Submissions
Whether you’re a brand new writer or an established author who stumbled upon our niche and said “That’s weirdly specific—I want in,” we have a place for you here.
Our general submissions are always open!
Upcoming Submission Themes
August: Trees (Submissions Open July 1-20, 2026)
We’re leaving this one up to your interpretation! Set your story in a forest, give us something that centers around a family tree, tell us about a haunted tree that becomes a haunted house, or write about dryads. We’re even open for a meta version of the concept. Tell us a ghost story with a branching structure instead of taking the theme literally!
September: Cannon Beach (Submissions Open August 1-20, 2026)
Cannon Beach, OR is one of our favorite places in the world, and we want to share it with our audience!
Home to the Stormy Weather Arts Festival, the Cannon Beach Sandcastle Contest, a small college, and some of the best coffee in the PNW, Cannon Beach is the quintessential wind-blown coastal town.
Your story should either be set in Cannon Beach, or should feel like it could be—and don’t worry if you’ve never been there—we’ll share some posts leading up to the theme to help you learn more about the town.
In the meantime, here are a few links to get you started!
October: Ghost Hunting (Submissions Open September 1-20, 2026)
For October’s theme, we chose one of the purest examples of what we want the magazine to be.
Whether you want to write a story about the technical aspects of hunting ghosts, or tell us a more personal tale about a woman looking for the spirit of her dead friend, we hope you’ll give us creepy settings, crazy equipment, and ghosts that feel like they were real once upon a time.
November: Dark Academia/Horror (Submissions Open October 1-20, 2026)
We want your cults and secret societies, morally complicated characters, betrayals shared between friends and enemies, and gorgeous college campuses. We ALSO want ghosts, monsters, and folklore. Your story needs a speculative or paranormal element!
December: Christmas Ghost Stories (Submissions Open November 1-20, 2026)
This month we’re bringing back the tradition of holiday ghost stories!
Give us snow and ice, Christmas trees and Menorahs, and all the festive foods, lights, and friendships you can conjure.
We’re especially interested in the juxtaposition of the warmth of the holiday season with the grief, despair, and pain of the ghost story.
Please make sure that your submission references ghosts prominently or includes some sort of spirit (we’re up for a twist ending, but we want it to feel like a ghost story)!
Submission Guidelines
What We Love
Ghost stories of any kind. We also love monster stories (especially if it’s an obscure monster or a monster created by you.) We like cults and forests and things that live under the sea. Stories should have a paranormal element.
What We Don’t Want
Gratuitous or explicit sex. In fact, we aren’t really into the romance subgenre at all (though we are always up for a subtle and character-driven love story).
Anything hateful. Just don’t.
Anything AI-generated.
Genre and Style
We primarily publish flash fiction (up to 500 words), short stories (up to 2,000 words), poetry (up to about 50 lines, but we prefer under 20), and book and movie reviews (up to 1,000 words). If your work doesn’t quite fit these parameters, feel free to submit anyway! We’ll make exceptions for the right piece!
Your stories and poems absolutely don’t have to be set in the Pacific Northwest! That being said, we do tend to favor our grungy, rainy, coastal vibes, and we appreciate it if you work those elements into your story (OR you give us such a strong sense of place that we fall in love with your setting and start thinking about beginning a “Big Apple Ghosts” or “Windy City Ghosts” zine!)
Do We Pay?
Unfortunately, no. We will, however, link to your social media profiles, website, and Substack.
Reprints and Simultaneous Submissions
Reprints: got a previously published piece that deserves a second chance at life? We accept reprints as long as you hold the rights.
We accept simultaneous submissions. Let us know if you are accepted elsewhere by emailing us at emeraldcityghosts@gmail.com.
Next Steps
You must be subscribed (free!) in order to be considered.
Submit here:
Note:
At Emerald City Ghosts, we love and respect our authors and have no interest in wasting their time! For that reason, we want to be upfront about our terms as early as possible. Here is the contract we ask our authors to sign:
Grant of Rights: By signing this agreement, I grant Emerald City Ghosts Magazine the non-exclusive right to publish my work and to use excerpts, the author's name, and biographical material provided by the author for promotional purposes.
Author Representations: I affirm that the work is original and does not infringe upon any third-party rights.
Editing and Formatting: Emerald City Ghosts Magazine reserves the right to make minor edits for grammar, spelling, and formatting, without altering the substance of the work. No significant edits will be made without the author’s consent.
Compensation: Contributors will not receive monetary compensation but will receive credit and promotion through Emerald City Ghosts Magazine’s digital platforms.
Termination: I understand that either I or Emerald City Ghosts Magazine may withdraw my work before publication by written notice.