Tales from the Crosstimbers

About

Tales from the Crosstimbers is a quarterly periodical that publishes short fiction with an emphasis on science fiction, fantasy, splipstream, and horror. We also occassionally publish non-fiction articles related to our genres or to the craft of writing. A small group of authors living in Oklahoma serves as curators and owners.
Our primary purpose is to provide a readers with quality speculative fiction. We also strive to support authors. We encourage submissions from all authors and locations, but especially encourage those in the following groups to submit stories:
local and regional authors from Oklahoma and surrounding states, roughly the region of the Crosstimbers Forrest
authors from under-represented groups who bring their lived experience to their work
new and unpublished authors

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

43 members set this magazine as a Favorite.

Statistics Synopsis

Faster: Tales from the Crosstimbers's overall average response time is faster than most magazines.
More Approachable: Tales from the Crosstimbers's overall acceptance rate is higher than most magazines.
More Responsive: Tales from the Crosstimbers's overall rate of non-response is lower than most magazines.

Learn more about our statistics

Collapse section Fiction Open

Query first for longer stories. See full guidelines for details.

Dates:

Open to fiction submissions through 30 September 2026* (approx. 15 days from now).

Audience:

Open to a broad Audience.

Genres:

Fantasy Open to all/most Subgenres
Horror Open to all/most Subgenres
Science Fiction Open to all/most Subgenres

Lengths:

Short Story: 1,000 - 5,000 words.

Styles:

Open to all/most Styles, including: Mainstream.

Topics:

Open to all/most Topics.

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; $10 minimum; $50 maximum.

Submissions:

Method: Online form.
Reprints: Reprints are NOT allowed.
Simultaneous submissions: Unknown.
Media: Text.

Collapse section Nonfiction Open

Dates:

Open to nonfiction submissions through 30 September 2026* (approx. 15 days from now).

Audience:

Open to a broad Audience.

Lengths:

Essay: 1,000 - 2,500 words.

Styles:

Open to all/most Styles, including: Mainstream.

Topics:

Literature/Books: General, See guidelines.

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; $10 minimum; $50 maximum.

Submissions:

Method: Online form.
Reprints: Reprints are NOT allowed.
Simultaneous submissions: Unknown.
Media: Text.

Always check guidelines for details and restrictions. If you aren't familiar with these terms, see our glossary.
* We do not know the time and/or timezone, so we cannot be more precise. Submit early to avoid disappointment.

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Tales from the Crosstimbers 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 38 reports from 30 different members within the past 12 months, not including pending responses (see below). The more responses reported, the more accurate the information.

Days Reported

1 min | 25.4 mean avg | 21.0 median | 167 max days (50.3 std dev)

Responses

92.10 %

Acceptances:

21.05 % of submissions accepted (20.2 avg. days per acceptance) | 20.00 % of submitters accepted

Rejections:

71.05 % (22.3 avg. days per rejection) | 18.5 % personal, 74.1 % form, 7.4 % unspecified | 2.6 % rewrite requests | 7.9 % shortlisted

Non-Responses

0.00 %

Lost/Returned:

Never Responded:

Withdrawals

7.89 % (88.7 avg. days per withdrawal)

Pending

5 responses are pending (5 min | 6.4 mean avg | 6.0 median | 9 max days waiting | 34.6 std dev) from 5 different members

Other Information

The editors will try to make a decision within 60 days. (7.9 % of the responses reported to us for this listing have taken longer than 60 days.)
The editors request that you don't query on the status of your submission.
Submissions are acknowledged within 3 days on average.
Most recent response reported was received on 16 Jul 2026.
Responses have been received for submissions sent as recently as 29 Jun 2026.
Date compiled: 15 Sep 2026 05:15 UTC (4 hours, 32 minutes ago).

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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: 31 Aug 2026

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