Since August of 2021, Uncharted Magazine has been a premier publisher of short fiction and the newest platform from the team behind The Masters Review, CRAFT, and Fractured Lit. We seek stories that provide a thrilling escape, a surprising new world, a brain-twisting mystery, and/or a fresh young-adult perspective.

The Stories We Publish

Sci-Fi & Fantasy — We love to read tales of other worlds that reveal clearly just how strange our own actually is.

Thriller/Mystery — We are rolling horror stories into this category! We want stories that keep us up at night, that take us into the resonant fear of looming monsters and haunting ghosts. We want stories that thrill us by keeping us on the edges of our seats, hearts pounding, wondering how it will end!

Historical Fiction — We’re looking for stories that engage deeply with history. We want your characters to interact with infamous people of history, dwell deeply in past eras, and show us how the world used to operate and what lessons we can learn. We want history brought to life on our pages.

Young Adult — We are honored to partner with Voyage YA to offer outstanding young adult literature from a variety of backgrounds.

By submitting to Uncharted, submitters agree to receive correspondence about future publications and submission opportunities from Uncharted. You can unsubscribe at any time.

**If you haven't already, please verify your email address with Submittable for more consistent communication.**

Unless specifically requested, we do not accept AI-generated work.

$20.00

Young Adult literature is a cutting-edge and captivating genre, beloved by authors who choose to write for teens. YA authors build mesmerizing worlds that fascinate young, curious minds. In turn, YA is devoured by its target audience—young people who crave excitement, adventure, love, and acceptance. Now, we are giving those most intrigued by these worlds a chance to create them.

We are thrilled to introduce Voyage’s latest contest: Young Adults Write YA, guest judged by Theodora Goss! If you’re a writer of young adult literature and age twenty-four or younger, we invite you to submit your original, unpublished YA writing for the chance to win the first-place prize of $1,000. Second- and third-place winners will receive $600 and $400, respectively. All three winners will be published by Voyage YA by Uncharted and their work will be considered by an agent. 

Here is what Theodora Goss has to say to submitters: 

What I'm looking for in these stories is YOU. Your voice. The things you think about and find interesting. Your perspective on the world. YA is a broad and innovative genre. There are all sorts of characters and places in it, and endlessly fascinating stories to tell. What story do YOU want to tell, that only you can tell in your own distinctive way? That's a story I look forward to reading.

Theodora Goss is the World Fantasy, Locus, and Mythopoeic Award-winning author of the Athena Club trilogy: The Strange Case of the Alchemist’s Daughter, European Travel for the Monstrous Gentlewoman, and The Sinister Mystery of the Mesmerizing Girl. Her published works also include the  short story and poetry collections In the Forest of Forgetting, Songs for Ophelia, Snow White Learns Witchcraft, and The Collected Enchantments as well as two-sided novella The Thorn and the Blossom. She has been a finalist for the Nebula, Crawford, and Shirley Jackson Awards, as well as on the Tiptree Award Honor List. Her writing has been translated into fifteen languages. She teaches literature and writing at Boston University. 

Young adults are invited to submit their short YA stories between December 1, 2023, and February 1, 2024.

Guidelines

  • The deadline for entry is February 1, 2024
  • All participants must be twenty-four years of age or younger.
  • The $20 reading fee allows for the submission of one <5,000 word short story in English, in the YA genre. 
  • Stories must be written primarily in English, but some code-switching is welcomed.
  • We encourage multiple submissions, but each story should be submitted separately, each with a separate reading fee.
  • Reprints are not eligible. If your story has been published anywhere else, even on a blog or social media, it will be automatically disqualified from the contest.
  • If your story is a simultaneous submission, please withdraw immediately if it’s accepted elsewhere.
  • Submissions should be double-spaced and use Times New Roman 12, or larger if needed.
  • All submissions should include a cover letter, however brief, with your publication history, if applicable. 
  • We do not accept anonymous submissions, but the judge will read the shortlist anonymized.
  • Please include a content warning, if applicable. This information will not factor into whether your submission is accepted, but rather simply serve to safeguard our staff.
  • AI-generated stories will be automatically disqualified.

Optional Editorial Feedback

Participants are invited to request a two-page editorial feedback letter about their submission for an extra fee of $69, or three editorial letters from three different editorial consultants for $179. These letters will provide the recipient with valuable and personalized input from a qualified editor. If your work is chosen for publication, no feedback will be given and your fee will be refunded.

This volunteer position begins as soon as selected and involves a commitment of at least six months. Readers should have a keen eye for quality YA fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry. If at any point you'd like to end your reader position with Voyage YA, we ask that you kindly give us at least two weeks' notice. 

PLEASE NOTE: Readerships are unpaid and fulfilled on a strictly volunteer basis. 

We'll conduct this process in two rounds. Our process involves answering a few specific questions and a reader assessment.

Please send a cover letter, résumé, and at least one writing sample in a single file. We look forward to hearing from you!

Thank you for supporting Voyage YA by Uncharted!

Best,

The Voyage YA Team 


Voyage YA Values

Voyage YA by Uncharted is committed to diversity and inclusivity. We do not discriminate on the basis of age, ancestry, disability, family status, gender identity or expression, national origin, race, religion, sex or sexual orientation. Voyage YA has a zero-tolerance policy for any work that is discriminatory or harmful in any way, whether intentional or unintentional. Hate speech of any kind will not be tolerated and any work that violates our values will be immediately declined. Voyage YA maintains the right to further ban authors if problematic behavior persists and/or deplatform authors should there be problematic behavior via other platforms.   

As the landscape of publishing changes, Voyage acknowledges that there is still much work to be done. Systemic racism and structural inequality have been problems for a long time, and Voyage YA will actively work to dismantle them. We have joined the global movement to fight for equality and will consciously work to amplify marginalized voices of authors who have been historically underrepresented in publishing.

We urge authors and readers alike to visit some of the resources we have found helpful—and seek out others.

Uncharted Magazine publishes Science Fiction/Fantasy Short Stories from fiction writers of any background or experience. We want stories that richly imagine the future of technology and science, that explore our world through a speculative lens. We want stories of fantasy that make us hunger for new worlds, new biomes, new places we can explore through thrilling sensual details and human empathy. We want stories that thrill us, that make us feel alive, that awaken our desires to explore and go on adventures. 

Guidelines: 

All fiction categories are open year round and we do not charge any submission fees. We accept simultaneous submissions but ask that you inform us immediately and withdraw your work if your story is accepted elsewhere. 

Payment: We pay our authors $200 for original fiction! We pay by check or PayPal, according to the author's preference.

Word Count: Submitted stories should be between 1,000-5,000 words. 

We will also consider previously published fiction, as long as the writer retains the rights or second-publication rights can be obtained. We do not pay for reprints.

Writers may submit 1 story per submission. Please wait 1 month after our initial reply before submitting again.

Cover letters: Cover letters are optional, but it's nice to know who is submitting to us. We do not need your mailing address.  Please refrain from describing your stories. The work needs to speak for itself. Including the title and word count of each story is helpful for more efficient consideration of your work. Please include a brief third-person biography statement. If necessary, please include a content warning to help protect our readers. 

Format: double-space your submission and use Times New Roman 12 pt font. Word docs work best!

Response Times: Please allow us up to three months to inform you if we have accepted your work for publication. You will usually hear from us much sooner. We cannot offer personalized feedback on each story. If we say, “send more,” however, it does mean that we hope to see something else from you.

We consider submissions sent via Submittable. We are not open to email submissions and are not open to submissions sent via post.

Diversity Statement: We do not discriminate on the basis of age, ancestry, disability, family status, gender identity or expression, national origin, race, religion, sex or sexual orientation, or for any other reason. We reserve the right not to publish works that dwell unnecessarily in or that are unchallenging of the discrimination categories listed above. We reserve the right to send back work unread and unevaluated if we find the work violates our vision of inclusivity and non-discrimination. This may result in banning individual works or writers from our submission queue.

Rights: Uncharted Magazine holds first serial publication rights for three months after publication. Authors agree not to publish, nor authorize or permit the publication of, any part of the material for three months following Uncharted Magazine's first publication. For reprints, we ask for acknowledgment of its publication in Uncharted Magazine first.

Courtesy: Please refrain from withdrawing your submission to fix a typo or misspelling. These minor issues will not result in an automatic decline. We read submissions based on the value of the story, not the typing. 

OPTIONAL EDITORIAL FEEDBACK:

You may choose to receive editorial feedback on your piece. We will provide a global letter discussing the strengths of the writing and the recommended focus for revision. Our aim is to make our comments actionable and encouraging. These letters are written by editors and staff readers of Uncharted Magazine.

Uncharted Magazine publishes Thriller/Mystery Short Stories from fiction writers of any background or experience. We are rolling horror stories into this category! We want stories that keep us up at night, afraid to turn the corner. Stories that take us into the resonant fear of looming monsters and haunting ghosts. We want stories that thrill us by keeping us on the edges of our seats, hearts pounding, wondering how it will end! Stories with characters who refuse to stay in the shadows! We want stories of mystery that make us search for answers, for reasons, for the things that happen in the shadows.
Guidelines:
All fiction categories are open year round and we do not charge any submission fees. We accept simultaneous submissions but ask that you inform us immediately and withdraw your work if your story is accepted elsewhere.
Payment: We pay our authors $200 for original fiction! We pay by check or PayPal, according to the author's preference.
Word Count: Submitted stories should be between 1,000-5,000 words.
We will also consider previously published fiction, as long as the writer retains the rights or second-publication rights can be obtained. We do not pay for reprints.
Writers may submit one story per submission. Please wait one month after our initial reply before submitting again.
Cover letters: Cover letters are optional, but it's nice to know who is submitting to us. We do not need your mailing address.  Please refrain from describing your stories. The work needs to speak for itself. Including each story's title and word count is helpful for more efficient consideration of your work. Please include a brief third-person biography statement. If necessary, please include a content warning to help protect our readers.
Format: double-space your submission and use Times New Roman 12 pt font. Word docs work best!
Response Times: Please allow us up to three months to inform you if we have accepted your work for publication. You will usually hear from us much sooner. We cannot offer personalized feedback on each story. If we say, “Send more,” however, it does mean that we hope to see something else from you.
We consider submissions sent via Submittable. We are not open to email submissions and are not open to submissions sent via post.
Diversity Statement: We do not discriminate on the basis of age, ancestry, disability, family status, gender identity or expression, national origin, race, religion, sex or sexual orientation, or for any other reason. We reserve the right not to publish works that dwell unnecessarily in or that are unchallenging of the discrimination categories listed above. We reserve the right to send back work unread and unevaluated if we find the work violates our vision of inclusivity and non-discrimination. This may result in banning individual works or writers from our submission queue.
Rights: Uncharted Magazine holds the first serial publication rights for three months after publication. Authors agree not to publish, nor authorize or permit the publication of, any part of the material for three months following Uncharted Magazine's first publication. For reprints, we ask for acknowledgment of its publication in Uncharted Magazine first.
Courtesy: Please refrain from withdrawing your submission to fix a typo or misspelling. These minor issues will not result in an automatic decline. We read submissions based on the value of the story, not the typing.
OPTIONAL EDITORIAL FEEDBACK:
You may choose to receive editorial feedback on your piece. We will provide a global letter discussing the strengths of the writing and the recommended focus for revision. We aim to make our comments actionable and encouraging. These letters are written by editors and staff readers of Uncharted Magazine.

Uncharted Magazine is excited to introduce a new submission category for publication in our magazine. We’re looking for stories that engage deeply with history. We want your characters to interact with infamous people of history, dwell deeply in past eras, and show us how the world used to operate and what lessons we can learn. We want history brought to life on our pages.

Guidelines:
All fiction categories are open year-round, and we do not charge any submission fees. We accept simultaneous submissions but ask that you inform us immediately and withdraw your work if your story is accepted elsewhere.
Payment: We pay our authors $200 for original fiction! We pay by check or PayPal, according to the author's preference.
Word Count: Submitted stories should be between 1,000-5,000 words.
We will also consider previously published fiction, as long as the writer retains the rights or second-publication rights can be obtained. We do not pay for reprints.
Writers may submit one story per submission. Please wait one month after our initial reply before submitting again.
Cover letters: Cover letters are optional, but it's nice to know who is submitting to us. We do not need your mailing address.  Please refrain from describing your stories. The work needs to speak for itself. Including each story's title and word count is helpful for more efficient consideration of your work. Please include a brief third-person biography statement. If necessary, please include a content warning to help protect our readers.
Format: double-space your submission and use Times New Roman 12 pt font. Word docs work best!
Response Times: Please allow us up to three months to inform you if we have accepted your work for publication. You will usually hear from us much sooner. We cannot offer personalized feedback on each story. If we say, “Send more,” however, it does mean that we hope to see something else from you.
We consider submissions sent via Submittable. We are not open to email submissions and are not open to submissions sent via post.
Diversity Statement: We do not discriminate on the basis of age, ancestry, disability, family status, gender identity or expression, national origin, race, religion, sex or sexual orientation, or for any other reason. We reserve the right not to publish works that dwell unnecessarily in or that are unchallenging of the discrimination categories listed above. We reserve the right to send back work unread and unevaluated if we find the work violates our vision of inclusivity and non-discrimination. This may result in banning individual works or writers from our submission queue.
Rights: Uncharted Magazine holds the first serial publication rights for three months after publication. Authors agree not to publish, nor authorize or permit the publication of, any part of the material for three months following Uncharted Magazine's first publication. For reprints, we ask for acknowledgment of its publication in Uncharted Magazine first.
Courtesy: Please refrain from withdrawing your submission to fix a typo or misspelling. These minor issues will not result in an automatic decline. We read submissions based on the value of the story, not the typing.
OPTIONAL EDITORIAL FEEDBACK:
You may choose to receive editorial feedback on your piece. We will provide a global letter discussing the strengths of the writing and the recommended focus for revision. We aim to make our comments actionable and encouraging. These letters are written by editors and staff readers of Uncharted Magazine.

Submission Guidelines

**Yes, you have indeed been redirected, correctly, to Uncharted, our new home on Submittable!**

Please read our submission guidelines carefully. 

Voyage simply aims to publish good work and provide a space for new and established voices. To get an idea of what we publish, please read our archives. General submissions are open year-round with no fee to submit.

We only accept submissions via our online submission managing system, Submittable. We DO NOT accept submissions via email. Submissions sent via email will be automatically discarded without a response. We accept simultaneous submissions, but please withdraw your work via Submittable if it is accepted elsewhere.

Though we consider reprints, please be advised that Voyage doesn't offer payment for work that has been published before. If you are submitting a piece that has been published, please notify us in your submission. 

Voyage pays $200 per accepted, previously unpublished piece of short prose.

Fiction: We are looking for short stories that surprise, inspire, entertain, or enlighten.

Creative Nonfiction: We’re on the hunt for personal essays and other creative nonfiction that specifically relates to the teen experience. Submit your creative nonfiction via our submission manager here.  

Manuscript Preparation: Please make sure your manuscript is double-spaced with Times New Roman 12. Submissions should be no more than 6,000 words. Please include the author's name and page number in the top right-hand corner of every page.  

Note: To ensure the protection of our volunteer readers, and to keep Voyage a safe space, please let us know in your cover letter if your work can be triggering in any way. This information will have no bearing on your submission or our decision—we just want to ensure the best possible environment for our readers. Thank you for your understanding. 

Editorial Feedback Options

The single feedback letter option costs $79 and will provide you with two pages of detailed and actionable feedback on your submission. The three-letter option will provide three separate letters (two pages each) from three different editors at $199, a 16% discount. Our guest editors are paid a significant portion of the fee and all are incredibly astute professionals.

Voyage Values

Voyage YA is committed to diversity and inclusivity. We do not discriminate on the basis of age, ancestry, disability, family status, gender identity or expression, national origin, race, religion, sex or sexual orientation. Voyage has a zero-tolerance policy for any work that is discriminatory or harmful in any way, whether intentional or unintentional. Hate speech of any kind will not be tolerated and any work that violates our values will be immediately declined. Voyage maintains the right to further ban authors if problematic behavior persists and/or deplatform authors should there be problematic behavior via other platforms.   

As the landscape of publishing changes, Voyage acknowledges that there is still much work to be done. Systemic racism and structural inequality have been problems for a long time, and Voyage will actively work to dismantle them. We have joined the global movement to fight for equality and will consciously work to amplify marginalized voices of authors who have been historically underrepresented in publishing.

We urge authors and readers alike to visit some of the resources we have found helpful—and seek out others:

Uncharted is looking to add some talented new readers to our team! If you love the following genres:  Science Fiction/Fantasy, Thriller/Mystery, and Historical Fiction or experience across a wide spectrum of these genres., and three to four hours of reading submissions a week sounds like fun, we encourage you to apply. Our readers work remotely and can set their own schedules. BIPOC, marginalized or underrepresented writers are strongly encouraged to apply!

This position begins when accepted and involves a commitment for 6 months, though we are flexible. PLEASE NOTE: readerships are unpaid and on a strictly volunteer basis. If interested, please send a cover letter, resume, and at least one writing sample. We look forward to hearing from you!

*Cover letters should address your interest in the above genres, including favorite stories and/or writers. Please include any memberships. 

Uncharted Mag