The Arcanist is an online, Pittsburgh-based literary magazine focusing on Science Fiction and Fantasy flash fiction and in-depth looks into pop culture’s biggest stories.
Every week, The Arcanist publishes an original short story — submission information below! — and they also occasionally feature an in-depth article about pop-culture, books, and beyond (see: “Banned Books and The Fear of Talking Animals,” “The Hobbit: How a 10-Year-Old Boy Helped Unleash Tolkien Upon the World,” and “People Once Believed the Blood Moon Was Caused by Vampires“).
In addition to visiting The Arcanist, you can also subscribe to their newsletter and get original stories delivered to your inbox every week — and, as always, you can follow them on Facebook and Twitter (as well as Patreon)
Don’t miss out: Pittsburgh has a stellar Science Fiction community!
From Parsec (hosts of Confluence, an annual literary conference focusing on Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror) to the SFWA Nebula Conference (which is in Pittsburgh this year) to Science Fiction and Fantasy-friendly bookstores like Rickert and Beagle in Dormont, Nine Stories in Lawrenceville, and Duncan Comics, Books, and Accessories in Westview (featuring nearly 20,000 Science Fiction and Fantasy titles!); recurring events like the Steel City Speculative Series; Write or Die, a science fiction, fantasy & horror writing and critiquing group established in 1996; PLUS publications like The Arcanist and Triangulation (an annual short fiction anthology) and podcasts like Alan & Jeremy VS Science Fiction… there are a ton of ways to get your Science Fiction and Fantasy fix in the ‘burgh!
What’s The Arcanist?
The Arcanist is an online sci-fi and fantasy flash fiction literary magazine. Say that five times fast! Our weekly magazine is run by three editors (Josh Hrala, Andie Fullmer, and Patrick Morris) who studied literary fiction but have a passion for all things sci-fi and fantasy.
We use lit crit to overanalyze Marvel movies. We quote de Beauvoir and Batman side-by-side, you know the deal.
We think SFF stories don’t get enough credit. These stories do everything that literary fiction does while building a complete, immersive world that is both entirely foreign and eerily familiar.
We wanted to celebrate the diversity and accomplishments of sci-fi and fantasy writers by providing a paying platform for their work while also making a literary outlet that is easily accessible to new readers, which is why we decided to start publishing on Medium. Our stories are quick (under 1,000 words), creating a challenge for the writer and also a lightning fast dose of genre for the reader.
What’s your submission process like?
We try to make the submission process as easy as possible by using a Google Form to keep everything running smoothly. Writers can upload their stories to their Google Drive and then link us their story for consideration.
Of course, there are those out there who prefer to email documents, which they can do so to editor@thearcanist.io. We must say, though, that email submissions take a bit longer to get to than those that went through the form. Our typical response time is typically 1-2 months, a timeframe we are trying to whittle down.
You can read all about our submission process and what we are specifically looking for here.
What makes a good SFF story?
The very best SFF stories combine imaginative worldbuilding elements with hardened, time-honored storytelling techniques, which is obviously a lot easier said than done (especially in under 1K words!).
We get a lot of stories that have a great premise or an imaginative world where we find ourselves in awe that someone actually thought them up. Then you get through the piece and there’s no character growth, no choices being made, no movement, and those are vital for a story of any genre to succeed.
A good story will have active characters, a fully constructed plot, etc. A good SFF story will have all of the elements that make a lit fiction story tick plus fantastic elements that dazzle us. It’s a delicate balance!
What’s next for The Arcanist?
We’re about to celebrate our first birthday in August. It’s been a really exciting to think about how much we’ve accomplished and how much more there is to do.
We have a Year One anthology coming out later this year that will contain over 50 stories from our writers. It’s going to be available through our bookstore and on Amazon. We also plan to expand our publishing efforts by producing a monthly digital magazine on Kindle.
We’d love to become more involved in our community, too, both here in Pittsburgh and the online SFF community that has been so welcoming to us. This includes being involved in local events, having more giveaways, launching writing contests, and listening to ideas from our readers.
How can readers get involved?
Readers can get involved by helping us spread the word. We are still pretty new to the scene. You can also support us on Patreon to help us continue paying our writers a professional rate for their work. We’re currently in the process of updating our rewards system there – so stay tuned!
We’re also always looking for more stories. If you would like us to consider one of yours, feel free to submit! You can find more details here. And if you have any questions, feel free to drop us an email or yell at us on Twitter.
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