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60ish Markets for Novellas and Long Short Stories

Submitting work to journals and presses can be frustrating for a variety of reasons, but for those of us who write longer fiction, just finding places willing to consider stories can be a challenge. Many journals max out at around the 5,000 mark for prose, while many presses aren’t interested in stand-alone manuscripts smaller than around 40,000 words. That leaves a pretty big gap where stories fall into a kind of publishing limbo.

I gathered this list during my own tedious searches for long-ish fiction publishers over the years. Journals and presses are listed alphabetically (numbers are organizational, not rankings). If you’re looking for a particular genre, you can see what each place usually accepts on this Google Sheet: 

Novella and Long Short Story Publishers by Genre

 

When Does a Short Story Become a Novella (and a Novella a Novel)?

As a general rule, you can use these divisions:

 

However, these aren’t set in stone. Some people consider novelettes to start at 10,000 words, and may not consider something a novella until it’s 20,000 words or longer. Others don’t think the novelette exists and say novellas start around 10,000, as soon as something’s too long to be a short story. If a publisher says it wants one of the above types of writing without giving a more specific word count, though, you can expect they generally want something in this listed length range.

Also remember presses and journals often have their own length restrictions, separate from these broad category guidelines. If a publisher specifies a word count, that always supersedes any general advice you’ve heard. This means manuscripts in the 10,000-20,000 range might be submitted as a short story, novelette, or novella depending on the publisher, while manuscripts in the 35,000-50,000 range could be considered novels or novellas.

 

34 Journals that Publish Long Short Stories and Novellas

All of the journals and magazines on this list have a maximum word limit no lower than 10,000 words. I’ve included only journals that meet one or more of the following criteria:

 

1. Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine
Submission Guidelines
Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine on Duotrope

Word Count: up to 12,000
Typical Reading Period: Open year-round
Reading Fee: None
Accepted authors get:

Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine publishes all types of mystery and crime stories, including courtroom dramas, police procedurals, whodunits, and even ghost stories if they have some kind of mystery element. They also publish a full novella (15,000-20,000 words) through the Black Orchid Novella Award.

 

2. Analog Science Fiction and Fact
Submission Guidelines
Analog on Duotrope

Word Count: up to 20,000
Typical Reading Period: Open year-round
Reading Fee: None
Accepted authors get:

Analog is one of the oldest sci-fi publications, starting off as Astounding Stories of Science Fiction way back in 1930. They’re open to any sci-fi sub-genre, so long as the story includes an integral technological element.

 

3. Andromeda Spaceways Magazine
Submission Guidelines
Andromeda Spaceways Magazine on Duotrope

Word Count: up to 10,000
Typical Reading Period: Open year-round
Reading Fee: None
Accepted authors get:

Andromeda Spaceways Magazine is an Australian speculative fiction magazine that has a taste for entertaining and light-hearted stories in the general sci-fi space.

 

4. A Public Space
Submission Guidelines
A Public Space on Duotrope

Word Count: None stated
Typical Reading Period: Varies
Reading Fee: None
Accepted authors get:

Since 2006, A Public Space has been a home for overlooked and unclassifiable work. Part of this mission is accepting stories that exceed the typical literary journal length limits, including novellas and novelettes.

 

5. Asimov’s Science Fiction
Submission Guidelines
Asimov’s Science Fiction on Duotrope

Word Count: up to 20,000
Typical Reading Period: Open year-round
Reading Fee: None
Accepted authors get:

Another mainstay of the sci-fi literary world, Asimov’s Science Fiction has a slightly broader scope than Analog, publishing surreal fiction, science fantasy, and other sci-fi adjacent subgenres alongside more firmly sci-fi stories.

 

6. Belmont Story Review
Submission Guidelines
Belmont Story Review on Duotrope

Word Count: up to 12,000
Typical Reading Period: November-January
Reading Fee: None
Accepted authors get:

Belmont Story Review wants work that’s, as they say, “at the intersection of faith and culture”. They’re also nationally distributed and pay their writers, making them a great home for longer stories with a spiritual bent.

 

7. Beneath Ceaseless Skies
Submission Guidelines
Beneath Ceaseless Skies on Duotrope

Word Count: up to 15,000
Typical Reading Period: Open year-round
Reading Fee: None
Accepted authors get:

Beneath Ceaseless Skies publishes character-driven adventure fantasy. Plot is important, but they also like works written, as they say, “with a literary flair”, and publish stories that use modern and experimental forms and storytelling techniques, as well as more traditional dragons and elves types of adventure tales.

 

8. The Charles Carter
Submission Guidelines
The Charles Carter on Duotrope

Word Count: up to 10,000
Typical Reading Period: Open year-round
Reading Fee: None
Accepted authors get:

This online magazine is run by students at UNC-Chapel Hill. Because it’s edited in a workshop setting, all pieces receive feedback on their writing, and they have a dedicated “Long Piece” submission category for stories of 5,000-10,000 words.

 

9. The Cincinnati Review
Submission Guidelines
Cincinnati Review on Duotrope

Word Count: up to 10,000
Typical Reading Period: September, December, May
Reading Fee: None
Accepted authors get:

Here’s another one for long stories in the literary realm. Associated with the University of Cincinnati, The Cincinnati Review publishes two print issues a year, mostly filled through their open submission calls.

 

10. Clarkesworld
Submission Guidelines
Clarkesworld on Duotrope

Word Count: up to 22,000
Typical Reading Period: Open year-round
Reading Fee: None
Accepted authors get:

Here’s another top market for longer sci-fi and fantasy stories. Clarkesworld prefers stories that don’t rely on over-done tropes, or at the least present the usual tropes in a new and inventive way. One thing to note: they’re one of the few markets on this list not open to simultaneous submissions.

 

11. Electric Literature’s Recommended Reading
Submission Guidelines
Recommended Reading on Duotrope

Word Count: up to 10,000
Typical Reading Period: Varies (open year-round for members)
Reading Fee: None
Accepted authors get:

The Electric Literature crew made a video explaining what they’re looking for better than I could, but in general they’re open to a wide range of content and genres, with an eye for work that’s relevant and timely.

 

12. Elery Queen Mystery Magazine
Submission Guidelines
Elery Queen on Duotrope

Word Count: up to 20,000
Typical Reading Period: Open year-round
Reading Fee: None
Accepted authors get:

Established in 1941, Elery Queen is an established and beloved magazine for mystery, crime, and detective fiction. The upper word limit for most issues is 12,000, though they will occasionally publish novellas (“short novels”) up to 20,000 words. 

 

13. Epoch Magazine
Submission Guidelines
Epoch on Duotrope

Word Count: up through novella length (no specified word count)
Typical Reading Period: September 15-April 15
Reading Fee: None
Accepted authors get:

Epoch Magazine is one of a dwindling number of literary journals that still only accepts print submissions, but to be fair that was the only option when they were founded in 1947. This is a firmly literary publication, so not the place to send work that falls under the broad umbrella of “genre”.

 

14. Failbetter
Submission Guidelines
Failbetter on Duotrope

Word Count: Short stores, novel excerpts, and novellas (no stated word count)
Typical Reading Period: Open year-round
Reading Fee: None
Accepted authors get:

Failbetter is an online journal of literature and art that publishes fiction and poetry every couple of weeks. This is a good home for more literary long fiction, with a connecting thread of lyricism and attention to craft in the works they publish.

 

15. Fantasy & Science Fiction
Submission Guidelines
Fantasy & Science Fiction on Duotrope

Word Count: up to 25,000
Typical Reading Period: Open year-round
Reading Fee: None
Accepted authors get:

Fantasy & Science Fiction has published heavy-hitters across the fantasy, sci-fi, and horror genres, but while they’re a tough market to get into they do publish emerging writers alongside these established names. They don’t accept simultaneous submissions, but have a relatively quick response tome (around 8 weeks).

 

16. Footnote (Alternating Current Press)
Submission Guidelines
Footnote on Duotrope

Word Count: soft upper limit of 10,000
Typical Reading Period: Varies based on submission volume
Reading Fee: $4.99
Accepted authors get:

Historical writers will want to know about Footnote if they don’t already. They publish historical fiction on any era, alongside scholarly work, poems, and historical documents pulled from the public domain.

 

17. The Future Fire
Submission Guidelines
The Future Fire on Duotrope

Word Count: up to 17,500
Typical Reading Period: Open year-round
Reading Fee: None
Accepted authors get:

“Social Political & Speculative Cyber-Fiction” is the sub-title of The Future Fire. They’re looking for inclusive, socially-conscious speculative fiction, and are a great home for feminist and queer narratives as well as cli-fi and other speculative work with ecological themes.

 

18. The Gettysburg Review
Submission Guidelines
Gettysburg Review on Duotrope

Word Count: up to 10,000
Typical Reading Period: September 1-May 31
Reading Fee: $3 online (free via mail)
Accepted authors get:

As one of “the country’s premier literary journals”, The Gettysburg Review is a challenging market to get into but not an impossible one, as their .77% Duotrope acceptance percentage proves. While they’re not a good home for fully-genre works, they’re open to a bit of the weird and supernatural, so long as the story as a whole is character-focused with strong attention to language and craft.

 

19. GigaNotoSaurus
Submission Guidelines
GigaNotoSaurus on Duotrope

Word Count: 5,000-25,000
Typical Reading Period: September-April
Reading Fee: None
Accepted authors get:

GigaNotoSaurus publishes a single longer story a month, and looks for works in the general sci-fi and fantasy space. While they don’t accept simultaneous submissions, they’re usually pretty quick with their response time.

 

20. Leavings Literary Magazine
Submission Guidelines
Leavings on Duotrope

Word Count: up to 12,000
Typical Reading Period: Open year-round
Reading Fee: None
Accepted authors get:

Leavings is a good home for longer literary stories that explore human relationships, both at the personal level and the broader connection between people and their world.

 

21. Lost Colony
Submission Guidelines
Lost Colony on Duotrope

Word Count: 10,000-25,000
Typical Reading Period: Open year-round
Reading Fee: None
Accepted authors get:

Lost Colony was started to give a home to mid-length speculative stories that fall outside the word limits of many journals. They were established fairly recently in 2021, but you can read their first issue free to get a sense of their overall style, and they do pay (the reason I’ve included them despite their recent founding).

 

22. Metaphorosis Magazine
Submission Guidelines
Metaphorosis Magazine on Duotrope

Word Count: up to 10,000
Typical Reading Period: Open year-round
Reading Fee: None
Accepted authors get:

Metaphorosis Magazine is a home for smart, modern sci-fi and fantasy. They’re open to any sub-genre within this broad niche, and favor stories that pay as much attention to the flow and beauty of the writing as they do to creating engaging characters and intriguing plots.

 

23. Midnight Bites (Crone Girls Press)
Submission Guidelines
Midnight Bites on Duotrope

Word Count: 10,000-25,000
Typical Reading Period: Open year-round (rolling theme deadlines)
Reading Fee: None
Accepted authors get:

Crone Girls Press publishes horror anthologies, and their Midnight Bites series is devoted exclusively to stories of novella and novelette length. They often have themes for upcoming anthologies. Open themes were medical horror and carnival horror as of mid-2022, and past themes have included cursed objects, Christmas horror, and adventure horror.

 

24. Narrative Magazine
Submission Guidelines
Narrative on Duotrope

Word Count: up to 40,000
Typical Reading Period: open year-round (free in early April)
Reading Fee: $23-$27, depending on category
Accepted authors get:

Narrative is a non-profit organization with a mission to make great literature accessible to the masses, and it’s one of the few journals that’s free to read that also pays its writers. The flip side of this is they do charge a somewhat pricey reading fee. If $20+ is outside your submission budget, they have an open free reading period the first 2 weeks of April.

 

25. NewMyths
Submission Guidelines
NewMyths on Duotrope

Word Count: up to 10,000
Typical Reading Period: January 1-Feburary 28, June 1-July 31
Reading Fee: None
Accepted authors get:

Among the many sci-fi/fantasy mags on this list, NewMyths stands out for the variety of tones, styles, and sub-genres it publishes. The publish themed anthologies along with their online magazine, so be sure to check their call for submissions to see if there’s a current open theme.

 

26. Night Picnic
Submission Guidelines
Night Picnic on Duotrope

Word Count: no word count limits
Typical Reading Period: Open year-round
Reading Fee: None
Accepted authors get:

Night Picnic publishes just about everything, including plays, interviews, essays, and art, as well as fiction of any length. That said, they don’t do hard sci-fi, though they’re open to works on the weird side of literary. While they’re relatively new (established 2018), I’ve included them here because they are a print publication, and with a novella-length work it can be especially nice to have it on a printed page.

 

27. Pleiades
Submission Guidelines
Pleiades on Duotrope

Word Count: up to 12,000
Typical Reading Period: Varies (opens in June in 2022)
Reading Fee: None
Accepted authors get:

Pleiades has a long history, established in 1981, and has published some heavy-hitters in its 40+ years. They look for realism in their characters and setting, a good home for lyrical and literary long fiction.

 

28. PULP Literature
Submission Guidelines
PULP on Duotrope

Word Count: up to 20,000
Typical Reading Period: Varies (check their website for current open calls)
Reading Fee: None
Accepted authors get:

PULP aims to publish one work in the 10,000+ length in every issue, so while the odds of acceptance are higher for shorter stories, they do have a home for compelling longer works. They’ll also publish work from any genre, including literary realism and oft-overlooked genres like romance.

 

29. Reckoning
Submission Guidelines
Reckoning on Duotrope

Word Count: up to 20,000
Typical Reading Period: Varies (open through September in 2022)
Reading Fee: None
Accepted authors get:

Reckoning publishes creative writing about environmental justice. Their issues often have themes (the Reckoning 7 reading period open in 2022 is themed “oceans”), and the fiction they publish tends to be speculative, though they’re not limited to work in that genre.

 

30. ShortStory Substack
Submission Guidelines
ShortStory Substack on Duotrope

Word Count: up to 10,000
Typical Reading Period: Open year-round
Reading Fee: None
Accepted authors get:

ShortStory Substack is a new take on the literary journal. A single short story is sent each month to subscribers, and half the subscriber revenue from that period is shared with the story’s author. While it doesn’t have the history and longevity of some of the publishers on this list, the concept’s an intriguing one.

 

31. Society of Misfit Stories (Bards and Sages Publishing)
Submission Guidelines
The Society of Misfit Stories on Duotrope

Word Count: 5,000-20,000
Typical Reading Period: Open year-round
Reading Fee: None
Accepted authors get:

Similar to a few other journals here, The Society of Misfit Stories was established as a home for stories too long for most lit mags but too short for most presses. They publish genre works in the broadest sense, including thrillers, mystery, horror, adventure, fantasy, and sci-fi.

 

32. StoryHack
Submission Guidelines
StoryHack on Duotrope

Word Count: up to 17,500
Typical Reading Period: Varies
Reading Fee: None
Accepted authors get:

StoryHack publishes adventure stories across genres—it can be set any time or anywhere, as long as there’s lots of action. Guidelines say their sweet spot length-wise is around 9,000-10,000, so it’s a market that’s actively seeking stories on the longer side.

 

33. The /temz/ Review
Submission Guidelines
The /temz/ Review on Duotrope

Word Count: up to 10,000 (soft limit)
Typical Reading Period: Varies (opens in June in 2022)
Reading Fee: None
Accepted authors get:

The /temz/ Review publishes fiction that’s, as they say, strange, experimental, and boundary-pushing. They’ll be a better fit for modern, innovative long narratives, and will consider works longer than 10,000 if they justify their length (read: tight with no fluff).

 

34. Uncanny Magazine
Submission Guidelines
Uncanny Magazine on Duotrope

Word Count: 17,500-40,000
Typical Reading Period: Varies (check submission guidelines for current openings)
Reading Fee: None
Accepted authors get:

Another well-regarded sci-fi and fantasy magazine, stories published in Uncanny Magazine have won the Hugo, Parsec, and British Fantasy Awards, so it’s likely your novella will be in good company if it’s accepted here.

26 Presses that Publish Standalone Novellas and Novelettes

The list includes both open submission calls and prizes. I’ve aimed to include only presses where a novella has a realistic chance of finding a home, either because the press is actively seeking novellas or because they’ve published them before. Royalty and advance information is listed where it’s known—if nothing’s listed, that doesn’t necessarily mean you don’t get paid for publishing with that press, it’s just not information they make public.

 

1. Annorlunda Enterprises
Submission Guidelines
Annorlunda Enterprises on Duotrope

Word Count: 7,500-25,000
Typical Reading Period: Varies
Reading Fee: None
Accepted authors get:

Annorlunda Enterprises publishes only works of novella length and shorter, and will consider any genre except for horror and erotica.

 

2. Aqueduct Press Conversation Pieces series
Submission Guidelines
Aqueduct Press on Duotrope

Word Count: 20,000-35,000
Typical Reading Period: Open year-round
Reading Fee: None
Accepted authors get:

Aqueduct Press is a niche publisher focused exclusively on feminist science fiction. They’re looking for thoughtful and challenging novella-length narratives for their Conversations Pieces series, and consider work in any sci-fi subgenre, with a list ranging from post-apocalypse survival to planetary romance.

 

3. Bad Dream Entertainment
Submission Guidelines
Bad Dream Entertainment on Duotrope

Word Count: 24,000 and up
Typical Reading Period: Varies
Reading Fee: None
Accepted authors get:

If you write dark fiction, especially if it also has a sense of humor, Bad Dream Entertainment could be a good fit for your work. Like many small presses their open submission windows tend to be limited, so if you know you want to submit it’s smart to follow them on social media so you’ll see as soon as they open back up.

 

4. BatCat Press
Submission Guidelines
BatCat Press on Duotrope

Word Count: No stated word count
Typical Reading Period: Open year-round (submissions encouraged June-August)
Reading Fee: None
Accepted authors get:

BatCat Press produces handmade, limited-edition books. Since it’s student-run they had to close during the pandemic, but they plan to re-open for submissions during the upcoming school year.

5. Black Hare Press Short Reads Series
Submission Guidelines
Short Reads Series on Duotrope

Word Count: 5,000-17,000
Typical Reading Period: Open year-round
Reading Fee: Free
Accepted authors get:

Black Hare Press publishes across genres. For their Short Reads series they’re specifically looking for dark stories, though they don’t necessarily need to fit neatly into the horror genre.

 

6. Cephalopress
Submission Guidelines
Cephalopress on Duotrope

Word Count: 25,000-60,000
Typical Reading Period: Varies (plan to reopen in later 2022)
Reading Fee: None
Accepted authors get:

This young press founded in 2018 aspires to provide a home to works that other presses don’t see as commercially viable, so while they don’t yet have any novellas in their catalog I believe them when they say they’re very interested in publishing some in the future. The main content limitation is they don’t do genre in any form, but they’re an option for literary novella writers.

 

7. Driftwood Press Novella Series
Submission Guidelines
Driftwood Press Novella Series on Duotrope

Word Count: 15,000-30,000
Typical Reading Period: Open year-round (occasional closures based on volume)
Reading Fee: $20
Accepted authors get:

This Tampa, Florida-based litearary journal also has a novella series, and veers toward lyrical, literary work with a touch of magical realism or surrealism.

 

8. Eerie River Publishing
Submission Guidelines
Eerie River Publishing on Duotrope

Word Count: 25,000 and up
Typical Reading Period: Varies (opening summer 2022)
Reading Fee: None
Accepted authors get:

For this upcoming call for submission, Eerie River is seeking specifically horror and dark fantasy. They plan to expand this in the future, though, so check their website to see what genres they’re currently reading in.

 

9. Interstellar Flight Press
Submission Guidelines
Interstellar Flight Press on Duotrope

Word Count: 17.500-40,000
Typical Reading Period: Varies (open October-December 2022)
Reading Fee: None
Accepted authors get:

Interstellar Flight Press is an indie speculative press focused on publishing innovative sci-fi, fantasy, and horror. They’re looking specifically for horror novellas in late 2022, which includes sci-fi or mystery/thriller with horror elements.

 

10. Kristell Ink (Grimbold Books)
Submission Guidelines
Kristell Ink on Duotrope

Word Count: 17,500-40,000
Typical Reading Period: March 1-June 30
Reading Fee: None
Accepted authors get:

Kristell Ink is one of the few presses currently publishing only novella-length work. They focus on work in the sci-fi/fantasy space and want to see tight writing, strong characters, and unique settings

 

11. Lanternfish Press
Submission Guidelines
Lanternfish Press on Duotrope

Word Count: 18,000 and up
Typical Reading Period: Varies (check website for open calls)
Reading Fee: None
Accepted authors get:

Lanternfish is a self-described publisher “of the rare and strange”, including speculative works and those straddling the boundary between literary and genre.

 

12. Luna Press Publishing
Submission Guidelines
Luna Press on Duotrope

Word Count: 20,000-40,000
Typical Reading Period: Varies (early April for novellas in 2022)
Reading Fee: None
Accepted authors get:

Luna Press has a dedicated novella series, many of whose titles come through their open submission calls. Their niche is generally speculative, including sci-fi and fantasy.

 

13. Mannison Minibooks
Submission Guidelines
Mannison Minibooks on Duotrope

Word Count: 5,000-20,000
Typical Reading Period: Varies
Reading Fee: None
Accepted authors get:

The Minibook series from Mannison Press are small, self-contained stories, published as pocket-sized 5”X7” volumes. They’re open to all genres, with a catalog that ranges from western to cosmic horror to period mysteries.

 

14. 1729 Prize in Prose (Mason Jar Press)
Submission Guidelines
The 1729 Prize in Prose on Duotrope

Word Count: Novella or longer (no specific word count given)
Typical Reading Period: April 15-July 15
Entry Cost: None
Accepted authors get:

Based in Baltimore, Mason Jar Press publishes accessible experimental fiction in the form of handmade, limited-edition books. Aesthetically, they look for “strong, straightforward prose that’s just a little off,” along with hybrid and semi-experimental literary fiction.

 

15. Meerkat Press
Submission Guidelines
Meerkat Press on Duotrope

Word Count: 17,000-60,000
Typical Reading Period: Varies (January-March in 2022)
Reading Fee: None
Accepted authors get:

Meerkat Press is a small, independent publisher with a growing catalog devoted to literary-leaning speculative fiction.

 

16. Mirror World Publishing
Submission Guidelines
Mirror World Publishing on Duotrope

Word Count: 25,000 and up
Typical Reading Period: October 1-November 15
Reading Fee: None
Accepted authors get:

Mirror World publishes escapism fiction—in other words, stories that transport readers to new worlds and realities. They’ll consider work in any genre that meets this qualification, though their list does veer more toward fantasy.

 

17. Overtime Series (Workers Write!)
Submission Guidelines
Overtime Series on Duotrope

Word Count: 5,000-10,000
Typical Reading Period: Open year-round
Reading Fee: None
Accepted authors get:

The Overtime Series are single-story chapbooks for stories a bit too long for the partner journal, Workers Write! Stories should have work as a central focus, though there’s no limitation on genre or style beyond this.

 

18. Ploughshares Solos
Submission Guidelines
Ploughshares Solos on Duotrope

Word Count: 7,500-20,000
Typical Reading Period: June 1-January 15
Reading Fee: $3
Accepted authors get:

Ploughshares launched their Solos series in 2012 to give a home to work too long for their journal. Solos are published as stand-alone eBooks. They also accept creative non-fiction works for the series, one of the few places that considers CNF at this length.

 

19. REaDLips Press
Submission Guidelines
REaDLips Press on Duotrope

Word Count: 20,000-60,000
Typical Reading Period: Open year-round
Reading Fee: None
Accepted authors get:

REaDLips Press only publishes novella-length fiction, along with similarly-length collections of poems and short stories. They generally want literary work, though they’ll also consider experimental fiction.

 

20. The Reckless (imprint of Candlemark & Gleam)
Submission Guidelines
Candlemark & Gleam on Duotrope

Word Count: 12,000-42,000
Typical Reading Period: Open year-round
Reading Fee: None
Accepted authors get:

The Reckless is the novella and novelette imprint of the speculative fiction publisher Candlemark & Gleam. All forms of sci-fi, fantasy, and blends of the two are welcome, and mythic or historic elements are especially in their wheelhouse.

 

21. Rescue Press
Submission Guidelines
Rescue Press on Duotrope

Word Count: 25,000 and up
Typical Reading Period: November-January
Reading Fee: None
Accepted authors get:

This independent publisher founded in 2009 is a particularly good home for hybrid work and non-traditional forms, as well as literary stories that are experimental or break boundaries in other ways.

 

22. Split/Lip Press
Submission Guidelines
Split/Lip on Duotrope

Word Count: 15,000 and up
Typical Reading Period: July 1-September 1
Reading Fee: $15
Accepted authors get:

Another great home for experimental and boundary-breaking stories, Split/Lip Press publishes fiction and hybrid manuscripts at a novella length, and all of their books come to them through their open reading calls.

 

23. Stelliform Press
Submission Guidelines
Stelliform on Duotrope

Word Count: 17,500 and up
Typical Reading Period: September 1-December 31
Reading Fee: None
Accepted authors get:

Stelliform Press is a niche independent publisher of fiction and CNF related to how people interact with their environment, especially in the area of climate change and ecological destruction. They’ll consider work from a broad range of genres so long as it relates to this theme.

 

24. Stillhouse Press Novella Contest
Submission Guidelines
Stillhouse Press Novella Contest on Duotrope

Word Count: 25,000-45,000
Typical Reading Period: November 1-March 31
Entry Cost: $25
Accepted authors get:

Stillhouse Press is an independent publisher based in Virginia. Their primary focus is work that crosses genre boundaries and experiments with innovative or risk-taking forms. They mostly publish novels but had their first contest for novella manuscripts from November 2021 through March 2022. There is no guarantee this will become a regular event, but it makes them worth keeping on your radar if you’re looking for places that publish novellas.

 

25. Texas Review Press Clay Reynolds Novella Prize
Submission Guidelines
Clay Reynolds Novella Prize on Duotrope

Word Count: 20,000-50,000
Typical Reading Period: November 1-March 31
Entry Cost: $20
Accepted authors get:

This novella series has been running continuously since 2001, making it one of the most reliable annual novella contests out there. The press as a whole is especially interested in Southern, Latino, and Texas literature, folklore, and culture, but their novella series isn’t limited to these topics or demographics. It is, however, firmly literary.

 

26. Working Titles (The Massachusetts Review)
Submission Guidelines
Working Titles on Duotrope

Word Count: 7,000-25,000
Typical Reading Period: May 1-October 1
Reading Fee: None
Accepted authors get:

A project of The Massachusetts Review, Working Titles are stand-alone eBooks that are either too long for the journal or use interactive elements that can’t be done in print.

5 Serialization Options for Longer Fiction

I’ve included here only places that routinely publish unsolicited work and outline a process for doing so on their website (there are other cool projects doing serials, but they either have an in-house writing team or work solely with established authors). This is a much shorter list than the others, but there are a few places regularly serializing fiction:

 

1. Analog Science Fiction and Fact
Submission Guidelines
Analog on Duotrope

Word Count: 40,000-80,000
Typical Reading Period: Open year-round
Reading Fee: None
Accepted authors get:

I mentioned Analog above as a publisher of short stories, but they’ll also serialize works in the short novel/long novella length range. Content-wise, they’re just what they sound like: science fiction in all its forms.

 

2. Bewildering Stories
Submission Guidelines
Bewildering Stories on Duotrope

Word Count: no length restrictions
Typical Reading Period: Open year-round
Reading Fee: None
Accepted authors get:

Bewildering Stories will publish fiction of just about any length as long as it fits their focus of speculative and experimental work. They’ll also consider mainstream fiction if it’s unconventional in some way. Stories longer than around 9,000 words are serialized across 2 or more of their weekly e-zines.

 

3. The Colored Lens
Submission Guidelines
The Colored Lens on Duotrope

Word Count: up to 20,000
Typical Reading Period: Open year-round
Reading Fee: None
Accepted authors get:

Most self-contained fiction published in The Colored Lens is in the 500-5,000 word range, but they also serialize novellas and novelettes across multiple issues, which are released quarterly as a Kindle eBook. Their niche is speculative, but they apply that term more broadly than many of the genre magazines listed here. Some element of non-reality needs to be present in everything they publish, but this element can be subtle. They also do not consider simultaneous submission, so keep that in mind when you’re planning where to send your work.

 

4. Narrative Magazine
Submission Guidelines
Narrative on Duotrope

Word Count: Book-length (no word count given)
Typical Reading Period: open year-round (free in early April)
Reading Fee: $23-$27, depending on category
Accepted authors get:

Another one familiar from the list above, Narrative Magazine serializes longer work along with publishing long short stories and novellas in their full form in a single issue.

 

5. Straylight Online
Submission Guidelines
Straylight on Duotrope

Word Count: 17,500-40,000
Typical Reading Period: Open year-round
Reading Fee: None
Accepted authors get:

Straylight Literary Arts Magazine publishes novellas in installments on their website. Their overall aesthetic leans literary, though they’re open to any genre except erotica and fan fic. Word of warning that they don’t consider simultaneous submissions.

Obviously this is not a complete list—the literary world is vast, and new journals, presses, and other ways to get stories to readers are popping up all the time. But hopefully you’ve found at least one place that could be a great home for your work, whatever its length or genre!

 

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