A premier publisher of short fiction and the newest platform from the team behind The Masters Review, CRAFT Literary, Fractured Lit, and The Voyage Journal

We seek stories that provide a thrilling escape, a surprising new world, or a brain-twisting mystery. Our founders, Tommy Dean and Josh Roark, love genre writing. 

They wanted to create a space where writers and readers can truly gather together to share and experience outstanding stories. 

Uncharted publishes new work every week from both emerging and established authors, and our prestigious contests make sure our authors get the chance to make real money and earn real recognition. We also regularly publish writing advice, community news, essays, interviews, and more—all centered around our shared love of great stories.

We're not in it for the money, but it certainly helps. These fiction magazines pay at least $200 per acceptance.

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Uncharted

Uncharted Magazine is excited to introduce a new submission category for publication in our magazine. We’re looking for stories that bring the humor. Satire, slapstick, the weirdness of life, and extended jokes can find a home with us. Make sure it’s fiction, and that at its heart it engages with rich characters and entertaining plots.
 
Guidelines: 
 All fiction categories are open year-round, and we do not charge any submission fees. We accept simultaneous submissions but ask that you inform us immediately and withdraw your work if your story is accepted elsewhere. 
 Payment: We pay our authors $200 for original fiction! We pay by check or PayPal, according to the author's preference.
 Word Count: Submitted stories should be between 1,000-5,000 words. 
 We will also consider previously published fiction, as long as the writer retains the rights or second-publication rights can be obtained. We do not pay for reprints.
 Writers may submit one story per submission. Please wait one month after our initial reply before submitting again.
 Cover letters: Cover letters are optional, but it's nice to know who is submitting to us. We do not need your mailing address.  Please refrain from describing your stories. The work needs to speak for itself. Including each story's title and word count is helpful for more efficient consideration of your work. Please include a brief third-person biography statement. If necessary, please include a content warning to help protect our readers. 
 Format: double-space your submission and use Times New Roman 12 pt font. Word docs work best!
 Response Times: Please allow us up to three months to inform you if we have accepted your work for publication. You will usually hear from us much sooner. 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.
 We consider submissions sent via Submittable. We are not open to email submissions and are not open to submissions sent via post.
 Diversity Statement: We do not discriminate on the basis of age, ancestry, disability, family status, gender identity or expression, national origin, race, religion, sex or sexual orientation, or for any other reason. We reserve the right not to publish works that dwell unnecessarily in or that are unchallenging of the discrimination categories listed above. We reserve the right to send back work unread and unevaluated if we find the work violates our vision of inclusivity and non-discrimination. This may result in banning individual works or writers from our submission queue.
 Rights: Uncharted Magazine holds the first serial publication rights for three months after publication. Authors agree not to publish, nor authorize or permit the publication of, any part of the material for three months following Uncharted Magazine's first publication. For reprints, we ask for acknowledgment of its publication in Uncharted Magazine first.
 Courtesy: Please refrain from withdrawing your submission to fix a typo or misspelling. These minor issues will not result in an automatic decline. We read submissions based on the value of the story, not the typing. 
 OPTIONAL EDITORIAL FEEDBACK:
 You may choose to receive editorial feedback on your piece. We will provide a global letter discussing the strengths of the writing and the recommended focus for revision. We aim to make our comments actionable and encouraging. These letters are written by editors and staff readers of Uncharted Magazine.

Humor Stories

We're looking for the best 5,000 words or fewer from your novel in progress. We love to read opening chapters, climaxes, and anything in between. Give us those scenes full of tension, crackling dialogue, and worlds we’ve never even imagined. Give us a chance to read the most captivating section of your novel—and make us want to read more!

Novel Excerpt Prize

Uncharted Magazine publishes Science Fiction/Fantasy Short Stories from fiction writers of any background or experience. We want stories that richly imagine the future of technology and science, that explore our world through a speculative lens. We want stories of fantasy that make us hunger for new worlds, new biomes, new places we can explore through thrilling sensual details and human empathy. We want stories that thrill us, that make us feel alive, that awaken our desires to explore and go on adventures.
Guidelines:
All fiction categories are open year round and we do not charge any submission fees. We accept simultaneous submissions but ask that you inform us immediately and withdraw your work if your story is accepted elsewhere.
Payment: We pay our authors $200 for original fiction! We pay by check or PayPal, according to the author's preference.
Word Count: Submitted stories should be between 1,000-5,000 words.
We will also consider previously published fiction, as long as the writer retains the rights or second-publication rights can be obtained. We do not pay for reprints.
Writers may submit 1 story per submission. Please wait 1 month after our initial reply before submitting again.
Cover letters: Cover letters are optional, but it's nice to know who is submitting to us. We do not need your mailing address.  Please refrain from describing your stories. The work needs to speak for itself. Including the title and word count of each story is helpful for more efficient consideration of your work. Please include a brief third-person biography statement. If necessary, please include a content warning to help protect our readers.
Format: double-space your submission and use Times New Roman 12 pt font. Word docs work best!
Response Times: Please allow us up to three months to inform you if we have accepted your work for publication. You will usually hear from us much sooner. 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.
We consider submissions sent via Submittable. We are not open to email submissions and are not open to submissions sent via post.
Diversity Statement: We do not discriminate on the basis of age, ancestry, disability, family status, gender identity or expression, national origin, race, religion, sex or sexual orientation, or for any other reason. We reserve the right not to publish works that dwell unnecessarily in or that are unchallenging of the discrimination categories listed above. We reserve the right to send back work unread and unevaluated if we find the work violates our vision of inclusivity and non-discrimination. This may result in banning individual works or writers from our submission queue.
Rights: Uncharted Magazine holds first serial publication rights for three months after publication. Authors agree not to publish, nor authorize or permit the publication of, any part of the material for three months following Uncharted Magazine's first publication. For reprints, we ask for acknowledgment of its publication in Uncharted Magazine first.
Courtesy: Please refrain from withdrawing your submission to fix a typo or misspelling. These minor issues will not result in an automatic decline. We read submissions based on the value of the story, not the typing.
OPTIONAL EDITORIAL FEEDBACK:
You may choose to receive editorial feedback on your piece. We will provide a global letter discussing the strengths of the writing and the recommended focus for revision. Our aim is to make our comments actionable and encouraging. These letters are written by editors and staff readers of Uncharted Magazine.

Science Fiction/Fantasy Short Story

Uncharted Magazine publishes Thriller/Mystery Short Stories from fiction writers of any background or experience. We are rolling horror stories into this category! We want stories that keep us up at night, afraid to turn the corner. Stories that take us into the resonant fear of looming monsters and haunting ghosts. We want stories that thrill us by keeping us on the edges of our seats, hearts pounding, wondering how it will end! Stories with characters who refuse to stay in the shadows! We want stories of mystery that make us search for answers, for reasons, for the things that happen in the shadows.
 Guidelines: 
 All fiction categories are open year round and we do not charge any submission fees. We accept simultaneous submissions but ask that you inform us immediately and withdraw your work if your story is accepted elsewhere. 
 Payment: We pay our authors $200 for original fiction! We pay by check or PayPal, according to the author's preference.
 Word Count: Submitted stories should be between 1,000-5,000 words. 
 We will also consider previously published fiction, as long as the writer retains the rights or second-publication rights can be obtained. We do not pay for reprints.
 Writers may submit one story per submission. Please wait one month after our initial reply before submitting again.
 Cover letters: Cover letters are optional, but it's nice to know who is submitting to us. We do not need your mailing address.  Please refrain from describing your stories. The work needs to speak for itself. Including each story's title and word count is helpful for more efficient consideration of your work. Please include a brief third-person biography statement. If necessary, please include a content warning to help protect our readers. 
 Format: double-space your submission and use Times New Roman 12 pt font. Word docs work best!
 Response Times: Please allow us up to three months to inform you if we have accepted your work for publication. You will usually hear from us much sooner. 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.
 We consider submissions sent via Submittable. We are not open to email submissions and are not open to submissions sent via post.
 Diversity Statement: We do not discriminate on the basis of age, ancestry, disability, family status, gender identity or expression, national origin, race, religion, sex or sexual orientation, or for any other reason. We reserve the right not to publish works that dwell unnecessarily in or that are unchallenging of the discrimination categories listed above. We reserve the right to send back work unread and unevaluated if we find the work violates our vision of inclusivity and non-discrimination. This may result in banning individual works or writers from our submission queue.
 Rights: Uncharted Magazine holds the first serial publication rights for three months after publication. Authors agree not to publish, nor authorize or permit the publication of, any part of the material for three months following Uncharted Magazine's first publication. For reprints, we ask for acknowledgment of its publication in Uncharted Magazine first.
 Courtesy: Please refrain from withdrawing your submission to fix a typo or misspelling. These minor issues will not result in an automatic decline. We read submissions based on the value of the story, not the typing. 
 OPTIONAL EDITORIAL FEEDBACK:
 You may choose to receive editorial feedback on your piece. We will provide a global letter discussing the strengths of the writing and the recommended focus for revision. We aim to make our comments actionable and encouraging. These letters are written by editors and staff readers of Uncharted Magazine.

Thriller/Mystery Short Story

We invite writers to submit to the Uncharted Magazine Cinematic Short Story Contest from January 05 to March 08, 2026. This award is for all of our genres: Science Fiction/Fantasy, Thriller/Mystery (Horror), Young Adult, Historical Fiction, and Humor stories.
Guest Judge Ananda Lima will choose three winning stories from our shortlist. We’re excited to offer the first-place winner of this contest $2,000 and publication, while the second- and third-place winners will receive publication and $300 and $200, respectively.
For this short story contest, we want to read your most cinematic stories! We want stories we can clearly visualize, that make us feel as if we’re there in the moment, and that engage all our senses. We want worlds that pop into our minds, characters who are fully articulated and intent on breaking their rituals. We want stories with vitality and velocity that rely on swift cuts of action and reaction.
Consider crafting your story based on the most important moments in your character’s life, and fully envelop us in this story. Think of the opposites of shadow and light, and the gray areas in-between, and write the stories we can’t look away from. We especially love stories that incorporate elements from multiple genres, so consider how these combined tropes might enhance your story. We’re drawn to stories that leverage their conflicts to create tension and resonance. 
Ananda Lima is the author of Craft: Stories I Wrote for the Devil (Tor Books, 2024) and Mother/land (Black Lawrence Press, 2021), winner of the Hudson Prize. Her work has appeared in American Poetry Review, Poets.org, Kenyon Review, Electric Literature, and elsewhere. She is a Contributing Editor at Poets & Writers and Program Curator at StoryStudio, Chicago. Lima was named to Newcity’s 2025 Lit 50 list, which recognizes influential people and organizations shaping Chicago’s literary culture. She was a mentor at the NYFA Immigrant Artist Program and the inaugural Latinx-in-Publishing WIP Fellow, sponsored by Macmillan Publishers. She has an MA in Linguistics (UCLA) and an MFA in Creative Writing (Rutgers-Newark). Craft, her fiction debut, was longlisted for the Story Prize, the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction, and received starred reviews from Kirkus, Publishers Weekly, and Library Journal. The New York Times describes it as “a remarkable debut that announces the arrival of a towering talent in speculative fiction.”  
Here’s what Ananda looks for in a short story:
I would love to read stories that reveal something new or unexpected, be it a whole new world or a new way of seeing something familiar. Stories that build on the senses, the psychological, and language to create experiences that readers can live alongside the characters. Because of the focus on the cinematic in this contest, I will also be reading for stories that create impactful images, scenes that I can see and hear as I read. It doesn’t matter as much whether the story explores a big high concept idea or covers a quite subtle everyday occurrence, if it is realistic or fantastical, experimental or traditional. Send a story that is fully human, fully yours.
 GUIDELINES

  The entry deadline is March 08, 2026. We will announce the shortlist within fourteen weeks of the contest’s close. All writers will be notified when the results are in.
  Your $20 reading fee allows ONE cinematic short story of 1,001–5,000 words per entry.
  We encourage multiple submissions—each story should be submitted separately, accompanied by a reading fee.
  Writers from historically marginalized groups can submit for free until we reach our cap of twenty-five free submissions. No additional fee waivers will be granted.
  Please submit short stories only—5,000 word count maximum.
  We only consider unpublished work for contests—we do not review reprints, including self-published work (even on blogs and social media). Reprints will be automatically disqualified.
  Simultaneous submissions are okay—please notify us immediately and withdraw your entry if you find another home for your writing.
  All entries will also be considered for publication in Uncharted.
  Double-space your submission and use Times New Roman 12 (or larger if needed).
  Please include a brief cover letter with your publication history (if applicable).
  Please include a content warning to help safeguard our staff (if applicable).
  We only read work in English, though some code-switching/meshing is warmly welcomed.
  We do not read anonymous submissions. However, shortlisted stories are sent anonymously to the judge.
  AI-generated work will be automatically disqualified.

Some Submittable Hot Tips:

  Please be sure to whitelist or add this email address to your contacts so notifications are not filtered as spam/junk: notifications@email.submittable.com.
  If you realize you sent the wrong version of your piece: It happens. Please DO NOT withdraw the piece and resubmit. Submittable collects a nonrefundable fee each time. Please DO message us from within the submission to request that we open the entry for editing, which will allow you to fix everything from typos in your cover letter to uploading a new draft. The only time we will not allow a change is if the piece is already under review by a reader.

OPTIONAL FEEDBACK ON YOUR WRITING
You may choose to receive editorial feedback on your piece. We will provide two-page global letters discussing the strengths of the writing and the recommended focus for revision. Our aim is to make our comments actionable and encouraging. These letters are written by editors and staff readers of Uncharted. A significant portion of the editorial letter fees goes to our feedback editor. Should your story win, no feedback will be offered, and your fee will be refunded.

2026 Uncharted Magazine Cinematic Short Story Contest | Judged by Ananda Lima | $2500 Awarded!

Uncharted Magazine is excited to introduce a new submission category for publication in our magazine. Dystopian: We’re looking for stories that show us a future fueled by the cracks in society, that place characters in the middle of the collapse, that capture the unique challenges of a failing government, where survival is at stake, and where characters don’t know who they can trust. We want stories where the dystopian setting places your characters under extreme stress. But don’t leave out the possibilities of redemption, of finding the light in the dark, of characters triumphing in an unpredictable near future.
Guidelines:  All fiction categories are open year round and we do not charge any submission fees. We accept simultaneous submissions but ask that you inform us immediately and withdraw your work if your story is accepted elsewhere.
Payment: We pay our authors $200 for original fiction! We pay by check or PayPal, according to the author's preference.
Word Count: Submitted stories should be between 1,000-5,000 words.  We will also consider previously published fiction, as long as the writer retains the rights or second-publication rights can be obtained. We do not pay for reprints. Writers may submit 1 story per submission. Please wait 1 month after our initial reply before submitting again.
Cover letters: Cover letters are optional, but it's nice to know who is submitting to us. We do not need your mailing address.  Please refrain from describing your stories. The work needs to speak for itself. Including the title and word count of each story is helpful for more efficient consideration of your work. Please include a brief third-person biography statement. If necessary, please include a content warning to help protect our readers.
Format: double-space your submission and use Times New Roman 12 pt font. Word docs work best!
Response Times: Please allow us up to three months to inform you if we have accepted your work for publication. You will usually hear from us much sooner. 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. We consider submissions sent via Submittable. We are not open to email submissions and are not open to submissions sent via post.
Diversity Statement: We do not discriminate on the basis of age, ancestry, disability, family status, gender identity or expression, national origin, race, religion, sex or sexual orientation, or for any other reason. We reserve the right not to publish works that dwell unnecessarily in or that are unchallenging of the discrimination categories listed above. We reserve the right to send back work unread and unevaluated if we find the work violates our vision of inclusivity and non-discrimination. This may result in banning individual works or writers from our submission queue.
Rights: Uncharted Magazine holds first serial publication rights for three months after publication. Authors agree not to publish, nor authorize or permit the publication of, any part of the material for three months following Uncharted Magazine's first publication. For reprints, we ask for acknowledgment of its publication in Uncharted Magazine first.
Courtesy: Please refrain from withdrawing your submission to fix a typo or misspelling. These minor issues will not result in an automatic decline. We read submissions based on the value of the story, not the typing.
OPTIONAL EDITORIAL FEEDBACK:    You may choose to receive editorial feedback on your piece. We will provide a global letter discussing the strengths of the writing and the recommended focus for revision. We aim to make our comments actionable and encouraging. These letters are written by editors and staff readers of Uncharted Magazine.

Dystopian Story

It’s time for our noir writers to send us something that utilizes shadows, the juxtaposition of law and crime, and lurking antagonists (including crime, mystery, thriller, and atmospheric horror stories). For this Noir Challenge, we’re pleased to offer the grand-prize winner $500 and publication. All entries will be considered for general publication at our regular rate of $200.
Noir stories offer writers a chance to play with light and dark, shadows and fog, and characters who work to tear down internal and external systems of society and private life. We’d love to see stories that imbue their settings with mystery and danger, that are filled with characters who lie and expose lies, and thrill us from the opening line!
You’re invited to submit to the Noir Challenge from March 10 to March 22, 2026.
GUIDELINES
The deadline for entry is March 22, 2026. We will announce the shortlist, chosen by our editorial staff, within 12–14 weeks of the challenge’s close. All writers will be notified when the results are in.
Your $20 reading fee allows ONE noir fiction short story of 1,001–5,000 words per entry.
We encourage multiple submissions—each story should be a separate submission accompanied by a reading fee.
Please submit short stories only—5,000 word count maximum.
We only consider unpublished work for challenges—we do not review reprints, including self-published work (even on blogs and social media). Reprints will be automatically disqualified.
Simultaneous submissions are okay—please notify us immediately and withdraw your entry if you find another home for your writing.
All entries will also be considered for publication in Uncharted.
Double-space your submission and use Times New Roman 12 (or larger if needed).
Please include a brief cover letter with your publication history (if applicable).
Please include a content warning to help safeguard our staff (if applicable).
We only read work in English, though some code-switching/meshing is warmly welcomed.
Work generated by AI will be automatically disqualified.
Some Submittable Hot Tips:
Please be sure to whitelist/add to contacts this email address so notifications do not get filtered as spam/junk: notifications@email.submittable.com.
If you realize you sent the wrong version of your piece: It happens. Please DO NOT withdraw the piece and resubmit. Submittable collects a nonrefundable fee each time. Please DO message us from within the submission to request that we open the entry for editing, which will allow you to fix everything from typos in your cover letter to uploading a new draft. The only time we will not allow a change is if the piece is already under review by a reader.
OPTIONAL FEEDBACK ON YOUR WRITING
You may choose to receive editorial feedback on your piece. We will provide a two-page global letter discussing the strengths of the writing and the recommended focus for revision. Our aim is to make our comments actionable and encouraging. These letters are written by editors and staff readers of Uncharted. A significant portion of the editorial letter fees is paid to our feedback editor. Should your story win, no feedback will be offered, and your fee will be refunded.

Noir Challenge

For this contest, we want stories or excerpts of summer heat, secrets by the campfire, killer mosquitoes, and everything we love and hate about summer camp and the dangers of summer! Take the elements of this trope and put them in new settings: spaceships, faraway planets, mythical isles, and don’t forget the horrific beasts and the liminal shadows. Make it serious or campy, or any register in between. Make us laugh until we cry; make us ponder the logic of your science. Tame the fantastical or let it roam. Final girls or final kisses, don’t be afraid to invite a bit of those firsts and lasts. We especially love stories that incorporate elements from multiple genres, so consider how combining these aspects might enhance your story. 

Uncharted Camp Summer Contest

We invite writers to submit to the 2026 Uncharted Reprint Prize from September 01 to September 30, 2026.
We want to celebrate the stories that may have gotten lost in the shuffle or are stuck in the limbo of shuttered literary magazines! We know that excellent and exciting stories are published every day, but no one can keep up with them all. This contest is an opportunity for these stories to reach new readers and to live on in excellence on our website. We want to bring light to those lost pieces—the stories that you love but feel are no longer receiving the attention or recognition they deserve.
This award is for all of our genres: Science Fiction/Fantasy, Thriller/Mystery/Horror, Young Adult, and Dystopian.
The Uncharted team of readers and editors will choose the three winning stories from our shortlist. We’re excited to offer the first-place winner of this contest $1,000 and publication, while the second- and third-place winners will receive publication and $300 and $200, respectively.
GUIDELINES
The deadline for entry is September 30, 2026. We will announce the shortlist within 12–14 weeks of the contest’s close. All writers will be notified when the results are in.
Your $20 reading fee allows ONE short story or novel excerpt of 1,001–5,000 words per entry.
We encourage multiple submissions—each story should be a separate submission accompanied by a reading fee.
Please submit short stories or novel excerpts—5,000 word count maximum.
Simultaneous submissions are okay—please notify us immediately and withdraw your entry if you find another home for your writing.
All entries will also be considered for publication in Uncharted.
Double-space your submission and use Times New Roman 12 (or larger if needed).
Please include a brief cover letter with your publication history (if applicable).
Please include a content warning to help safeguard our staff (if applicable).
We only read work in English, though some code-switching/meshing is warmly welcomed.
Please tell us where this piece was originally published. We will credit them if we decide to publish your work.
Work generated by AI will be automatically disqualified.
Some Submittable Hot Tips:
Please be sure to whitelist/add to contacts this email address so notifications do not get filtered as spam/junk: notifications@email.submittable.com.
If you realize you sent the wrong version of your piece: It happens. Please DO NOT withdraw the piece and resubmit. Submittable collects a nonrefundable fee each time. Please DO message us from within the submission to request that we open the entry for editing, which will allow you to fix everything from typos in your cover letter to uploading a new draft. The only time we will not allow a change is if the piece is already under review by a reader.
OPTIONAL FEEDBACK ON YOUR WRITING
You may choose to receive editorial feedback on your piece. We will provide two-page global letters discussing the strengths of the writing and the recommended focus for revision. Our aim is to make our comments actionable and encouraging. These letters are written by editors and staff readers of Uncharted. A significant portion of the editorial letter fees goes to our feedback editor. Should your story win, no feedback will be offered, and your fee will be refunded.

Uncharted

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Uncharted Reprint Prize | $1500 Awarded!

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