Folded Space is currently CLOSED 

 

 

Folded Space – Submission Guidelines

An Audio Science Fiction Anthology

 

Our Mission

Deliver the finest short space science fiction each season, exploring new worlds, future possibilities, and the enduring human spirit. We are a volunteer-run podcast driven by a passion for imaginative storytelling and a commitment to diverse voices. Each season we will celebrate the outer limits of the universe in all its rich diversity.

 

About Us

Folded Space is a volunteer-run audio anthology podcast featuring short space science fiction, space opera, and speculative fiction. We greatly value diversity and inclusivity and seek to publish fiction from writers of different races, religions, nationalities, physical or mental abilities, gender identities, and sexual orientations.

We encourage you to challenge the definition of space science fiction. Classic tropes, alien civilizations, interstellar travel, futuristic tech are welcome but give us your own unique take. Avoid the cliché and expected, unless used purposefully and cleverly to deepen your story.

 

Atmosphere & Tone

Launch us into the infinite void of a derelict starship drifting between galaxies. Show us the tense, claustrophobic life aboard a vessel where oxygen is running low and trust is even scarcer. Make our pulse quicken as we encounter alien intelligences whose motives defy comprehension. Unsettle us with the eerie silence of a planet where time itself seems broken. Bend our minds with paradoxes born from wormholes and quantum anomalies. Make us feel the loneliness and wonder of a lone explorer gazing at a black hole’s event horizon, knowing there’s no way back.

 

What We’re NOT Looking For

  • Stories that are not space science fiction or speculative in nature
  • Fan fiction
  • Sex is fine, but total erotica and torture porn are not
  • Stories that include intolerance of a person or group’s race, religion, nationality, physical or mental ability, gender identity, or sexual orientation
  • Gratuitous violence with no purpose—conflict is fine as long as there’s something deeper going on
  • Stories that glorify, minimize, or inaccurately represent child abuse, animal abuse, or sexual assault

 

Manuscript Format

  • 3,000 words up to 7,000 words
  • Microsoft Word or Rich Text Format
  • Double space
  • 12 pt. Courier New or Times New Roman font
  • Include author, title, and word count on the first page

Stories placed in the body of an email will be rejected without being read.

 

AI-Assisted Submissions

Artificial intelligence can be a helpful tool for writers, but as a publication relying on the creativity and ingenuity of humans, we do NOT accept submissions that have been composed with AI. If AI tools have been used in the development of a story, we expect authors to disclose how and to what extent. Authors who fail to do so will be banned from submitting in the future.

 

Submission Process

Please get a feel for what we’re after by listening to our podcast prior to submitting your story.

After your story is submitted, it will be reviewed by a member of our staff and rated based on submission quality and suitability for our podcast. We receive plenty of great submissions that just don’t fit our tone or won’t work well in an audio format, so don’t be discouraged if you’re rejected.

You will be notified once your story has been accepted or rejected. If accepted, we’ll be in touch with contract and publication details.

 

Simultaneous/Multiple Submissions

Simultaneous submissions (submitting the same stories to other publishers at the same time) and multiple submissions are allowed. Each author may submit up to two stories during the submission period. Any story beyond the first two, or which is received outside of the submission period, will be rejected unread.

 

Reprints

We welcome submissions of previously published works if they do not infringe on any existing publication agreements or copyrights. Please disclose the location and date (approximately is fine) your work was previously published when submitting.

 

Response Times

We’re a small team, so most submissions will receive a response within 60–90 days, although it could take more time for consideration purposes. Feel free to query if you haven’t heard anything in 120 days.

Please do not respond to rejection letters. However, you can submit a different story at that time if we are open for submissions.

 

Payment

We hold open submissions for works (3,000–7,000 words) several times a year and pay $0.02 USD per word for original work (that has never been published) and $0.01 USD per word for reprints. Payments are processed on the 7th of the month following the air date of the story.