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Asimov's Science Fiction 571

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About

From its earliest days in 1977 under the editorial direction of Isaac Asimov, Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine has maintained the tradition of publishing the best stories, unsurpassed in modern science fiction, from award-winning authors and first-time writers alike. In recent years, Asimov's has placed more stories on the Final Hugo Ballot than all of its competitors combined, and more than twice as many as its closest competitor. Bestselling author Robert Silverberg calls Asimov’s "a truly distinguished magazine, worthy of being set beside such classics of the earlier golden ages as John W. Campbell's Astounding Science Fiction of 1939-42." The Austin Chronicle lauds Asimov's as "the most consistently innovative and readable SF magazine on the newsstands today."

Want more insight into the editors' preferences? Read our interview with the editor(s).

Country of Publication & Year Established

United States Established in 1977

Publication Medium & Frequency

Print Publication Print PublicationPublished 6 x per year.

Fiction Open

In general, we’re looking for “character oriented” stories, those in which the characters, rather than the science, provide the main focus for the reader’s interest. Serious, thoughtful, yet accessible fiction will constitute the majority of our purchases, but there’s always room for the humorous as well. SF dominates the fiction published in the magazine, but we also publish borderline fantasy, slipstream, and surreal fiction. No sword & Sorcery, please. Neither are we interested in explicit sex or violence. A good overview would be to consider that all fiction is written to examine or illuminate some aspect of human existence, but that in science fiction the backdrop you work against is the size of the Universe.

Audience:

Open to a broad Audience.

Genres:
GenreSubgenres
Fantasy FantasyOpen to all/most Subgenres, including: Cross-Genre, excluding Sword & Sorcery.
Science Fiction Science FictionOpen to all/most Subgenres, including: Cross-Genre, Hard Science Fiction, Slipstream, Soft Science Fiction.
Lengths:
Short Story Short Story1,000 - 7,500 words.
Novelette Novelette7,500 - 15,000 words.
Novella Novella15,000 - 20,000 words.
Styles:

Open to all/most Styles, including: Mainstream, Surrealist.

Topics:

Open to all/most Topics.

Payment:

Professional payment (5 or more US cents per word) Professional payment. Details: USD $0.08-$0.10/word.

Submissions:

Methods: Submission manager. Postal.
Reprints: Reprints are NOT allowed.
Simultaneous submissions: Simultaneous submissions are NOT allowed.
Media: Text.


Poetry Open

Audience:

Open to a broad Audience.

Genres:
GenreSubgenres
Fantasy FantasyOpen to all/most Subgenres, including: Cross-Genre, excluding Sword & Sorcery.
Science Fiction Science FictionOpen to all/most Subgenres, including: Cross-Genre, Hard Science Fiction, Slipstream, Soft Science Fiction.
Lengths:
Poem PoemUp to 40 lines.
Poetry Forms:

Open to all/most Forms.

Styles:

Open to all/most Styles, including: Mainstream, Surrealist.

Topics:

Open to all/most Topics.

Payment:

Semi-pro payment (US$5-49 per poem) Semi-pro payment. Details: USD $1 per line.

Submissions:

Methods: Submission manager. Postal.
Reprints: Reprints are NOT allowed.
Simultaneous submissions: Simultaneous submissions are NOT allowed.
Media: Text.


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

Asimov's Science Fiction Submission Statistics — Free Preview!

The statistics in this section are compiled from submission reports sent to us through our submission tracker. They are not provided by the publication's editors/staff or by Duotrope's admins. Information in this section is updated a few times per day. Learn more about the statistics.
AccuracyWe have received 392 reports from 244 different members within the past 12 months, not including pending responses (see below). The more responses reported, the more accurate the information.
Days Reported0 min | 11.1 mean avg | 1.0 median | 247 max days (32.1 std dev)
Responses98.73 %
Acceptances1.79 % of submissions accepted (104.7 avg. days per acceptance) | 2.46 % of submitters accepted Rejections are often underreported, which skews the statistics in favor of acceptances. Most publishers have a lower acceptance rate than indicated here.
Rejections96.94 % (9.0 avg. days per rejection) | 8.4 % personal, 78.4 % form, 13.2 % unspecified | 0.3 % rewrite requests | 1.0 % shortlisted
Non-Responses1.28 %
Lost/Returned0.51 % (5.5 avg. days before reporting submissions as lost or returned)
Never Responded0.51 % (87.0 avg. days before reporting submissions as never responded)
Withdrawals0.26 % (15.0 avg. days per withdrawal)
Pending17 responses are pending (0 min | 65.2 mean avg | 56.0 median | 179 max days waiting | 62.7 std dev) from 17 different members This only includes pending reports from users who have been active on Duotrope within the past 30 days

Other Information

The editors will try to make a decision within 35 days. (7.9 % of the responses reported to us for this listing have taken longer than 35 days.)
Do not query on the status of your submission before 45 days have passed.
Most submissions are acknowledged on the same day.
Most recent response reported was received on 16 May 2024.
Responses have been received for submissions sent as recently as 11 May 2024.

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Dates

Last Updated: 08 May 2024
Last Audited: 08 May 2024. (We audit each active listing twice a year. Learn more at link.)
Date Added: 25 Jul 2005

Before Submitting

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