Fraidy Cat Quarterly

About

Fraidy Cat loves all things horror – from the eerie, creeping terror of Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper”’s systematic violence to the unhinged tilt of Laird Barron’s “The Imago Sequence” and everything in between. We want your stories that go bump in the night, your stories that creak like an intruding foot on the staircase, your best writing that screeches through the calm darkness.

Important: Some submission windows are restricted by demographic. As always, check their current guidelines before submitting.

Submission Caps: They may close to submissions early if they reach their quota.

Country of Publication & Year Established

United States

Established in 2024

Publication Media & Frequency

Electronic Publication Electronic Publication: Published 4 x per year
Print Publication Print Publication: Published 4 x per year

AI Policy

Human-created work only; no AI use allowed

101 members set this magazine as a Favorite.

Statistics Synopsis

Regular Speed: Fraidy Cat Quarterly's overall average response time is within a normal range for magazines.
More Challenging: Fraidy Cat Quarterly's overall acceptance rate is lower than most magazines.
More Responsive: Fraidy Cat Quarterly's overall rate of non-response is lower than most magazines.

Learn more about our statistics

Collapse section Fiction Temp Closed

Audience:

Open to a broad Audience.

Genres:

Fantasy Open to all/most Subgenres, including: Dark Fantasy
Horror Open to all/most Subgenres

Lengths:

Flash Fiction: 400 - 1,000 words.
Short Story: 1,000 - 7,500 words.
Novelette: 7,500 - 15,000 words.
Novella: 15,000 - 18,500 words.

Styles:

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

Topics:

Open to all/most Topics including...
Other: May vary.

Payment:

Token payment (under 1 US cent per word) to Semi-pro payment (1-4.9 US cents per word) Pay ranges from Token payment to Semi-pro payment. Details: USD $0.01/word up to 8,000 words; $0.005/word for 8,000-18,500 words.

Submissions:

Method: Email.
Reprints: Reprints are NOT allowed.
Simultaneous submissions: Simultaneous submissions are allowed.
Media: Text.

Collapse section Visual Art Temp Closed

Audience:

Open to a broad Audience.

Lengths:

Artwork: Up to 5 pieces.

Art Media:

Open to all/most Art Media.

Art Styles:

Open to all/most Art Styles.

Topics:

Open to all/most Topics including...
Other: May vary.

Payment:

Semi-pro payment (US$10-49 per piece) to Professional payment (US$50 or more per piece) Pay ranges from Semi-pro payment to Professional payment. Details: USD $25 per piece for interior art; $75 for cover art.

Submissions:

Method: Email.
Reprints: Reprints are NOT allowed.
Simultaneous submissions: Simultaneous submissions are allowed.
Media: Image.

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 Fraidy Cat Quarterly

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Submission/Response
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Social:
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Fraidy Cat Quarterly Submission Statistics

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.

Filter:

Group by submission

Include outliers

Accuracy

We have received 73 reports from 70 different members within the past 12 months, not including pending responses (see below). The more responses reported, the more accurate the information.

Days Reported

5 min | 67.9 mean avg | 68.5 median | 179 max days (70.5 std dev)

Responses

91.78 %

Acceptances:

1.37 % of submissions accepted (39.0 avg. days per acceptance) | 1.43 % of submitters accepted

Rejections:

90.41 % (68.8 avg. days per rejection) | 10.6 % personal, 69.7 % form, 19.7 % unspecified | 2.7 % shortlisted

Non-Responses

0.00 %

Lost/Returned:

Never Responded:

Withdrawals

8.22 % (49.5 avg. days per withdrawal)

Pending

3 responses are pending (96 min | 136.0 mean avg | 126.0 median | 186 max days waiting | 154.1 std dev) from 3 different members

Other Information

The editors will try to make a decision within 180 days.
Do not query on the status of your submission before 120 days have passed.
Most submissions are acknowledged on the same day.
Most recent response reported was received on 21 Aug 2026.
Responses have been received for submissions sent as recently as 30 Jun 2026.
Date compiled: 15 Sep 2026 02:10 UTC (7 hours, 35 minutes ago).
View report of recent responses from this project

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Your Submissions

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Before Submitting

We cannot guarantee that the information on this page is correct. It is not unusual for publications to evolve or close without notice. We do our best to keep up, but it isn't always possible. Duotrope listings do not imply endorsement or recommendation of the project being listed. Before submitting, you should use your own judgment to determine whether the project meets your standards.

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: 13 Aug 2026

We check their guidelines for changes every four weeks, and we audit the listing twice a year.