Between the 1st June and the 31st July 2026, we’re looking for weird and wondrous tales of magic and those who wield it. Give us stories of unscrupulous mages and indulgent wizardry. Bizarre miracles from forgotten thaumaturges and spells conducted in a suburban basement. Quests to depose sorcerer-kings and psychedelic journeys through the portal behind your local supermarket.
Guidelines
- Submissions open 1st June to midnight on the 31st July 2026.
- Please send us one story of 2,000-8,000 words.
- You must live in the North of England. This includes Cheshire, Cumbria, County Durham, Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Merseyside, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear, and Yorkshire.
- The theme is sorcery. We accept stories in any genre involving magic and those who wield it, with a preference for the strange and the literary. Read more about what we like here.
- Your story must be previously unpublished. Simultaneous submissions are allowed. Please contact us ASAP if your story is accepted elsewhere.
- Please format the submission in a standard 11 or 12pt font (Times, Arial etc) and indent speech and new paragraphs. Include the title, your name, and the wordcount in the document. We recommend using Shunn Modern format (though there’s no need to include your address).
- The story must be your own, original work. We don’t accept writing that’s been created with any assistance from generative AI (e.g. ChatGPT).
You can read a blog with tips on how to get your story selected here.
How to submit
- Submit to the editor, Nathaniel, at carnyx.press@gmail.com with Anthology Submission in the subject line.
- In your email, please confirm: 1) that you live in the North of England, 2) that the work is previously unpublished, and 3) that you haven’t used generative AI to create the work.
- Submit your work as an attached Word file or similar (.doc, .docx, .odt).
If there’s context about your story you feel is important (e.g. influences, real-world events or characters the story is based on), please include a brief overview in your email.
We aim to respond to all submissions by the end of September.
Our offer
- We’ll select between 5 and 10 stories for publication.
- The anthology’s planned publication date is spring 2027. We intend to release the anthology in both print and eBook format.
- All contributors will receive four free copies of the printed anthology, and can purchase further physical copies at 50% author discount.
- Contributors will also receive a £20 honorarium.
Full terms and conditions will be agreed via contract when an offer of publication has been made.
More about the sort of writing we like
We’re after strange and literary speculative fiction, filled with dazzling prose, strong emotions, and fresh ideas. When we think sorcery, we think of peril and wonder in equal measure. We want to create a tome that crackles with magic, both deadly and divine.
Think of the capricious fairies in Suzannah Clarke’s Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrel. The painstaking, philosophical wizardry of Ursula Le Guin’s Earthsea series. The world-shattering magics in Simon Jimenez’s The Spear Cuts Through Water. The suburban weirdness of McKenzie Crook’s Small Prophets.
We’re open to stories in genres like sword and sorcery, high, dark, historical or urban fantasy, magical realism, supernatural horror, or anything else you like – though sci-fi stories will be a harder sell for this call-out.
While we’re looking for writers living in the North, and are interested in Northern perspectives, there is no specific requirement for the story to be set in the North of England or discuss Northern identity.
Please note that we publish writing for adults, so no YA or children’s fiction please. Stories about superheroes, time travel, or with excessive violence will be a hard sell.
Visit our FAQ if you have any other questions not answered here. We look forward to reading your submission soon!
