Haven Spec Magazine is currently closed to all submissions.

It's our goal to publish diverse voices from around the world, and to do that, we are actively seeking stories, poems, and non-fiction pieces by authors from backgrounds that have been historically underrepresented in the science fiction and fantasy canon.

As writers ourselves, we do our best to handle each submission with the care and attention it deserves. Every submission is an act of bravery, and we know that putting yourself out there as a writer can be tough. Just know that any submission we receive, unless it contains something illegal, will be kept in confidence.

When in doubt, don't self reject! Submit submit submit!

Acolyte Submission System

We are testing out our new submission system (the Acolyte Submission System), and there will undoubtedly still be bugs to work out. So, when you submit, please keep the following in mind:

Guidelines for Fiction

We like stories that are subtle in their telling and stick with us long after we've finished, and we're more likely to buy stories that balance a sense of wonder with a bold plot and emotional depth. For our two issues focused on the climate crisis, we're particularly interested in publishing stories from people displaced by or threatened by the climate emergency (see our themes below). For our other four issues, we're open to a wide variety of stories across the SFF and weird spectra.

We welcome writers from around the world who are writing in the English language, and we're open to translations as long as the piece hasn't appeared in English before. While we've accepted a few reprints in the past, we are currently only looking for original, previously unpublished fiction. Simultaneous submissions are fine, but please no multiple submissions. We also ask that you use the Shunn manuscript format and either .rtf, .doc, or .docx file types.

We try to respond to all submissions within ten weeks, so feel free to query by replying to your confirmation email if it has been longer than that. We also fully admit that sometimes it takes much longer, so we apologize in advance. If we hold a piece, please wait until you get our final decision to submit again. And if we publish your piece, we ask that you wait six months from the date of publication before you submit again. Finally, while we do publish both flash fiction and stories close to our word limit, our sweet spot is between 1000 and 4000 words.

Guidelines for Poetry

We like poems that use complex fixed verse forms (think sestina, awdl gywydd, masnavi, etc), but we're not against blank or free verse. Most important to us is vivid imagery, clever lyricism, and a strong emotional core. For our two issues focused on the climate crisis, we're particularly interested in publishing poems from people displaced by or threatened by the climate emergency (see our themes below). For our other four issues, we're open to a wide variety of poems across the SFF and weird spectra.

We welcome writers from around the world who are writing in the English language, and we're open to translations as long as the piece hasn't appeared in English before. While we've accepted a few reprints in the past, we are currently only looking for original, previously unpublished poetry. Both simultaneous and multiple submissions are fine, but please no more than five poems at a time, with each poem separated out as its own submission. We also ask that you use the Shunn manuscript format and either .rtf, .doc, or .docx file types.

We try to respond to all submissions within ten weeks, so feel free to query by replying to your confirmation email if it has been longer than that. We also fully admit that sometimes it takes much longer, so we apologize in advance. If we hold a piece, please wait until you get our final decision to submit again. And if we publish your piece, we ask that you wait six months from the date of publication before you submit again. Finally, while we do publish very short poems, our sweet spot is something longer than just three or four lines.

Guidelines for Non-fiction

We like articles on politics and pop culture, articles steeped in science or otherwise verging on the academic, and pieces with funny or interesting takes we might not have expected.

We ask that you use the Shunn manuscript format and either .rtf, .doc, or .docx file types for your submission. We also ask that you format the text so that any references are linked in-line and not placed in a work-cited section at the end. For example, if I wanted to make a reference to one of the many interesting stories in Haven Spec Magazine, I would reference it like this. Please only one non-fiction submission at a time.

Guidelines for Art

For each issue, we pay $125 for cover art. If you think your work would look great on the cover of a science fiction and fantasy magazine, send us a link to your portfolio!

Themes

WET ISSUE

Each September, we publish our WET Issue! Here we focus on stories of water—monsoons and the rising tides, hurricanes and the disappearing coast—we'll center stories by authors directly affected by the climate crisis, though we'll consider anything that fits the theme, even vaguely!

To submit a story for the theme, make sure to mention in your cover letter how your submission relates to the theme and, if you'd like, how you've been personally affected by the crisis at hand. Submissions by climate refugees are very welcome.

DRY ISSUE

Each March, we publish our DRY Issue! Here we're looking for content that focuses on the dry aspects of climate change—desertification and falling reservoirs, rising temperatures and endless droughts—we'll center stories by authors directly affected by the climate crisis, though we'll consider anything that fits the theme, even vaguely!

To submit a story for the theme, make sure to mention in your cover letter how your submission relates to the theme and, if you'd like, how you've been personally affected by the crisis at hand. Submissions by climate refugees are very welcome.

Interested to know how we go about accepting and rejecting stories? Click here!