Submissions

Guidelines last edited September 20, 2009.

Updates: All flash fiction submissions received before November 20 will be considered for the Winter 2009 all-flash issue.

The theme for the Summer 2010 issue will be "Whispers: Stories of Spirits and Hauntings." In the past, these theme issues have filled up very quickly (Summer 2009 was actually overfilled), so get your submissions in!

All non-theme, non-flash submissions will be considered for Spring 2010.

Mirror Dance is a free online magazine of Fantasy in all its forms. We are especially interested in publishing secondary-world stories and settings that aren't commonly seen in the genre, but all sub-genres will be considered. We are not accepting submissions of science fiction or horror, but dark fantasy will be considered.

Novice and teenage writers are especially encouraged to submit. Though lack of funds prevents us from paying for submissions, we hope publication in Mirror Dance will provide you with profitable exposure and a positive publishing experience.



Mirror Dance is published four times a year; at the beginning of March, June, September and December. Issues typically include five short stories, four poems, and one art or nonfiction piece.

Fiction of all lengths, including flash, novellas, and novel excerpts, will be considered; there is a slight preference for stories of 1,000 to 5,000 words. If you have illustrations to go along with your story, please attach them as a .jpg file; please use only works you own the rights to or works in the public domain.

Poetry must have an identifiable fantasy element. All lengths will be considered, from haiku to epics.

Art should be submitted as a .jpg file. Work must be suitable for all audiences and contain a clear fantasy element.

Non-fiction such as articles, book reviews, or author interviews is greatly appreciated. Requests for book reviews or interviews should be sent to the editor.



How to submit:

Please send your work in a .doc, .docx, or .rft document, or pasted in the body of an e-mail, to markenberg@[nospam]yahoo.com. Remember to remove the [nospam]. Please be sure to include your name and contact information in your e-mail.

Important: use the subject line "Mirror Dance Fiction Submission - [Title]" (Change fiction to poetry, art, or nonfiction as appropriate). I also edit the historical fiction e-zine Lacuna and it is important for me to be able to tell which submissions go where.

Please submit no more than five (5) works of any kind per quarter.



Other Considerations:

Please do not send us work that is currently under consideration elsewhere.

Reprints will be considered; please include first publication details in your e-mail.

We are asking for First Web Rights exclusive for three months. Authors should be aware that publication on any web site means they are forfeiting first publication rights, which diminishes a story's value and limits the number of markets that will consider it. The work will be archived unless the author specifically requests otherwise.

You should receive an e-mail verifying that your story has reached our inbox within one week of your submission. We hope to respond with final notification of your story's acceptance or rejection within six weeks.