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 cannot wait to share tales of other worlds that reveal clearly just how strange our own actually is.
Horror & Thriller — We are excited to share stories that terrify us, send us running, make us hide like children under the covers.
Crime & Mystery — We will share the very best whodunnits we can get our hands on—the deep and thrilling mysteries that leave us in awe.
Young Adult — We warmly welcome Voyage to our pages with their talented writers of young-adult work.
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.**
**Yes, you have indeed been redirected, correctly, to Uncharted, our new home on Submittable!**
Big changes are at work for Voyage this year! We are moving all of our prize opportunities to two biannual anthologies dedicated to top-notch YA writing. We want to give our incredible contributors a chance to see their name in print! We will be publishing hardcover, paperback, and ebook editions.
Our guest writer for the second anthology is Aaron H. Aceves, acclaimed author of This is Why They Hate Us! While the anthology will be edited by Voyage’s editorial staff, Aaron will share publication space with all of the emerging voices coming through our submissions. This upcoming anthology is a unique opportunity for emerging writers to potentially publish alongside an award-winning YA author!
Winners of this Novel Excerpt Contest will be published in Fall 2023, alongside the winners of the Short Story Award, Poetry Prize, and Creative Nonfiction Prize. (By the way, you can also submit your creative nonfiction pieces now, too, in addition to your novel excerpts!)
Have you written a gripping and captivating YA novel? Enter our Novel Excerpt Contest for a chance to showcase your talent! We warmly invite you to send us your favorite chapters from your YA novels! We want the chapter that makes us hungry for the rest of the book, that makes us desperate to spend more time in the world of your creation!
We’re so excited to read your submissions and to discover all the wonderful books waiting for their readers!
For the anthology, we are flexible with the number of winners, but all novel excerpt contributors will be compensated accordingly:
Novel excerpts: $800
Guidelines
- Submissions are open from April 3 to May 31, 2023.
- Voyage submissions are open to all writers working in English.
- International submissions are allowed.
- Submission must be an original novel excerpt that would be categorized as young adult fiction (from the point of view of a young adult, meaning through the lens of a teen protagonist).
- Please adhere to the 5,000-word count maximum.
- We’re open to any YA subgenre or style you can throw at us—just send us the best you’ve got.
- Submit previously unpublished work only, please.
- Simultaneous submissions are fine—just notify us and withdraw your entry if it’s picked up by someone else.
- Please include a $20 reading fee per entry.
- Multiple submissions are okay—please submit each as a separate submission.
- Every entry will be considered for our regular publications as well.
- Please: 1) double space, 2) use Times New Roman 12, 3) have one-inch margins, and 4) put the page number in the top right-hand corner.
- Tell us in a brief cover letter your publication history (if applicable, no worries if not), along with any relevant information about your writing career.
For reference, some of our favorite YA anthologies include: Fresh Ink, edited by Lamar Giles; Welcome Home, edited by Eric Smith; Our Stories, Our Voices, edited by Amy Reed; Three Sides of a Heart, edited by Natalie C. Parker; Because You Love to Hate Me, edited by Amerie; Meet Cute and Summer Days and Summer Nights/My True Love Gave to Me, both edited by Stephanie Perkins.
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 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:
- We Need Diverse Books and their resources page for writers
- Writing with Color
- Lee & Low 2019 Diversity Survey
- Editors of Color Database & Database of Diverse Databases
- Conscious Style Guide
- #DVpit
- Black Lives Matter
About Our Guest Writer
Aaron H. Aceves (he/him) is a bisexual, Mexican-American writer born and raised in East LA. He graduated from Harvard College and received his MFA from Columbia University. His fiction has appeared in Epiphany, The Florida Review, and Passages North, among other places. He currently lives in Texas, where he serves as an Early Career Provost Fellow at UT Austin, and his debut young adult novel, This Is Why They Hate Us, was released by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers. It received multiple starred reviews and was named a Best Young Adult Book of 2022 by Kirkus Reviews.
**Yes, you have indeed been redirected, correctly, to Uncharted, our new home on Submittable!**
Big changes are at work for Voyage this year! We are moving all of our prize opportunities to two biannual anthologies dedicated to top-notch YA writing. We want to give our incredible contributors a chance to see their name in print! We will be publishing hardcover, paperback, and ebook editions.
Our guest writer for the second anthology is Aaron H. Aceves, acclaimed author of This is Why They Hate Us! While the anthology will be edited by Voyage’s editorial staff, Aaron will share publication space with all of the emerging voices coming through our submissions. This upcoming anthology is a unique opportunity for emerging writers to potentially publish alongside an award-winning YA author!
Winners of this Creative Nonfiction Prize will be published in Fall 2023, alongside the winners of the Short Story Award, Poetry Prize, and Novel Excerpt Contest. (By the way, you can also submit your novel excerpts now, too, in addition to your creative nonfiction pieces!)
Submitting to our Creative Nonfiction Prize gives you a chance to showcase your unique voice and perspective! We are looking for personal stories that capture the nature of the teen experience. True stories that read like fiction are preferred. We read widely in YA, and we’re simply looking for a well-told personal story.
For the anthology, we are flexible with the number of winners, but all creative nonfiction contributors will be compensated accordingly:
Creative nonfiction pieces: $500
Guidelines
- Submissions are open from April 3 to May 31, 2023.
- Voyage submissions are open to all writers working in English.
- International submissions are allowed.
- Submission must be an original creative nonfiction piece that would be categorized as young adult (from the point of view of a young adult, meaning through the lens of a teen protagonist).
- Please adhere to the 5,000-word count maximum.
- We’re open to any YA subgenre or style you can throw at us—just send us the best you’ve got.
- Submit previously unpublished work only, please.
- Simultaneous submissions are fine—just notify us and withdraw your entry if it’s picked up by someone else.
- Please include a $20 reading fee per entry.
- Multiple submissions are okay—please submit each as a separate submission.
- Please: 1) double-space, 2) use Times New Roman 12, 3) have one-inch margins, and 4) put the page number in the top right-hand corner.
- Tell us in a brief cover letter your publication history (if applicable, no worries if not), along with any relevant information about your writing career.
For reference, some of our favorite YA anthologies include: Fresh Ink, edited by Lamar Giles; Welcome Home, edited by Eric Smith; Our Stories, Our Voices, edited by Amy Reed; Three Sides of a Heart, edited by Natalie C. Parker; Because You Love to Hate Me, edited by Amerie; as well as Meet Cute and Summer Days and Summer Nights/My True Love Gave to Me, both edited by Stephanie Perkins.
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:
- We Need Diverse Books and their resources page for writers
- Writing with Color
- Lee & Low 2019 Diversity Survey
- Editors of Color Database & Database of Diverse Databases
- Conscious Style Guide
- #DVpit
- Black Lives Matter
About Our Guest Author
Aaron H. Aceves (he/him) is a bisexual, Mexican-American writer born and raised in East LA. He graduated from Harvard College and received his MFA from Columbia University. His fiction has appeared in Epiphany, The Florida Review, and Passages North, among other places. He currently lives in Texas, where he serves as an Early Career Provost Fellow at UT Austin, and his debut young adult novel, This Is Why They Hate Us, was released by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers. It received multiple starred reviews and was named a Best Young Adult Book of 2022 by Kirkus Reviews.
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 Crime/Mystery Short Stories from fiction writers of any background or experience. We want stories that delve into the psychology of crime, that explore desperate and dastardly characters committing crimes of passion and intrigue. We want stories of mystery that make us search for answers, for reasons, for the things that happen in the shadows. 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 Fractured Lit.
Uncharted Magazine publishes Horror/Thriller Short Stories from fiction writers of any background or experience. 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 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 Fractured Lit.
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: Crime/Mystery, Science Fiction/Fantasy, and Horror/Thriller 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.