Submission Guidelines

Submissions close on March 1, 2026 and will reopen April 1, 2026.

We publish Flash Fiction (up to 1,000 words), Short Fiction (2,000 to 10,000 words), Serial Fiction (20,000 to 50,000 words total), Poetry (up to five poems), and Creative Non-Fiction (700 to 2,000 words).

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

Bounties — What We Really Want

• Serial Fiction with a strong protagonist and a compelling emotional arc.

• Short fiction between 6,000 and 10,000 words.

Most submissions are considered for printing in an issue or publication to our website and, if accepted, may be published in one or both formats.

Submit one submission at a time. You may submit once for poetry and once for fiction of any category, for a total of two submissions. Please allow three months after receiving a final decision before submitting again.

Simultaneous submissions are allowed. Inform us immediately if it is accepted elsewhere.

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.

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 overtly 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.

• Stories primarily driven by genre conventions.

• Political commentary on current events or preachy narration.

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

What We Do Want

• Character driven narrative, informed by the growth or decline of a character.

• Sincere tone and worldview and emotional maturity in the narration.

• Excitement (or intrigue), stakes, 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

• Heroic Fantasy and Sword & Sorcery (with an emphasis on character).

• Epic Fantasy with strong secondary worlds.

• Space opera with fantasy elements.

• Clever and witty absurdism with flourishes of language.

• Thoughtful and literary prose.

• Literary stories backed with intentional integrations of genre conventions of Fantasy (required), Mystery, Horror, Adventure, or Romance.

Genres

Poetry

• Up to five poems

• No more than 10 pages

• Any amount of lines page limit.

• In most instances only appears in print.

Flash Fiction

• 500 to 1,000 words.

• Only appears in print.

Short Fiction

• 2,000 to 10,000 words.

• 6,000 words or longer are considered to appear both in print and online formats.

Serial Fiction

• 20,000 to 50,000 words.

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

• Submit the entire serial in one document.

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

Creative Non-Fiction

• 700 to 2,500 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.

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