You’ve been agonizing over that first page for months or even years, revising and rewording until it feels perfect. Are you now ready to put your first page under scrutiny? For Uncharted’s Put Your Hook to the Test, imagine a version of America's Got Talent but for first pages of novels in progress, judged by a panel of publishing experts who will kindly, but honestly, show us when and why they would stop reading. A limited number of registrants will have their first page chosen randomly to be read anonymously in front of our panel of successful literary agents! 

This will be followed by an Ask Me Anything seminar with our agent panel. Want to know about word count limits? The currently hot genres? Curious how important comparable titles are? Our panel of agents is ready to answer your publishing questions. Here you can get honest, up-to-date responses from the people who talk to editors and sell books to publishers of all sizes!

Registration is open from June 08 to July 08, 2026.

Cost: $10 (to attend and/or receive the recording) 

The panel event will take place on Thursday, July 09, 2026, from 4-5:30 PT, 7:00-8:30 ET

A video recording will be made available to registrants who can't attend the live event.

You do not need to submit any writing to attend this panel.

Meet Our Agents!

Amy Collins is an agent with the Talcott Notch Literary Services agency. She has more than 30 years in the publishing industry as a book buyer, Sales Director for a large non-fiction publisher, and is the founder and President of New Shelves Books, one of the largest book sales and marketing companies in the US. Collins is a USA TODAY and WALL STREET JOURNAL bestselling author and has spent her career working with Barnes & Noble, Target, Costco, Books-A-Million, Wal-Mart, as well as bookstores and libraries. As well as an agent, Collins is a trusted expert, speaker, and recommended publishing consultant for some of the largest book and library retailers and wholesalers in the publishing industry. In her agent role, Collins focuses on romantasy, romance, fantasy, horror, sci-fi, pop culture, and cookbooks/lifestyle books.

Amy Collins has taught and spoken at many of the publishing industry’s top festivals and conferences including Publishers Weekly’s BookCon, Kauai Writers Conference, keynoting at Scottish Writer’s Conference, Hampton Roads Writers Conference, SCWA Conference, Oklahoma Writers Conference, Author U, AAPS, Dublin Writers Conference, BAIPA, IBPA’s Publishing University, Dallas Book Con, NY PitchFest, PALA, St. Louis Writers Conference, Writer’s Digest Annual and Novel Conferences, Las Vegas Writers Conference, and many others.

Najla is an avid reader and loves great first chapters, immersive world-building, deep character profiles, and well-rounded dialogue. She has taught courses at several writing conferences, including Common Mistakes In First Chapters, Writing Rules That Can Be Broken, Self-Editing Before the Query, Getting The History And Voice Right, and many other topics. She volunteers as co-chair of the American Association of Literary Agents’ Professional Development committee and as a member of the People of Publishing planning committee for the AALA’s annual meeting of literary agents, editors, and publishing professionals.

In fiction, she prioritizes family sagas, intergenerational stories, strong female leads, migration/immigration, expats or expat life, underrepresented protagonists (especially from marginalized communities), stories set in distant futures, journeys to other places and planets or returning home after a journey, alternating timelines, backward timelines, or dual timelines that interweave a present-day investigation with a historical crime. She also has room on her list for a realistic sci-fi thriller, military sci-fi, and a unique sleuth mystery.

In both fiction and nonfiction, she seeks underrepresented stories and writers across all genres. Strong loglines and pitches pull her in, and she carefully reviews each project submitted.

Jennifer Chevais is a generalist with a strong interest in commercial horror, speculative fiction, as well as children’s fiction and “just the right fit” nonfiction projects. As a generalist, she is primarily drawn to character-driven stories peopled by characters so strong they'll either break your heart or pull it right out of your body.  

 OPTIONAL FEEDBACK ON YOUR WRITING

You may choose to receive editorial feedback on your piece. We will provide a two-page 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. A significant portion of the editorial letter fees is paid to our feedback editors. Should your story win, no feedback will be offered, and your fee will be refunded. (Please note that the agents participating in the panel will not be fulfilling this service. Our normal guest editors will complete this service.)

We invite writers to submit to the 2026 Uncharted Camp Summer from July 01 to August 30, 2026. 

For this contest, we want stories or excerpts of summer heat, secrets by the campfire, killer mosquitoes, and everything we love and hate about summer camp and the dangers of summer! Take the elements of this trope and put them in new settings: spaceships, faraway planets, mythical isles, and don’t forget the horrific beasts and the liminal shadows. Make it serious or campy, or any register in between. Make us laugh until we cry; make us ponder the logic of your science. Tame the fantastical or let it roam. Final girls or final kisses, don’t be afraid to invite a bit of those firsts and lasts. We especially love stories that incorporate elements from multiple genres, so consider how combining these aspects might enhance your story. 

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

Guest Judge Ai Jiang will choose the 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.

Ai Jiang is a Chinese-Canadian writer, Ignyte, Bram Stoker, and Nebula Award winner, and Hugo, Astounding, Locus, Aurora, and BFSA Award finalist born in Changle, Fujian, currently residing in Markham, Ontario. Her work can be found in F&SF, The Dark, Clarkesworld, and The Masters Review, among others. She is the author of A Palace Near the Wind, Linghun, and I AM AI. 

Submission tips from Guest Judge Ai Jiang: 

From campy to quiet and haunting, I'm looking for stories that are emotion and personal, ones that really draw on the voice and style of the writers. I'm always a fan of more experimental formats, structures, and POVs in storytelling, and tales that offer a fresh take on tried and true tropes or are completely different and niche.   

GUIDELINES

• The deadline for entry is August 30, 2026. 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 can submit for free until we reach our cap of twenty-five 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 2026 Uncharted Camp Summer from July 01 to August 30, 2026. 

For this contest, we want stories or excerpts of summer heat, secrets by the campfire, killer mosquitoes, and everything we love and hate about summer camp and the dangers of summer! Take the elements of this trope and put them in new settings: spaceships, faraway planets, mythical isles, and don’t forget the horrific beasts and the liminal shadows. Make it serious or campy, or any register in between. Make us laugh until we cry; make us ponder the logic of your science. Tame the fantastical or let it roam. Final girls or final kisses, don’t be afraid to invite a bit of those firsts and lasts. We especially love stories that incorporate elements from multiple genres, so consider how combining these aspects might enhance your story. 

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

Guest Judge Ai Jiang will choose the 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.

Ai Jiang is a Chinese-Canadian writer, Ignyte, Bram Stoker, and Nebula Award winner, and Hugo, Astounding, Locus, Aurora, and BFSA Award finalist born in Changle, Fujian, currently residing in Markham, Ontario. Her work can be found in F&SF, The Dark, Clarkesworld, and The Masters Review, among others. She is the author of A Palace Near the Wind, Linghun, and I AM AI. 

Submission tips from Guest Judge Ai Jiang: 

From campy to quiet and haunting, I'm looking for stories that are emotion and personal, ones that really draw on the voice and style of the writers. I'm always a fan of more experimental formats, structures, and POVs in storytelling, and tales that offer a fresh take on tried and true tropes or are completely different and niche.   

GUIDELINES

• The deadline for entry is August 30, 2026. 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 can submit for free until we reach our cap of twenty-five 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.

Uncharted Magazine is excited to introduce a new submission category for publication in our magazine. Dystopian: We’re looking for stories that show us a future fueled by the cracks in society, that place characters in the middle of the collapse, that capture the unique challenges of a failing government, where survival is at stake, and where characters don’t know who they can trust. We want stories where the dystopian setting places your characters under extreme stress. But don’t leave out the possibilities of redemption, of finding the light in the dark, of characters triumphing in an unpredictable near future. 

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. 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.