The Worlds Beyond

Submissions –
What We Want

The Worlds Beyond publishes short stories with a focus on exploring the unfamiliar and strange. We want stories that contain some kind of supernatural, magical, or otherwise unusual element, which could be anything from a main character who has an uncoventional lifestyle to outright depictions of another world. As long as it has something you will not see in your day-to-day life, we’re interested.

Above everything else, we value originality in setting and how it is used to construct interesting characters. We still enjoy stories featuring elements we have seen before, such as a medieval fantasy with dragons and elves, or some sci-fi reality where a monolithic race of aliens are trying to wipe out humanity. However, they should feature a unique spin on well-trodden themes to catch our attention.

We also greatly value character-driven stories. Our favourite submissions are ones where an interesting setting directly affects the lives and goals of your character(s), showcasing the author’s unique perspective and aesthetic.

Fantasy, Sci-fi, or Speculative Fiction

Stories that fall under the ‘Speculative Fiction’ umbrella, including fantasy and sci-fi, are of keen interest to us. However, we encourage writers who may not feel their work falls under such genres to submit too. We are ultimately interested in how a story showcases its writer’s unique perspective and aesthetic, not in following strict conventions or labels.

Horror, Violence, and Explicit Content

Horror does pique our interest when it fits into our other preferences. However, we ask that any extreme content does not exceed beyond what would be seen in an 18-rated film. For example, we are averse to excessive descriptions of gore or violence (particularly about children).

We are not opposed to violence or sexual content as long as it is artistically justified. However, we insist against the direct description of non-consensual acts.

AI Policy

The Worlds Beyond does not accept submissions that were written, developed, or assisted by tools such as ChatGPT. Any attempt to submit AI-assisted work will likely result in the submitee being banned from putting forward any further submissions.

Submission Guidelines

Short Stories

Up to 10,000 words. Beyond the other guidelines on this page, there is no theme to follow for submissions in this category.
Accepted short stories will be featured in one of our four quarterly online anthologies, with excerpts to potentially be uploaded onto our social media channels.

Flash Fiction

Up to 1000 words. Accepted flash fiction stories will be featured in one of our four quarterly online anthologies, with excerpts to potentially be uploaded onto our social media channels

Poetry / Script

We do not accept poetry or script submissions currently.

Format

Format your story in Standard Manuscript Format where possible (12-point font size, an easily-read font like Times New Roman or Courier, double-spaced, no blank lines between paragraphs).
A cover letter or bio is not necessary, but appreciated.

Simultaenous and Multiple Submissions

We accept both simultaneous and multiple submissions. However, we request that you inform us when submitting either of these.
For simultaneous submissions, we ask that you contact us by email (theworldsbeyond@outlook.com) if your work is accepted elsewhere.
For multiple submissions, we will consider a maximum of three submissions per writer, per anthology.

Publication & Pay Rates

Please note we are an online-only publication. Anthologies will be shared on our website.
Unfortunately, we are unable to provide a pay rate at the moment. We would very much like this to change in the future.