What can I submit?
Claws Out Literary is a genre-fiction publication with a focus on fantasy, sci-fi and horror short stories. Part of the fun of genre is mixing things up and subverting expectations, so don’t feel too pressured to fit just one of the three mentioned!
Submissions have a strict word limit of 2,500 words.
We currently do not accept poetry or non-fiction.
What formatting should I use?
Please send us your story as a Word document with story title and author name at the top of the page. Don’t worry about any specific font size or formatting, as we will work on that after your story is accepted. The only thing you need to worry about is our word limit!
Email your submissions to clawsoutliterary@gmail.com !
In the body of your email, include an author bio of maximum 100 words that we can publish alongside your successful piece!
Can I submit multiple stories?
You may currently only submit one story at a time for our review.
If you would like to submit an additional story, this option is available for a fee of $10—but be mindful that we can only choose one of your stories for publication per issue. This is to leave space and allow everyone an equal opportunity at having their work published.
To request an additional submission, please inquire in your initial submission email and payment details can be provided to you.
Who can submit?
We are currently only accepting submissions from those who live, work, or study in Australia. This is because our goal is for genre writing to be more accepted in the Australian publishing industry. If you want to hear more about our vision, read the About Us page.
There are no other restrictions on age, experience, or education — Everyone is welcome to submit!
When to submit?
We will post a call for submissions on our Instagram that will remain open for one month. So keep an eye out for updates!
If you have any queries about submitting, feel free to DM us on Instagram or shoot us an email at clawsoutliterary@gmail.com.
Simultaneous submissions
You will own your story completely, and you are free to publish it on your own personal site, or submit it to other publications while you wait to hear from us on your submission status. However, please be mindful that many other publications do not allow this, so be careful!
Please let us know if you have been accepted elsewhere before hearing back from us about whether we want to publish your work, or while we are still in the editing phase. Many publications have strict terms and conditions about your story’s copyright and the rights to publish it elsewhere. We don’t want to get in trouble from another magazine or competition if you fail to tell us that your story is currently theirs to distribute. So please keep us in mind if your story finds success elsewhere.
We accept stories that have been previously published, as long as the other publication allows it or your period of exclusivity to them has ended, reverting the publication rights back to you.
If you have been published in one of our past issues and would like us to remove your story at any time, for any reason, don’t hesitate to contact us at clawsoutliterary@gmail.com and we will be happy to oblige.
Payment
Please note that we currently do not pay for successful submissions, nor do we charge you any entry fee (other than for multiple submissions).
We hope to one day pay our authors and even offer physical copies of the magazine for purchase, but as we are just starting out, it remains a dream. Please keep in mind that we don’t take your work for granted — a lot of time and effort goes into receiving, editing, and publishing submissions, and we do all of this out of the kindness of our hearts and a deep passion for writing and genre ❤ Hear more about our funding goals and future plans at Donations & Funding.
We will provide rejected stories with a brief paragraph of feedback. If you would like a heavier edit with one full page of feedback, this can be happily offered for a fee of $15 for the extra work.
I’m ready to submit!
Now that you’ve brushed up on our Submission Guidelines, follow the easy guide here to Submit your story! We can’t wait to see what you have to offer.
Claws Out Literary 