Submission guidelines

Aurealis holy writ

[Go to HOUSE STYLE NOTES for recommended spelling and punctuation for submissions]

Aurealis is Australia's premiere magazine of science fiction, fantasy and horror.

Aurealis is looking for science fiction, fantasy or horror short stories between 2000 and 8000 words. All types of science fiction, fantasy and horror that are of a "speculative" nature will be considered, but we do not want stories that are derivative in nature, particularly those based on TV series. Crime horror submissions should be directed to another market.

Stories do not have to be explicitly Australian, although we always like to see some with Australian characterisation and background, provided the local element is not merely a self-conscious insertion into a standard plot.

Stories containing an unacceptable number of spelling mistakes and typos, and those that do not conform to our guidelines in other ways, will be rejected automatically. This may seem harsh, but we are being honest about it. Please take the time to polish your work in every way before you send it to us.

Aurealis pays between $20 and $60 per 1000 words, depending on the level of government grants received, and payment will be made soon after the publication of the issue containing your story. Minimum payment is $20. You will also receive a free electronic copy of the issue containing your story.

We buy the First Electronic Publication Rights and the non-exclusive rights to include the story in a print anthology. All other rights remain with the contributor. The story must not be published elsewhere for a period of twelve months after it appears in electronic form in Aurealis. Aurealis does not publish reprints.

Aurealis does not publish poetry or novel extracts. We do not serialise longer works.

Aurealis is primarily a market for Australian stories but we are interested in publishing some stories from overseas authors from time to time. We are currently receiving a large number of Australian submissions, so until further notice, we are only interested in submissions from Australian and New Zealand citizens or residents. The only exceptions to this are stories by overseas authors that have a strong Australian element. If you are residing outside Australia or New Zealand, please specify in your e-mail whether you are an Australian or New Zealand citizen, or if your story contains a strong Australian/New Zealand element.

Our response time is no more than two months and we are aiming for much shorter turnarounds. Please do not query us until two months have passed since your submission. Where time permits, unsuccessful authors will be emailed a reply in the form of a checklist critique and/or a personal note. We are sorry, but Aurealis is not able to respond to queries about rejected stories.

All submissions to Aurealis must be by email. Please e-mail submissions to: submissions@aurealis.com.au

Hard copy submissions will no longer be read or receive a response.

Note we are closed to submissions during December and January.

Please include the following information with your submission:

1. The subject line of the email must be in the following format:
   Aurealis submission: <"Title of story"> <(word count)> by <Author name>
   eg Aurealis submission: "The Attack of the Cyber-witches" (2500 words) by Sy Fixion
2. The body of the email should include:
   • A repeat of the email subject line
   • Your name, address, all phone and email contact details
   • A brief cover letter (max 200 words) "Here's a story that I wrote about…"
   • A brief bio (max 100 words)
3. Please include on the first page of your submission the author's name, email address, postal address, phone number, the title of the story and the word length. Do NOT include your name or address in the footers or headers of the file.
4. Please attach your submission as a file to your email; do not include your submission in the body of an email. Submissions should be included as rtf files only. We cannot guarantee submissions will/can be read if sent as any other file format.

Here is how the email should look:

Here is how the start of your fiction submission should look:

• Please only submit one story at a time. We do not accept simultaneous submissions.
• Save your story file as the title of the story. Do not include your name in the file name.
• Stories must be unpublished and if accepted must remain unpublished until they appear in Aurealis. Stories should not be published (made publically available) on personal website, public writer's forums, small press publications, POD books/collections, self published collections etc. We are not interested in seeing stories that have been previously rejected by the magazine.
• All stories are judged on merit through a blind reading process. All identifying information is removed prior to sending it to our readers. Hence, we do not want identifying information in headers and footers
• Subscriber submissions will be fast-tracked through the assessment process. If you are a subscriber, please indicate this clearly in the subject line: "Aurealis submission: <"Title of story"> <(word count)> by <Author name> (SUBSCRIBER)" and on the first page of your manuscript.
• Please use standard Australian punctuation and spelling for your submissions as found in the AGPS Style Guide.
• All manuscripts should be double-spaced with broad margins and numbered pages.
• Use 12 pt Times font, or a similar serif font, such as Cambria, Palatino, Baskerville. No other fonts, please. Submit special formatting as it is seen - italise words and passages that you want italicised. DO NOT underline words or passages you want italised
• The editor has had a lot of difficulties sending replies to web-based email addresses; especially hotmail accounts, but sometimes to yahoo and google accounts due to ISP spam filters. The editor can make no guarantee that replies to these emails will be received by owners of these accounts. User beware.

Please direct all submission queries to: submissions@aurealis.com.au

We are interested in articles between 500 and 4000 words about Australian science fiction, fantasy and horror, as well as articles of interest to Australian writers of science fiction, fantasy and horror.

Aurealis is looking for strong, vibrant colour cover art that draws attention to the magazine.

Do not send originals! Post good quality colour photocopies with sufficient postage if you want them returned. Alternatively, forward details of the website where your work can be viewed.

Aurealis buys the rights to use the cover on an issue of the magazine as well as for subsequent promotional purposes including on our website. We acknowledge the artist in the issue in which the work appears.

Internal artwork is commissioned, but we will consider samples of your black and white work if accompanied by a stamped self-addressed envelope or your email address.

Currently, only artwork by Australian residents can be accepted.

Artwork and artwork enquiries can be emailed to: artdirector@aurealis.com.au

Our payment is $75 for cover art, $25 for black and white story illustrations, and $10-15 for graphics. Payment is made soon after the publication of the issue with your work.

While the utmost care is taken, Aurealis Magazine cannot accept responsibility for the loss or damage of any manuscripts or artwork.