Pink Hydra Press: Collections The Pink Hydra Gold Star Program Gold Star Free Tip Jar Option

We’re looking for collections of poetry and short stories with an element of unreality. Any genre goes, but the collection needs to have some speculative or unrealistic element. I have a particular love for spicy romance, work with some kind of taboo or "problematic" element, and pulpy genres (sword-and-sorcery, space opera, etc.) with queer characters.

If you have an epic poem that runs book-length (over 10,000 words), you can also submit it here.

Word count: 10,000 words minimum and 50,000 maximum preferred. These are soft limits, and I would strongly prefer that the entire collection runs less than 30,000. If I really like the concept but feel that the collection is too long, I may request that some stories or poems are left out. This conversation will happen before an official acceptance, and of course it's at your discretion whether you want to go along with it or take your proposal elsewhere.

Please read our full guidelines before submitting, and take note of our payment terms and the rights we acquire.

Send us the full manuscript of your collection, formatted as you please; partial submissions or queries will be auto-rejected.

Translations of work previously published in another language are permitted only if the author and translator are the same person. Don’t submit a translation you made of someone else’s work.

Include a cover letter with a short (5 sentences or less) summary of your concept and genre. Try to refrain from using showy, meaningless phrases that have nothing to do with the concept or genre. Examples include “fast-paced adventure,” “sweeping romance,” or “study of the human condition.” If in doubt, keep it simple: just tell us what the stories are about, and what genre you’re writing in or hoping to subvert. No more, no less.

As part of the submission form, you will be asked the following:

• whether you want feedback in case of rejection
• whether we can add your email to the mailing list for our monthly newsletter
• whether you want to provide your own cover art should the collection be accepted

None of your answers to any of the above questions will influence our decision on whether or not to accept your work.

If you would like to support The Pink Hydra’s mission of publishing queer, weird, diverse, and liminal fiction, you can support us by giving a small donation with your submission. Again, this will in no way influence our decision on whether to accept your work.

If anything is unclear or you experience any issues with Duosuma, please contact us at [email protected]. Any clown submissions (“I don’t feel like making a Duotrope account so here’s my story anyways”) sent to this email will be rejected unread.

Please don’t be intimidated by the submission process, and don’t self-reject your story if it seems to fit with what we want. We welcome young and inexperienced authors, and we’re happy to assist with any and all submissions made in good faith.

We are an inclusive publisher looking for diverse work from authors of all nationalities and identities. We particularly seek work by and about women, trans people, and anyone who fits anywhere on the LGBTQA+ spectrum.

We can’t wait to read your weird, queer, wonderful stories! Thank you for considering us as a home for your work.