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Bewildering Stories

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About

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Bewildering Stories — known informally as “BwS” — is a weekly electronic publication featuring speculative fiction as well as non-fiction, namely poetry, articles, essays, reviews, and art.
What does “Bewildering” really mean? One thing it does not mean: “befuddling.” We do not like literature that is meaningless or self-contradictory or that asks the readers to do the writing for the author. What “Bewildering” does mean is “unconventional” and “thought-provoking.” Who would pay any attention to a title so conventional as “Unconventional Stories”? Our name puts our preference into practice.
What is “speculative fiction”? We have no hard and fast rule. Theoretically, it is not contemporary realism, but we’ve cheerfully published contemporary realism, too: it was sent to us, and we liked it. If your submission — whatever it may be — meets our guidelines, we’ll be glad to consider it.

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

Country of Publication & Year Established

Canada Established in 2002

Publication Medium & Frequency

Electronic Publication Electronic PublicationPublished 52 x per year.

Fiction Open
Audience:

Open to a broad Audience.

Genres:
GenreSubgenres
General General
Fantasy FantasyOpen to all/most Subgenres.
Horror HorrorOpen to all/most Subgenres.
Science Fiction Science FictionOpen to all/most Subgenres, including: Alternate History.
Lengths:
Flash Fiction Flash FictionUp to 1,000 words.
Short Story Short Story1,000 - 7,500 words.
Novelette Novelette7,500 - 9,000 words.
Styles:

Open to all/most Styles, including: Experimental, Literary, Mainstream.

Topics:

Open to all/most Topics.

Payment:

No monetary payment No monetary payment.

Submissions:

Method: Email.
Reprints: Reprints are allowed.
Simultaneous submissions: Unknown.
Media: Text.

Nonfiction Open
Audience:

Open to a broad Audience.

Lengths:
Interview InterviewNo specific word count limits known.
Review ReviewNo specific word count limits known.
Article ArticleNo specific word count limits known.
Essay EssayNo specific word count limits known.
Styles:

Open to all/most Styles, including: Experimental, Literary, Mainstream.

Topics:

Open to all/most Topics, including: History (Biographies), Literature/Books (General, Theory/Analysis/Criticism), Memoir.

Payment:

No monetary payment No monetary payment.

Submissions:

Method: Email.
Reprints: Reprints are allowed.
Simultaneous submissions: Unknown.
Media: Text.

Poetry Open
Audience:

Open to a broad Audience.

Genres:
GenreSubgenres
General General
Fantasy FantasyOpen to all/most Subgenres.
Horror HorrorOpen to all/most Subgenres.
Science Fiction Science FictionOpen to all/most Subgenres, including: Alternate History.
Lengths:
Poem PoemNo line limits known.
Poetry Forms:

Open to all/most Forms. Excluding: Haiku (or related).

Styles:

Open to all/most Styles, including: Experimental, Literary, Mainstream.

Topics:

Open to all/most Topics.

Payment:

No monetary payment No monetary payment.

Submissions:

Method: Email.
Reprints: Reprints are allowed.
Simultaneous submissions: Unknown.
Media: Text.

Visual Art Open
Audience:

Open to a broad Audience.

Lengths:
Artwork ArtworkUnknown number of pieces.
Art Media:

Open to all/most Art Media.

Art Styles:

Open to all/most Art Styles.

Topics:

Open to all/most Topics.

Payment:

No monetary payment No monetary payment.

Submissions:

Method: Email.
Reprints: Reprints are allowed.
Simultaneous submissions: Unknown.
Media: Image.

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

Bewildering Stories 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.
This project ranks among the 25 Most Approachable Fiction Publishers in our database.
This project ranks among the Most Personable Fiction Publishers in our database.
AccuracyWe have received 50 reports from 35 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 | 25.3 mean avg | 5.0 median | 435 max days (675.1 std dev)
Responses84.00 %
Acceptances52.00 % of submissions accepted (8.5 avg. days per acceptance) | 57.14 % 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.
Rejections32.00 % (7.9 avg. days per rejection) | 75.0 % personal, 0.0 % form, 25.0 % unspecified | 4.0 % rewrite requests
Non-Responses16.00 %
Lost/Returned-
Never Responded4.00 % (92.5 avg. days before reporting submissions as never responded)
Withdrawals12.00 % (91.0 avg. days per withdrawal)
Pending5 responses are pending (8 min | 85.0 mean avg | 80.5 median | 250 max days waiting | 304.9 std dev) from 5 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 28 days. (18.0 % of the responses reported to us for this listing have taken longer than 28 days.)
Do not query on the status of your submission before 28 days have passed.
Most submissions are acknowledged within one day.
Most recent response reported was received on 12 Jan 2025.
Responses have been received for submissions sent as recently as 12 Jan 2025.

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Dates

Last Updated: 16 Jan 2025
Last Audited: 16 Jan 2025. (We audit each active listing twice a year. Learn more at link.)
Date Added: 23 Nov 2005

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