble using our online submission system. If you’re not sure what should go in your cover letter, this article on cover letters might help. Rights: To see which rights we’re seeking, please view our contract template for original fiction.Ĭover Letters: Your cover letter should contain the length of your story, your publishing history, and any other relevant information (e.g, if you send us a hard SF story about black hole clusters and your doctoral dissertation was on black hole clusters, mention that). If there are any payment processing fees associated with your payment (i.e., if we use PayPal, WorldRemit, Western Union, Wise, or the like to pay you), we cover the processing fee. Pay Rate: Lightspeed pays 8 cents per word for original fiction. We also consider flash fiction stories of 1500 words or less. Word Count: For short stories and novelettes, we will consider stories of 1500-10,000 words stories of 5000 words or less are preferred. Your manuscript may be submitted in either. You can also leave your address and other personal info off the manuscript we'll gather that from you if we need it. You may submit one story per open submission period.įormat: If you follow standard manuscript format, you're fine, though if you want to format it to our preferences, we prefer single-spaced instead of double-spaced and Arial 14pt font for ease of reading on screen.

We do not accept simultaneous submissions or multiple submissions. No subject should be considered off-limits, and we encourage writers to take chances with their fiction and push the envelope. All types of science fiction and fantasy are welcome. Guidelines: Lightspeed is seeking original science fiction and fantasy stories. Instructions: All fiction must be submitted through our Moksha online submission portal. When we know when we're opening, we'll make that information available on this page and spread it widely.

NOTE: If Lightspeed is currently closed to submissions, please do not query asking when we'll be opening again. Please read everything on this page and read the magazine before submitting. Instructions for submitting to Lightspeed follow.

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