Submission Guidelines:

First and foremost, we are interested in short stories and artwork that have a definite and striking speculative element. We want works that have something otherworldly, magical, weird, or unexplained but that do not fall into the traditional tropes of sci-fi, fantasy, or horror. The second most important thing we are looking for is a clear and insightful exploration of the world we live in.  If you get us to look at the routine or the mundane differently, we’re going to sit up and pay attention. In short, we’d like to see work that is about something people are dealing with right now. That could be a current event, an aspect of modern society, or some facet of the human condition (just to name a few).

Other things that we are always keen to see include work from diverse or traditionally underrepresented backgrounds, anti-capitalist themes, and subverted expectations. A few examples of ideas that would pique our interest include: new cryptids, modern folk heroes, internet-age myths, post-apocalyptic yet utopic landscapes, or newly discovered prophecies. We are looking for the things that reside on the edges of the world. The weird, the strange, the unexplained, and the magical. And the funny. We like funny.

On the flip side, we aren’t looking for work that is traditional. The publication is called Folkloric because while we love work inspired by folklore, we are not looking for your traditional folklore. For example, a charming retelling of the mermaid story would probably not be accepted. A story about a reverse mermaid (top half fish, bottom half human) who resides on the North Atlantic Garbage Patch would be right up our street.

We are also not interested in work made by or with AI, graphic violence and sex, or unchallenged bigotry. While it is definitely acceptable to explore the themes of bigotry, the work needs to clearly challenge these ideas, not uphold them. Finally, we obviously aren’t looking for work that has no speculative element. 

What to Submit:

For short stories:

A double-spaced, 12-pt font, word or pdf document. Please include page numbers in your submission. No longer than 2500, please. 

For artwork:

A pdf, jpeg, or png file. No larger than 10 MB, please. Should your piece be selected, we may ask for a larger file size. 

For both: 

We welcome submissions from you talented people who can do it all. Please submit each piece separately. 

Privacy Policy:

We will not share your work or your personal details during the reading period. We will not keep your information after the final editorial decisions are made. 

What We Offer and Rights:

We welcome simultaneous submission, just please let us know if your story gets accepted somewhere else. We also are happy to publish reprints! We will obtain exclusive publishing rights for 6 months from the date of publishing, but after 6 months feel free to submit your work elsewhere and the rights revert back to the artist/writer. These publishing rights include digital, print, and audio. We also retain the right to continue selling back issues of Folkloric containing your work. We are a very small team and are currently operating on little to no money. As a result, we will pay contributors 3 months after the launch of the first edition with whatever we can afford!

Response Time: 

12 weeks

How to Submit:

When we are open for submissions, a Google Forms will open HERE!