NOTE: Lightspeed has merged with its sister magazine, Fantasy, and thus we will begin accepting fantasy submissions; however, we are currently closed to fantasy submissions, so please submit science fiction only until further notice. See the December 2011 editorial for more information.
Instructions for submitting to Lightspeed follow. Please read everything on this page and read the magazine before submitting.
Submission Procedures
All fiction must be submitted through our online submission system, located at lightspeedmagazine.com/submissions. Please do not email your submissions.
Our submissions form asks for your name, email address, cover letter, story title, and story. Your cover letter should contain the length of your story, your publishing history, and any other relevant information (e.g, if you send us a hard sf story about black hole clusters and your doctoral dissertation was on black hole clusters, mention that). All stories should be in standard manuscript format and can be submitted in either .RTF or .DOC format. Use our Contact Us form for all fiction-related inquiries, or if you have any trouble using our online submission system.
After you have submitted your story, a tracking number will be displayed and an automated email confirmation containing this information will be sent to you. If you have not received this use our Contact Us form to let us know. Your tracking number will allow you to monitor the status of your submission through our website, so please make note of it.
Guidelines for Original Fiction
Lightspeed is seeking original science fiction and fantasy stories of 1500-7500 words. Stories of 5000 words or less are preferred. We pay 5¢/word for original fiction, on acceptance. To see which rights we’re seeking, please view our contract template for original fiction.
All types of science fiction and fantasy are welcome. No subject should be considered off-limits, and we encourage writers to take chances with their fiction and push the envelope.
We believe that the science fiction/fantasy genre’s diversity is its greatest strength, and we wish that viewpoint to be reflected in our story content and our submission queues; we welcome submissions from writers of every race, religion, nationality, gender, and sexual orientation.
Guidelines for Reprints
Lightspeed publishes four reprints each month (two fantasy, two science fiction), but it is primarily a market for original fiction; a majority of our reprints will be directly solicited, but you may submit a reprint for consideration if you wish. For reprints, we are offering 1¢/word, on acceptance. However, we are only interested in considering stories for reprint that are not currently available online in any form. To see which rights we’re seeking, please view our contract template for reprinted fiction.
Guidelines for Novellas (Ebook-Exclusive Content)
As of January 2012, Lightspeed publishes a novella-length reprint in each issue as an ebook-exclusive (i.e., it will appear only in our ebook edition, not on our website). For novella reprints, we are offering 1¢/word, on acceptance. As we’ll only be using 12 novellas a year, all of these will be directly solicited and we are not open to submissions in this area. Although we are not open to submissions for novellas, in the interest of transparency, please view our contract template for novellas to see which rights we’re seeking.
Rejections & Response Times
Be aware that every month we receive several hundred submissions. As such, 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.
Most rejections will be sent out within two business days, while stories being seriously considered may be held for up to two weeks.
Please do not respond to rejection letters, even just to say “Thanks for the quick turnaround” etc. We appreciate the thought, but it is unnecessary and will just clutter up our editorial inbox.
Summary
Stories should be science fiction or fantasy, and between 1500 and 7500 words long. Stories of 5000 words or less are preferred.
Payment for original fiction is 5¢/word, on acceptance. To see which rights we’re seeking, please view our contract template for original fiction.
Payment for reprinted fiction is 1¢/word, on acceptance. To see which rights we’re seeking, please view our contract template for reprinted fiction.
Additional Notes
Lightspeed now publishes both science fiction and fantasy (previously, Lightspeed published only science fiction). See the December 2011 editorial for details.
Sexual themes and stories with strong sexual content are acceptable, but Lightspeed is not a market for erotica.
Lightspeed is not a market for media-based fiction (i.e., stories set in the Star Wars or Star Trek universes, etc.), or any kind of fan fiction.
Lightspeed is not a market for poetry.
We do not accept simultaneous submissions or multiple submissions.
Do not query for fiction. If you’re not sure if your story is suitable, please simply submit it and let our editors decide.
If editor John Joseph Adams has previously rejected your story, please do not submit it to Lightspeed, unless it was rejected as being unsuitable for the market (due to theme, etc.) or unless it has been significantly revised to the extent that it is no longer the same story.
You may not submit another story for a period of seven days after receiving a rejection.
Lightspeed is a SFWA-qualifying professional market.
Guidelines for Nonfiction
All of our nonfiction is currently assigned in-house. We are not open to submissions or queries in this area.
Guidelines for Art
If you wish to have your art considered for Lightspeed Magazine (either science fiction or fantasy), please send an inquiry, along with a link to an online gallery (if possible), to art@lightspeedmagazine.com. Please note that we only use 12 covers per year, and we only purchase pre-existing pieces of art; we do not commission original art.
