New Paying Market That Made Me Smile

I just spotted this in my newest issue of Gila Queen's Guide to Markets, and it made me smile:

---------

Brain Harvest, An Almanac of Bad Ass Speculative Fiction—See Web site. Weekly. "Brain Harvest will publish electronically and can be read right [at the Web site], or dispatched to your iPhone, BlackBerry, or whatever other mobile device—and maybe, one day, straight into your brain."

Lofty guidelines: "We are those jaded m*f*s who've seen everything. We worry about fiction. Where are the new ideas? Where's the weird shit? What's the future going to look like, and why will it matter? Please, surprise us. Shock us out of our ennui, and, like the iconic hooker with a heart of gold, or the free spirit w/terminal illness, help make our lives worth living again."

ADD guidelines: "750 or fewer words. Weird. Surprising. Preferably no elves."

Concrete guidelines: "Brain Harvest is looking for short fiction, 100–750 words. We want well-crafted, interesting stories that do not fall back on old, well-worn tropes—unless they have an interesting, bad-ass take on an old, well-worn trope."

"We are a speculative fiction magazine, and while your submission should have speculative aspects, we're not looking for any particular genre—substance and execution are more important than subject matter. We are not particularly keen on elves or steampunk, but if you have something different to say that requires elves or steampunk, feel free to send it along."

"E-mail submissions as attachments to submissions at [E-mail address below]. Submissions must be submitted in RTF (Rich Text Format) only. If they are in another format, we won't read them."

"Again, 750 words or fewer, please. This doesn't have to include the title."

"In the subject line, please write ‘NAME/TITLE OF SUBMISSION.’"

"No simultaneous submissions. Please only send one submission at a time. When you hear back from us, you may send another. Standard manuscript format is a bonus."

Pays 5¢/word, to $37.50, "by PayPal."

"We accept reprints, but pay for them at a different rate. Please indicate if your submission has been printed elsewhere."

"We do not publish poetry. We may, at some point in the future, publish a special poetry issue, but please do not send us poetry unless we've asked for it. Really."

"Cover letters are nice because we're nosy. But, really, we only need a few lines about who you are and what you're submitting. At this length, quality speaks louder than what you've already done or where you've been."

"We try and keep our response time lightning quick. That being said, if you haven't heard from us within a month, don't be shy. Query us and ask."

Themes: "Once in a while, we will toss a theme out into the arena for a ‘special’ issue. We are brimming with ideas about fiction we wish existed, and this us our opportunity to make that happen. We will announce upcoming themes well in advance of any deadlines we set, and will always continue to read non-themed submissions."

"Other stuff you should know:"

Unpublished work: "By submitting your unpublished work, you understand that, if accepted, Brain Harvest will buy FNASR, which gives is the one-time right to publish the story first in the North American market. Additionally, we will keep the story up in our archives and are allowed to include it in any future anthologies, either electronic or print. We will contact you if we want to use your story in an anthology. You, the author, retain all other rights to the work."

Reprints: "You must own the rights to the work you are submitting. Brain Harvest will buy the rights to reprint your piece in a issue of the magazine and keep the story up in our archives. We will happily give credit to the first/initial publisher of the piece. You, the author, retain all other rights to the work."

"We do not accept artwork, photography, or poetry at this time."

[E-mail: submissions at brainharvestmag dot com; http://www.brainharvestmag.com/].