Logo of The Deadlands literary magazine
"A monthly speculative fiction magazine. We publish short stories, poems, and essays about the other realms, of the ends we face here, and the beginnings we find elsewhere."
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Open for submissions

Introduction

It is an adventure into the unknown, to meet those who live there still, even though they may be dead. Death is a journey we all will take, but we’d like to peek at the map before we go.

Vibe

Send us your best but less intimidating

Response Time
2-6 weeks / 8 days
Average acceptance rate
3.23%

Need to know for submitting

Read carefully, it will save from dead rats in the mailbox

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      Simultaneous submissions

      No

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      Previously published

      Yes

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      Payment

      $50-500

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      Fee

      No

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      Expedited response

      No

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      Available in print

      No

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      Provide contributor copies

      No

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      Examples online

      Yes

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      Active on social media

      Yes

  • 01

    Important stuff

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  • 02

    How to submit 🏗️

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  • 03

    Cover Letter and Bio 🏗️

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  • 04

    Awards

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  • 05

    Demographics & Eligibility

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  • 06

    Formatting requirements 🏗️

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  • 07

    Rights for published work 🏗️

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Types of Submissions Accepted

3 genres

A general comment from the editor [coming soon]

fiction genre icon

Fiction

Max words: 5000

The Deadlands exists in liminal spaces between life, death, and elsewhere. We are looking for fiction that concerns itself with death—but also everything death may involve.

nonfiction genre icon

Nonfiction

Max words: 4000

The Deadlands wants critical, academic, and personal essays from everywhere and from everyone. We have likely reached our current limit of pieces having to deal with cemeteries, and would rather see work exploring other aspects of death, including but not limited to Death cards in tarot decks, mourning clothing from specific cultures, memento mori, death/mourning jewelry, funeral rites, and the like.

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Poetry

Max pieces: 3

No length limit. We are seeking speculative poetry in all its diverse permutations. We are as interested in the dead as we are in grief, hauntings, and history. The sublime is as much a part of The Deadlands as the uncanny. We welcome both formal and experimental poetry.

fiction genre icon

Fiction

Max words: 5000

The Deadlands exists in liminal spaces between life, death, and elsewhere. We are looking for fiction that concerns itself with death—but also everything death may involve.

nonfiction genre icon

Nonfiction

Max words: 4000

The Deadlands wants critical, academic, and personal essays from everywhere and from everyone. We have likely reached our current limit of pieces having to deal with cemeteries, and would rather see work exploring other aspects of death, including but not limited to Death cards in tarot decks, mourning clothing from specific cultures, memento mori, death/mourning jewelry, funeral rites, and the like.

poetry genre icon

Poetry

Max pieces: 3

No length limit. We are seeking speculative poetry in all its diverse permutations. We are as interested in the dead as we are in grief, hauntings, and history. The sublime is as much a part of The Deadlands as the uncanny. We welcome both formal and experimental poetry.

Magazine

Founded in 2021 | United States

Masthead

We currently list only main editors, more will be added later! If you are an editor, you can edit your masthead in our admin panel :)

E. Catherine Tobler
Editor-in-Chief
Sean Markey
Publisher
Nicasio Andres Reed
Poetry Editor
David Gilmore
Nonfiction Editor
Chill Stats (note: this is not exactly accurate...)

Total tracked

34

Average acceptance rate

3.23%

Average response time

8 days

Average acceptance/rejection time

59/7 days

Fastest response time

2 days

Slowest response time

35 days

Weird response times we excluded from calculations: 51 days, 59 days, 64 days, 88 days