We invite writers to submit to the What the Wild Carries Prize from August 01 to October 05, 2025. 

For this contest, we want stories or excerpts of instinct, presence, and the creatures that change us. Drop us into those human and creature relationships that make us feel something new or old or leave us twisting to understand. At the heart of your story, we want to see humans and animals interacting in interesting ways. Consider crafting your story around the most pivotal moments between your main character and an essential animal or creature, and fully immerse us in these moments. Consider how animals and creatures help us see the humanity in all of us! We especially love stories that incorporate elements from multiple genres, so consider how combining these aspects might enhance your story. We’re drawn to stories that use their conflicts to create tension and resonance. 

This award is for all of our genres: Science Fiction/Fantasy, Thriller/Mystery (Horror), Young Adult, and Humor. 

Guest Judge Shelby Van Pelt will choose three winning stories from our shortlist. We’re excited to offer the first-place winner of this contest $2,000 and publication, while the second- and third-place winners will receive publication and $300 and $200, respectively.

When Shelby Van Pelt isn’t writing, she’s herding cats and wrangling children. Her debut novel, REMARKABLY BRIGHT CREATURES (Ecco, 2022), was an Instant New York Times Bestseller and a Read With Jenna Today Show book club pick. In 2023, she was awarded the Heartland Prize for Fiction and the McLaughlin-Esstman-Stearns First Novel Prize from The Writer’s Center. Remarkably Bright Creatures has sold over two million copies. It has spent, in aggregate, over a year on the NYT Hardcover Bestseller list. Born and raised in the Pacific Northwest, she’s now missing the mountains in the Chicago area with her family.

Submission tips from Guest Judge Shelby Van Pelt: 

I love stories that explore how our connections with animals can be unexpected, absurd, silly, and perhaps a bit terrifying, but always with curiousity at their core. Using our relationship to nature to reflect upon our human-ness is a tradition as old as storytelling itself, but with the breadth creatures and critters on our planet, fresh possibilities are boundless. My favorite stories land an emotional punch without taking themselves too seriously; even within the heaviest subject matter, I enjoy a whiff of levity. Don’t be afraid to have fun with these stories, embrace the weird, and remember that humans are animals, too.  

GUIDELINES

• The deadline for entry is October 05, 2025. We will announce the shortlist within 12–14 weeks of the contest’s close. All writers will be notified when the results are in.
• Your $20 reading fee allows ONE short story or novel excerpt of 1,001–5,000 words per entry.
• We encourage multiple submissions—each story should be a separate submission accompanied by a reading fee.
• Writers from historically marginalized groups will be able to submit for free until we reach our cap of 25 free submissions. No additional fee waivers will be granted.
• Please submit short stories or novel excerpts—5,000 word count maximum.
• We only consider unpublished work for contests—we do not review reprints, including self-published work (even on blogs and social media). Reprints will be automatically disqualified.
• Simultaneous submissions are okay—please notify us immediately and withdraw your entry if you find another home for your writing.
• All entries will also be considered for publication in Uncharted.
• Double-space your submission and use Times New Roman 12 (or larger if needed).
• Please include a brief cover letter with your publication history (if applicable).
• Please include a content warning to help safeguard our staff (if applicable).
• We only read work in English, though some code-switching/meshing is warmly welcomed.
• We do not read anonymous submissions. However, shortlisted stories are sent anonymously to the judge.
• Work generated by AI will be automatically disqualified.

Some Submittable Hot Tips:

• Please be sure to whitelist/add to contacts this email address so notifications do not get filtered as spam/junk: notifications@email.submittable.com.
• If you realize you sent the wrong version of your piece: It happens. Please DO NOT withdraw the piece and resubmit. Submittable collects a nonrefundable fee each time. Please DO message us from within the submission to request that we open the entry for editing, which will allow you to fix everything from typos in your cover letter to uploading a new draft. The only time we will not allow a change is if the piece is already under review by a reader.

OPTIONAL FEEDBACK ON YOUR WRITING 

You may choose to receive editorial feedback on your piece. We will provide two-page global letters 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. A significant portion of the editorial letter fees goes to our feedback editor. Should your story win, no feedback will be offered, and your fee will be refunded.

We invite writers to submit to the What the Wild Carries Prize from August 01 to October 05, 2025. 

For this contest, we want stories or excerpts of instinct, presence, and the creatures that change us. Drop us into those human and creature relationships that make us feel something new or old or leave us twisting to understand. At the heart of your story, we want to see humans and animals interacting in interesting ways. Consider crafting your story around the most pivotal moments between your main character and an essential animal or creature, and fully immerse us in these moments. Consider how animals and creatures help us see the humanity in all of us! We especially love stories that incorporate elements from multiple genres, so consider how combining these aspects might enhance your story. We’re drawn to stories that use their conflicts to create tension and resonance. 

This award is for all of our genres: Science Fiction/Fantasy, Thriller/Mystery (Horror), Young Adult, and Humor. 

Guest Judge Shelby Van Pelt will choose three winning stories from our shortlist. We’re excited to offer the first-place winner of this contest $2,000 and publication, while the second- and third-place winners will receive publication and $300 and $200, respectively.

When Shelby Van Pelt isn’t writing, she’s herding cats and wrangling children. Her debut novel, REMARKABLY BRIGHT CREATURES (Ecco, 2022), was an Instant New York Times Bestseller and a Read With Jenna Today Show book club pick. In 2023, she was awarded the Heartland Prize for Fiction and the McLaughlin-Esstman-Stearns First Novel Prize from The Writer’s Center. Remarkably Bright Creatures has sold over two million copies. It has spent, in aggregate, over a year on the NYT Hardcover Bestseller list. Born and raised in the Pacific Northwest, she’s now missing the mountains in the Chicago area with her family.

Submission tips from Guest Judge Shelby Van Pelt: 

I love stories that explore how our connections with animals can be unexpected, absurd, silly, and perhaps a bit terrifying, but always with curiousity at their core. Using our relationship to nature to reflect upon our human-ness is a tradition as old as storytelling itself, but with the breadth creatures and critters on our planet, fresh possibilities are boundless. My favorite stories land an emotional punch without taking themselves too seriously; even within the heaviest subject matter, I enjoy a whiff of levity. Don’t be afraid to have fun with these stories, embrace the weird, and remember that humans are animals, too.  

GUIDELINES

• The deadline for entry is October 05, 2025. We will announce the shortlist within 12–14 weeks of the contest’s close. All writers will be notified when the results are in.
• Your $20 reading fee allows ONE short story or novel excerpt of 1,001–5,000 words per entry.
• We encourage multiple submissions—each story should be a separate submission accompanied by a reading fee.
• Writers from historically marginalized groups will be able to submit for free until we reach our cap of 25 free submissions. No additional fee waivers will be granted.
• Please submit short stories or novel excerpts—5,000 word count maximum.
• We only consider unpublished work for contests—we do not review reprints, including self-published work (even on blogs and social media). Reprints will be automatically disqualified.
• Simultaneous submissions are okay—please notify us immediately and withdraw your entry if you find another home for your writing.
• All entries will also be considered for publication in Uncharted.
• Double-space your submission and use Times New Roman 12 (or larger if needed).
• Please include a brief cover letter with your publication history (if applicable).
• Please include a content warning to help safeguard our staff (if applicable).
• We only read work in English, though some code-switching/meshing is warmly welcomed.
• We do not read anonymous submissions. However, shortlisted stories are sent anonymously to the judge.
• Work generated by AI will be automatically disqualified.

Some Submittable Hot Tips:

• Please be sure to whitelist/add to contacts this email address so notifications do not get filtered as spam/junk: notifications@email.submittable.com.
• If you realize you sent the wrong version of your piece: It happens. Please DO NOT withdraw the piece and resubmit. Submittable collects a nonrefundable fee each time. Please DO message us from within the submission to request that we open the entry for editing, which will allow you to fix everything from typos in your cover letter to uploading a new draft. The only time we will not allow a change is if the piece is already under review by a reader.

Uncharted Magazine is excited to introduce a new submission category for publication in our magazine. We’re looking for stories that bring the humor. Satire, slapstick, the weirdness of life, and extended jokes can find a home with us. Make sure it’s fiction, and that at its heart it engages with rich characters and entertaining plots.
 

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 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 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.