Communities

Writing
Writing
Codidact Meta
Codidact Meta
The Great Outdoors
The Great Outdoors
Photography & Video
Photography & Video
Scientific Speculation
Scientific Speculation
Cooking
Cooking
Electrical Engineering
Electrical Engineering
Judaism
Judaism
Languages & Linguistics
Languages & Linguistics
Software Development
Software Development
Mathematics
Mathematics
Christianity
Christianity
Code Golf
Code Golf
Music
Music
Physics
Physics
Linux Systems
Linux Systems
Power Users
Power Users
Tabletop RPGs
Tabletop RPGs
Community Proposals
Community Proposals
tag:snake search within a tag
answers:0 unanswered questions
user:xxxx search by author id
score:0.5 posts with 0.5+ score
"snake oil" exact phrase
votes:4 posts with 4+ votes
created:<1w created < 1 week ago
post_type:xxxx type of post
Search help
Notifications
Mark all as read See all your notifications »
Q&A

What journals publish surreal fiction?

+0
−0

I'm trying to place a short story that is surreal. So while it has science fiction elements, it isn't really science fiction. At the same time it's a bit too weird to be literary fiction. Does anyone know of any journals that publish this kind of thing? The closest comparison I can come up with for the style of writing is Kafka, or J.G. Ballard.

History
Why does this post require attention from curators or moderators?
You might want to add some details to your flag.
Why should this post be closed?

This post was sourced from https://writers.stackexchange.com/q/34543. It is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

0 comment threads

1 answer

+0
−0

Fantasy and science-fiction is a genre that's bigger on the inside, and you'll find a lot of weird fiction enjoyed and celebrated within the genre. Surrealism and oddness definitely have their place -- see luminaries such as Kelly Link and Karen Joy Fowler, who have won Nebulas for weird short fiction that doesn't fall neatly into genre boundaries.

The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction is probably the best known magazine that loves weird fiction. They're one of the major heavyweights in print, although they're somewhat less prominent now that digital is king.

Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet is probably most on-target for your request (and has Kelly Link as one of its two editors). It's very niche, but publishes great work, and its focus is precisely weird, surreal, poetic works like you seem to be describing. Lackington's is another magazine that's does literary fiction within the genre.

Strange Horizons is all about weird, subtle, and surreal. Definitely give them a look. Uncanny and Beneath Ceaseless Skies publish a very diverse range of fiction, and are well worth trying.

It's worth reading a couple of issues of each of these, getting a feel for them and figuring out what their style is. In some of them, surrealism isn't a constant feature, so you'll want to hunt for specific stories. To be honest, these stories can pop up basically anywhere (e.g. F&SF, The American Reader, Tor.com...).

It's also worth checking out particular authors who write styles you feel are compatible with your own. Check out all the magazines who have published Karen Joy Fowler -- or, the anthology she edited of 2016 selections. Try Carmen Maria Machado; Sofia Samatar; Catherynne M. Valente; see the range of their stories, and where each one has been published.

It's a big field; I hope you find your place in it :D

History
Why does this post require attention from curators or moderators?
You might want to add some details to your flag.

0 comment threads

Sign up to answer this question »