Jan 14 2009
Weird. Just Weird. And more Weird.
Who: WEIRD TALES: A Unique Magazine
What: “Where other current-day magazines of the fantastic often focus on a certain “flavor” (e.g., fantasy, horror, science fiction), WEIRD TALES’ aesthetic is harder to pin down…. We are all about stuff that is weird. Truly extraordinary fiction you cannot find anywhere else. Stories that might tap on the shoulder of an innocent bystander, whisper in their ear, slap them across the face, and leave them with a strange new passion for the unique and unknown.” Um, yeah. Weird. We get it. Weird Tales.
How:Fiction: “WEIRD TALES is looking for well-written work that is unusual and original; works of the fantastic, stories that are unique and strange with a proclivity toward the dark side. A new take on traditional story lines is also welcome as long as it is different and distinctive. Think in terms of the exploration of the imagination and stories which push the boundaries.” You know, push boundaries, as in, weird. Strange. Odd. Unusual. [Add other vague synonyms here.]
Nonfiction: Our “Weirdism” section features third-person journalistic narrative vignettes of 300 to 500 words, written /New Yorker/ “Talk of the Town” style, whose motif is “the weirdness of real life.”
Poetry: “We publish only a very small amount of poetry, and are currently only buying short poems of less than two manuscript pages. $5/poem. Please, no limericks at this time.”
How long: Short stories of 10,000 words or less (don’t send anything longer w/o a query first, or it will be returned unread).
How much: 3-4 cents a word. Also two copies of the issue in which the work appears (reduced rates to contributors for additional copies).
Is there a catch? Basically, look around their site and read some of their stuff to get a sense of what they think is Weird. Not weird, lowercase. Weird, uppercase… because I promise you that everyone’s idea of what’s weird is going to be very, very different.
Where: Snail mail city, Weird folks.
Editorial Address:
P.O. Box 38190
Tallahassee, FL 32315
Business Address:
9710 Traville Gateway Dr. #234
Rockville, MD 20850
U.S.A.
Fiction subs & queries: Ann VanderMeer, Fiction Editor
Nonfiction & poetry subs & queries: Stephen Segal, Editorial Director
Web Site
I’m seeing some Neil Gaiman and H.P Lovecraft in their back catalogs. I could swing that.
Clyde, I’ve seen your writing, and you could swing anything you set your mind to.
So when will you let me see your first draft? Hmm?