Pro SF/F mags for Oct 2021

As before, this is a selection of the SFWA-qualifying mags that I personally find interesting, not all of them (you can find those on the SFWA's market report page).

Apex

Open: now
Format: Shunn Standard Manuscript Format (https://www.shunn.net/format/story/). Use .docx.
Cover letter: they want one (no guidelines)
Submissions: no simultaneous, no multiple
Length: 7,500 words max
Payment: $.08; minimum of $50
Preferences:

• “Mind-bending short fiction,” dark and spectacular
• Emphasizes top pros in field

Query: try to respond within 30 days

Beneath Ceaseless Skies

Open: now, according to SFWA
Format: Standard Manuscript Format, with name, address, and email on the first page, and running header with last name, title, and pg # on every subsequent page. Attachment should NOT be .docx but .doc or .rtf. Paste the manuscript into the email if those don’t work. Send to submissions@beneath-ceaseless-skies.com with subject line Submission: [Title].
Cover letter: type cover letter into the body of email and mention title of story.
Submissions: no multiple; simultaneous is okay if you state it in the cover letter and withdraw if you get accepted/choose to go with another market.
Length: 15,000 words max
Payment: $.08
Preferences:

• Emphasizes new and/or unpublished writers
• Lots, but core: stories w/ a secondary world setting and some fantasy feel, with a literary approach
• Secondary world w/ qualities bearing on the setting + no urban fantasy or modern/futuristic tech
• Focus on characters
• “Literary but readable”
• Close/limited POV preferred
• Originality; don’t want familiar tropes
• Nothing beyond “R” and no sex/sadistic violence be acted upon children
• Fairy tales/fables don’t really work for them
• No famous people unless it’s really different
• Humor is hit and miss

Query: check slush updates

Brave New Worlds

Open: until 31 Dec
Format: attachment w/ the title of the story as the file name in .doc or .docx. The header of the email should include the name of the anthology the submission is for (i.e., Brave New Worlds), along with the title of the submission. The content of the email should also include the anthology. Manuscript format: double-spaced, 12 pt font, standard margins, numbered pages, Times New Roman, w/ the title, author’s name, address, email, word count, and pseudonym on the first page. Italics and bold should be marked by italics and bold.
Cover letter: ?
Submissions: multiple is fine (as many as you like), simultaneous—?
Length: no more than 7,500 words
Payment: .08/word advance + royalties
Preferences:

• Science fiction stories set along the pathway of us leaving Earth for the stars. Stories can be set during our departure from Earth, on the long journey to reach a new planet, or upon arrival at said planet. Generation ship or colony ship stories are allowed, as well as terraforming stories once the new planet is reached. Stories featuring the human element to these types of journeys will receive more attention than strictly plot-based stories. Be creative and come up with an unusual and unexpected take on this “pathway to the stars” story. They’re looking for a range of tones, from humorous all the way up to dark.

Query: ?

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