Kaleidotrope

About

Kaleidotrope publishes predominantly speculative fiction and poetry—science fiction, fantasy, and horror, but also compelling work that blurs the lines between these and falls outside of neat genre categories. (Man does not live on space ships, elves, and ghostly ax murderers alone, after all.)

Country of Publication & Year Established

United States

Established in 2006

Publication Medium & Frequency

Electronic Publication Electronic Publication: Published 4 x per year

AI Policy

Human-created work only; no AI use allowed

749 members set this magazine as a Favorite.

Statistics Synopsis

Faster: Kaleidotrope's overall average response time is faster than most magazines.
More Challenging: Kaleidotrope's overall acceptance rate is lower than most magazines.
More Responsive: Kaleidotrope's overall rate of non-response is lower than most magazines.

Learn more about our statistics

Collapse section Fiction Temp Closed

Dates:

Will be open to submissions from 18 October 2026 12:00 AM EDT (in 32 days) through 24 October 2026.

Audience:

Open to a broad Audience.

Genres:

Open to all/most Genres, including:
Fantasy Subgenres: Cross-Genre, Magic Realism, Weird/New Weird
Horror Open to all/most Subgenres, including: Magic Realism, Weird/New Weird
Science Fiction Open to all/most Subgenres, including: Cross-Genre, Weird/New Weird

Lengths:

Flash Fiction: 250 - 1,000 words.
Short Story: 1,000 - 7,500 words.
Novelette: 7,500 - 10,000 words.

Styles:

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

Topics:

Open to all/most Topics.

Payment:

Semi-pro payment (1-4.9 US cents per word) Semi-pro payment. Details: USD $0.01/word.

Submissions:

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

Expand section Nonfiction Closed

Collapse section Poetry Temp Closed

We consider all forms. However, individual haiku, or other very short poems, may be a tougher sell.

Dates:

Will be open to submissions from 18 October 2026 12:00 AM EDT (in 32 days) through 24 October 2026.

Audience:

Open to a broad Audience.

Genres:

Lengths:

Poem: No line limits known; Unknown number of pieces.

Poetry Forms:

Open to all/most Forms.

Styles:

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

Topics:

Open to all/most Topics.

Payment:

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

Submissions:

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

Collapse section Visual Art Open

We are looking for primarily full-color illustrations to serve as cover art.

Audience:

Open to a broad Audience.

Lengths:

Artwork: Unknown number of pieces.

Art Media:

Open to all/most Art Media, including...
Illustration.

Art Styles:

Open to all/most Art Styles, including: Humorous.

Topics:

Open to all/most Topics.

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 $60 for cover art.

Submissions:

Method: Email.
Reprints: Reprints are NOT allowed.
Simultaneous submissions: Simultaneous submissions are NOT 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 Kaleidotrope

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For the Editor(s):
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Kaleidotrope 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 103 reports from 79 different members within the past 12 months, not including pending responses (see below). The more responses reported, the more accurate the information.

Days Reported

0 min | 11.4 mean avg | 12.0 median | 22 max days (8.8 std dev)

Responses

99.02 %

Acceptances:

4.85 % of submissions accepted (18.8 avg. days per acceptance) | 6.33 % of submitters accepted

Rejections:

94.17 % (11.1 avg. days per rejection) | 9.3 % personal, 73.2 % form, 17.5 % unspecified | 1.0 % shortlisted

Non-Responses

0.00 %

Lost/Returned:

Never Responded:

Withdrawals

0.97 % (0.0 avg. days per withdrawal)

Pending

1 response is pending (12 days waiting).

Other Information

Most recent response reported was received on 10 Aug 2026.
Responses have been received for submissions sent as recently as 25 Jul 2026.
Date compiled: 15 Sep 2026 03:10 UTC (6 hours, 35 minutes ago).

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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: 25 Jul 2026

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