Exoplanet Magazine

Submission windows

We currently have three submission windows per year. Here are our upcoming windows:

• Oct 5 - Oct 20, 2025 (Issues 1 and 2)
• Feb 5 - Feb 20, 2026 (Issues 3 and 4)
• Jun 5 - Jun 20, 2026 (Issues 5 and 6)
• Oct 5 - Oct 20, 2026 (Issues 7 and 8)

Prior to each submission window opening on the 5th, we have a private window from the 1st through the 4th for our Patreon supporters. This is an opportunity to receive faster and more detailed feedback on your story, with the option to resubmit after revising.

What we publish

We accept speculative stories (sci-fi, fantasy, and horror) up to 5,000 words in alternative formats. These may include but are not limited to the following:

• Letters or emails
• Online chat transcripts
• News articles
• Diaries or journals
• Interviews
• Reverse chronology
• Rashomon Effect (same event from different perspectives)
• Interactive stories using Twine (like Choose Your Own Adventure books)

We realize these story formats are rare and unusual, but we intend to be a rare and unusual publication.

Content guidelines

Sex, violence, and profanity are acceptable if they’re integral to the story. Please use your best judgment, but don’t self-reject because you assume we’ll find it excessive.

AI policy

We do not accept stories written by AI. You’re welcome to use tools like Grammarly for editing. Ask ChatGPT to write your short bio if you like. However, please write your own stories.

Reprints

We also accept reprints. If your story has already been published elsewhere, please note that in your submission. This is not limited to magazines and includes blogs, Patreon, Medium, etc. Before publication, you’ll need to affirm that exclusivity periods have lapsed.

Payments and rights

Exoplanet Magazine pays a semi-pro rate of one cent ($0.01 USD) per word for stories. We intend to increase this to a professional rate of eight cents per word, but that will depend on Patreon support and magazine sales.

Once accepted, we request first electronic rights for original, unpublished stories with exclusive rights for three months from the publication of the issue in which your story appears.

Submission process

Though we don’t insist, we prefer to receive submissions as Word documents (DOCX or DOC files) in Shunn manuscript format if possible depending on the story type. We also accept RTF, ODT, PDF, and HTML files. Interactive stories, for example, are commonly packaged as HTML files. Submissions will not be penalized based on formatting or file type. As long as we can open the file and read your story, we’ll be good to go.

Multiple submissions in the same window are allowed, but please wait for a response before sending another story.

Simultaneous submissions are acceptable and you don’t even need to tell us. Please withdraw your story right away (using the Moksha link provided when you submitted it) if it’s accepted elsewhere.

Serialized submissions are welcome, but please query before sending the first installment.

We aim to respond to submissions within four weeks.