Orion’s Belt
5715 Del Paz Drive
Colorado Springs CO 80918
Phone: 719-309-8172
Fax:
Website: https://www.orions-belt.net/
Guidelines: https://orionsbelt.submissions@gmail.com
Editor: Joshua Fagan, Editor in Chief; Jenna Hanchey, Poetry Editor; Tom Kelly, Poetry Editor; Elise LeBihan, Fiction Editor; December Cuccaro, Fiction Editor; Lindsey Ragsdale, Fiction Editor.
Email address: mailto:orionsbelt.submissions@gmail.com
About The Publication:
“Orion’s Belt is a literary speculative-fiction online magazine. We specialize in the strange and poignant and awe-inspiring, stories that have a cosmic scale and intimate personal stakes. Currently, we publish fiction and poetry, one story and one poem per month. All submissions must be 1200 words or less.” Monthly. Pays on publication. Publishes ms within 6 weeks of acceptance. Buys Worldwide Rights for electronic and print versions, and Non-exclusive Reprint Rights. Responds within 10-14 days. Guidelines online.
Pays $0.08/word for up to 1200 words.
Current Needs:
All stories must be under 1200 words. All stories over 1,200 words will be rejected automatically. All stories must contain significant speculative elements. This does not mean all sci-fi stories must have lasers and rockets. It just means a non-speculative story doesn’t become speculative if you include a single line clarifying the story takes place on Mars.
Pays $0.08/word for up to 1200 words.
The subject line of your submission should be a variation of “Submission – Story Name (Author Name, Fiction/Poetry).”
Stories need not necessarily follow Standard Manuscript Format, but it is preferred. The font should be 12-point Times New Roman. A cover letter is expected. This doesn’t need to be long or detailed. Attach the story to your email as a Word file or PDF. In the body of the letter, include your name, the title of your story, its length, its genre or subgenre, up to three previous publications, and any other information you deem relevant.”
Pays $0.08/word for up to 1200 words
Photos/Art:
Artwork
Hints:
“Literature is a matter of the heart, not just of the intellect. As such, conveying exactly what kinds of stories will delight us is impossible. A story that sounds banal and cliche-ridden in concept can be philosophical and achingly beautiful in execution. Conversely, a story that sounds lovely in concept can fail to move us in execution. Additionally, while we prize elegant, vibrant writing, not every well-written story will appeal to us. The best way to know what we like is to read what we’ve published in the past. Our past issues are free to read under our “Issues” tab. If you’re only looking for individual stories, check our “Archives” tab. Reading stories published in Strange Horizons and Beneath Ceaseless Skies will also help, as they are the two most popular literary speculative magazines here at Orion’s Belt. Nonetheless, there are tendencies, formats, and ideas we tend to appreciate. A complete list of these would be too long and granular to be of any real use, but here is an adequate summary: Stories told through another medium; i.e., journal articles, mission reports, diary entries, etc. The more idiosyncratic and experimental a medium you use, the more likely we are to appreciate it. Characters who are rogues or tricksters working outside oppressive bureaucratic systems. Characters forced to make difficult decisions that may conflict with their moral codes. Hard-won optimism, not to be confused with saccharine sentimentality. Ecological storytelling that avoids clear answers or easy moralizing. The blurring of lines between poetry and prose. Extensive allusions to mythology or classic literature. Non-linear stories, or other stories that play with our perception of time. Bringing in special or general relativity or quantum physics is a plus, though the focus should still be on the narrative, not on the science.”
Welcomes New Writers: Yes