Submission Guidelines

General submissions are closed. We will open for the month of June 2026.

We accept submissions for The Literary Fantasy Magazine (print), Mordschlag Sword and Sorcery (print), our Arcanist Online (web), and other anthology projects we’re working on in the background. See below for each publication’s specific guidelines.

All submissions are considered for inclusion to all publications. Accepted submissions are placed based on availability and editorial discretion. Your submission may be accepted for both a print publication and on the web, in which case you will be paid for both publications.

We strongly recommend tailoring your submission for a specific print publication rather than trying to appeal to everything.

We publish Short Fiction (4,000 to 10,000 words), Serial Fiction (20,000 to 50,000 words total), Poetry (up to five poems), and Creative Non-Fiction (700 to 5,000 words).

We only publish fantasy, or non-fiction related to fantasy. No exceptions.

Multiple submissions are not allowed. Please allow three months after receiving a final decision before submitting again.

Simultaneous submissions are allowed. Please inform us immediately if it is accepted elsewhere and accept our sincere congratulations.

To stay up to date with our submission windows, special publishing calls, and writing tips, join our Writer's Circle.

Our complete archive of previously published submissions are available upon request. Email support(at)thearcanist.net and we will respond with a link.

Submit your work on our Submission Form. If there are technical difficulties with the form, email your submission to editors(at)thearcanist.net. We only accept .docx, .doc, or .odt. We will not read PDFs.

Contents:

• Editorial Preferences

• General Guidelines

• Guidelines for The Literary Fantasy Magazine

• Guidelines for Mordschlag Sword and Sorcery

• Guidelines for Arcanist Online

Editorial Preferences

What We Don't Want

• Dialogue that relies too heavily on modern slang, sarcasm, or comes off as childish.

• Curse words that wouldn't fly on TV.

• Anything steamy, erotic, or primarily driven by graphic sexual depictions.

• Static, external stories where the character does not face significant challenges.

• Horror, Thriller, Hard Sci-Fi, Romance, Magical Realism or any other story that isn't a Fantasy.

• Parody or deconstructions of genre.

• Hopeless cynicism.

• Clones of Tolkien, R.E. Howard, or D&D.

• Political commentary on current events, preachy narration, or sermons.

• Anything touched by AI. Grammarly and ProWritingAid is allowed, but highly discouraged.

What We Do Want

• Sincere tone and worldview.

• Emotionally mature narration.

• Original secondary worlds.

• Excitement (or intrigue) and progressive complications that keep pages turning.

• Clear fantastic elements. At least two of the following should be overtly present: magic, monsters, quest, divine intervention, myth, historical settings, supernatural happenings, unexplainable/strange events.

• The best example of your work in Fantasy. Take pride in your work.

What We Like

• Pulp Fantasy and Weird Fiction.

• Epic Fantasy with imaginative settings.

• Steampunk and Gaslamp settings.

• Fantasy grounded in history or that is historically inspired.

• Bronze Age, Iron Age, and Medieval European settings.

• Bronze Age, Iron Age, and Medieval Non-European Settings.

• Prehistoric settings (dinosaurs = bonus points).

• Space opera with fantasy elements.

• Clever and witty absurdism with flourishes of language.

• Polished and intentional prose.

Hard Sells

• Modern settings and Urban Fantasy.

• Futuristic settings that straddle the line of Sci-Fi.

• 1st Person, Present Tense.

General Guidelines

Poetry

• Up to five poems

• No more than 10 pages

• Any amount of lines page limit.

• In most instances only appears in print.

Short Fiction

• 4,000 to 10,000 words.

Serial Fiction

• 20,000 to 50,000 words.

• Submit the entire serial in one document.

• Clear break points that accommodate 3 or 6 separate sections.

• First section of 6 part serials appear in print and online, with following chapters appearing only online. Potential to be printed as paperback under separate agreement.

Creative Non-Fiction

• 700 to 5,000 words

• Essays must relate in some way to the fantasy genre.

• Only appears online.

Formatting

Fiction and Non-Fiction manuscripts should be formatted in the Modern Manuscript style as defined by William Shunn.

Poetry manuscript should be formatted similar to the style presented by William Shunn.

Submit your writing in .docx, .doc, or .odt only. No PDF's.

Licensing

By publishing your work, we do not assume ownership over your setting, intellectual property, copyright, or your writing.

We ask for first printing rights and internet archival rights. You may republish works we have previously published six months after the release date, so long as you credit the piece: "First published by The Arcanist: Fantasy Publishing."

Compensation

We offer a token payment of $10 for submissions accepted for publication on the web.

For fiction submissions accepted in print, we pay $0.03 per word. For poetry submissions accepted in print, we pay $45 per poem.

Payment is dependent on yearly crowdfunding. Raises are available in the event we fund beyond our minimum goals.

Guidelines for The Literary Fantasy Magazine

What We Publish

The Literary Fantasy Magazine publishes Literary Fantasy fiction within the tradition of High Fantasy, Epic Fantasy, Heroic Fantasy, Dark Fantasy, Grimdark, and Myth. We also publish Fantasy poetry.

What is Literary Fantasy?

Literary Fantasy has many forms. In general, Literary Fantasy takes formal and structural cues from Up-Market Fiction, Literary Fiction, and Classic Literature. We prefer to see Fantasy that has character-driven narrative, thoughtful interiority, artful prose, strong themes, and/or relatable characters.

Your story should seek to dive beneath the surface and wrangle with some aspect of the human condition. Ideally your character will have grown or devolved in some way during their journey, or faced consequences for refusing to change.

Tips for Success

Polish Your Prose. We are formalists by training, so we love writers who are passionate about language and composition.

Iron Out Your Plot. We will not publish plotless meandering. This is still Fantasy, which demands an exciting (or intriguing) plot.

Be Specific. We’re not interested in generic Fantasyland and the same old played out tropes. Make your Fantasy stand out in some way, even if it’s a small one.

Authors We Love: Steven Erikson, Guy Gavriel Kay, N.K. Jemisin, Stephen R. Donaldson, J.R.R. Tolkien, Ursula K. Le Guin, and Marlon James.

Guidelines for Mordschlag Sword & Sorcery

What We Publish

Mordschlag publishes Sword & Sorcery fiction within the tradition of Pulp Fiction, Heroic Fantasy, and Weird Fiction.

What is Sword & Sorcery?

Sword & Sorcery is a fast-paced subgenre of Fantasy featuring characters of action. In general, settings are historic or historically-inspired, magic is dark and dangerous, and monsters are horrific and terrifying.

Many Sword & Sorcery protagonists are outsiders, driven by selfish or mercenary motivations. We also like to see noble protagonists, who are driven by honor and a moral code (but perhaps are not naturally inclined toward such values). The character should face a challenge and get dragged through to mud to achieve (or fail) their goals.

Tips for Success

Polish Your Prose. We’re still formalists. Sword & Sorcery is a craft-forward genre.

Establish Conflict Early. The reader should feel the narrative’s conflict within the first page, if not the first paragraph. Don’t begin on a lazy afternoon before it all goes down, put us on edge from the beginning.

Pacing is Everything. Keep the pages turning. Utilize progressive complications and consequences to move the plot forward and build momentum.

Classic Authors We Love: Robert E. Howard, Clark Ashton Smith, C.L. Moore, Fritz Leiber, Michael Moorcock, Edgar Rice Burroughs.

Modern Authors We Love: Matthew John, Howie K. Bentley, Matthew Knight, Erik Waag, C. L. Werner, Greg Mele, Tim Hanlon, Willard Black, Howard Andrew Jones.

Guidelines for Arcanist Online

What We Publish

Arcanist Online publishes Fantasy of any flavor. Our online publication runs on most Fridays and is sent to our email list every week. Anything submitted to The Literary Fantasy Magazine or Mordschlag Sword & Sorcery is also eligible for publication to Arcanist Online.

Arcanist Online is the frontline of our serial fiction, which runs on the web before going to print. Serial chapters published to Arcanist Online as compensated as individual stories (token payment per chapter). Serials are turned into printed books under a publication agreement, with a typical author royalty of 40% after net receipts (profit after expenses).

Tips for Success

Ideal Word Count. We prefer running stories between 6,000 and 10,000 words.

Study Our Serials. We have a very specific method of splitting up Serial Fiction to work for our web publication. While not required, authors who do the pre-work of formatting their serial in a way that is ready-to-publish in 3 or 6 parts will have a significant advantage.