The Deadlands is a new online magazine featuring otherworldly speculative writing about “the ends we face here, and the beginnings we find elsewhere.” It’s an exploration of the unknown world of death, and those who live there. They’re looking for a broad range of cultural perspectives on the afterlife, as well as on the process of death itself.
The Deadlands is published online, and each monthly edition features writing from eight to ten contributors. So far, they’ve released three editions, which submitting authors can read to get a sense of what they like. They publish emerging authors alongside well-known speculative writers.
The Deadland pays authors published in the journal: ten cents per word for original fiction, $50 per poem, and $100 per nonfiction piece. They pay one cent per word for fiction reprints.
Authors of fiction may submit one story. Although they accept stories up to 5,000 words, they prefer to publish pieces between 3,000 and 4,000 words. Authors of nonfiction may submit one essay, 4,000 words or fewer. Poets may submit up to three poems; although poetry submissions are currently closed, they will open for the first two weeks in October. Authors of all genres should send only one submission; multiple submissions will not be considered.
The Deadlands accepts submissions online, not via email or by post. They do not accept simultaneous submissions. They do not accept previously published work; however, they do accept reprints of fiction as long as they’re noted as such.
The Deadlands only accepts submissions that adhere to the guidelines they’ve posted online. Please read these guidelines in full before submitting.
If you would like to learn more or submit to The Deadlands, please visit their website here.
Bio: Ella Peary is the pen name for an author, editor, creative writing mentor, and submission consultant. Over the past five years, she’s written hundreds of articles for Authors Publish, and she’s also served as a copywriter and copy editor for a wide range of organizations and individuals. She is the author of The Quick Start Guide to Flash Fiction. She occasionally teaches a course on flash fiction. You can contact her at ellapeary@gmail.com.
