Three-Lobed Burning Eye Magazine (3LBE)

About

Three-Lobed Burning Eye (3LBE) is an online magazine of speculative fiction, bringing you stories of horror, wonder, and the weird. 3LBE launched in 1999, and has published authors Laird Barron, Gemma Files, Kelly Barnhill, Mari Ness, Kristi DeMeester, Gwendolyn Kiste, Cody Goodfellow, Nadia Bulkin, and Kealan Patrick Burke, among others. Each issue features four short stories.

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

Country of Publication & Year Established

United States

Established in 1999

Publication Media & Frequency

Audio Publication Audio Publication: Published 3 x per year
Electronic Publication Electronic Publication: Published 3 x per year
Print Publication Print Publication: Published 1 x per year

AI Policy

Human-created work only; no AI use allowed

1,332 members set this magazine as a Favorite.

Statistics Synopsis

Faster: Three-Lobed Burning Eye Magazine's overall average response time is faster than most magazines.
More Challenging: Three-Lobed Burning Eye Magazine's overall acceptance rate is lower than most magazines.
More Responsive: Three-Lobed Burning Eye Magazine's overall rate of non-response is lower than most magazines.

Learn more about our statistics

Fiction Open

Dates:

Open to fiction submissions through 15 September 2026 11:59 PM PDT (in 21 hours, 11 minutes).

Audience:

Open to a broad Audience, including: All ethnic groups/populations, All genders, All sexual identities.

Genres:

Open to all/most Genres, including:
Fantasy Subgenres: Contemporary, Dark Fantasy, Fabulism, Historical, Magic Realism, Slipstream, Urban Fantasy, Weird Western, Weird/New Weird
Horror Subgenres: Creature Horror, Dark Fantasy, Magic Realism, Slipstream, Supernatural, Weird/New Weird
Science Fiction Subgenres: Alternate History, Apocalyptic/Post-Apocalyptic, Contemporary/Near Future, Cyberpunk, Dystopian, Retrofuturism, Slipstream, Weird Western, Weird/New Weird

Lengths:

Flash Fiction: Up to 1,000 words.
Short Story: 1,000 - 7,500 words.

Styles:

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

Topics:

Open to all/most Topics.

Payment:

Professional payment (5 or more US cents per word) Provides free copy/copies Professional payment. Provides free copy/copies. Details: USD $0.08/word.

Submissions:

Method: Moksha submission manager.
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.

Recent cover image or website screenshot for Three-Lobed Burning Eye Magazine

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Social:
Bluesky @3lobedmag.com
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For the Editor(s):
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Duosuma Submission Manager
Link to Duotrope

Three-Lobed Burning Eye Magazine 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.

This project ranks among the Extremely Challenging Fiction Publishers in our database.

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Accuracy

We have received 212 reports from 165 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 | 22.6 mean avg | 22.0 median | 33 max days (28.7 std dev)

Responses

98.58 %

Acceptances:

0.00 %

Rejections:

98.58 % (22.7 avg. days per rejection) | 1.0 % personal, 84.7 % form, 14.4 % unspecified

Non-Responses

0.00 %

Lost/Returned:

Never Responded:

Withdrawals

1.42 % (6.0 avg. days per withdrawal)

Pending

43 responses are pending (0 min | 9.6 mean avg | 10.0 median | 14 max days waiting | 429.8 std dev) from 43 different members

Other Information

The editors will try to make a decision within 60 days.
Do not query on the status of your submission before 60 days have passed.
Most submissions are acknowledged on the same day.
Most recent response reported was received on 14 Sep 2026.
Responses have been received for submissions sent as recently as 01 Sep 2026.
Date compiled: 15 Sep 2026 07:04 UTC (2 hours, 43 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: 01 Sep 2026

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