Folk Tales / Faux Trails / Fox Tails

A project of State of Matter

Permanently Closed: This project is permanently closed to submissions (December 2025). We provide the following information as an archive.

About

We are searching for three faux-tales: one science fiction, one fantasy, one horror. These folk-tails might emerge from any culture, any history, any landscape, but they should inform South Asian experiences. They should give us pause as readers from the subcontinent, as fox tales often do, and make us think about our specific place within the cosmos.
These tales should have:
A faux mythology
An element (a folkus) of ‘faith’, loosely defined
An innovative form (like fox trails usually have)

No Fees! This contest does not charge mandatory fees.

Country of Publication

India

Publication Medium & Contest Frequency

Electronic Publication Electronic Publication: One-time contest

AI Policy

Unknown AI policy

Fiction Closed

Audience:

Open to a broad Audience.

Genres:

Fantasy Open to all/most Subgenres
Horror Open to all/most Subgenres
Science Fiction Open to all/most Subgenres

Lengths:

Short Story: 1,000 - 7,500 words.
Novelette: 7,500 - 15,000 words.

Styles:

Open to all/most Styles, including: Mainstream.

Topics:

Other: See guidelines.

Winner's Prize:

Token payment (under 1 US cent per word) to Professional payment (5 or more US cents per word) Pay ranges from Token payment to Professional payment. Details: INR ₹9,500 for 3 first-place prizes.

Submissions:

Method: Online form.
Reprints: Reprints are NOT allowed.
Simultaneous submissions: Simultaneous submissions are NOT allowed.
Multiple entries: Multiple entries are NOT allowed.
Media: Text.

Always check guidelines for details and restrictions. If you aren't familiar with these terms, see our glossary.

Recent cover image or website screenshot for State of Matter

Go to contest webpage

Report:
Correction/Update

Folk Tales / Faux Trails / Fox Tails Submission Statistics

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This listing is inactive and does not have any submission reports for the past 12 months.

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Before Submitting

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Always read the full guidelines provided by the publisher.
Try to read at least one previous publication to get a better idea of what the editor would like to see.
Unless the publisher's guidelines state otherwise, always use industry standard manuscript formatting.
Be professional, patient, and persistent.

Dates

Last Updated: 22 May 2026