Fiction Submissions
Read us before submitting to us.
Arc publishes short stories over 5000 words.
On acceptance, it pays a flat fee of £1500 (c. US$2370) for first world serial rights
We publish stories that have some bearing on the future. You don't need to write science fiction to do that -- all we're interested in is your vision, your skill, and your ability to move us.
We set our bar very high. Arc’s writers so far have included Margaret Atwood, Bruce Sterling, Stephen Baxter, M John Harrison, Hannu Rajaniemi, Alastair Reynolds, Adam Roberts, China Mieville, Frederik Pohl, Paul McAuley, Nick Harkaway, Jeff VanderMeer, Lavie Tidhar, Robert Reed, Liz Jensen, Nancy Kress and Kim Stanley Robinson. If you can hook the editor's attention on page one, there is some slim hope for you. Joseph Conrad and Raymond Carver knew how to hook a reader. You should too.
We like technology and science, but we love people. The stories we're looking for will explore their anxieties, their joys and fears. We don't publish fantasy and if you send us anything with even a whiff of steampunk about it we will come round and burn down your house.
This submission engine is for fiction only. Arc also publishes features, essays and poetry. Please contact us before submitting these as we have very specific requirements and we usually commission this work.
Our boilerplate rates are
for essays under 1500 words £250
for features over 2000 words £500
£75 per page for poetry and experimental work.
We commission news pieces and reviews for our blog at http://arcfinity.tumblr.com. We pay £30 per blogpost. If you're interested in contributing, tweet or DM us at @arcfinity.
Thanks for reading, and good luck.
Simon Ings,
editor,
Arc