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Submissions

After reading the below information, please email your original spec-fic submission to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Click here for our latest writing opportunities, ideas for articles and reviews you may wish to write.

Submission Guidelines

1	Increase your chance of publication by following our style guide, as shown here. Right click and select 'Save Target As' to save this PDF to your computer for future reference.
2	Please become a subscriber to our email bulletin before submitting (you will receive occasional email news bulletins with the latest from The Specusphere). Please also ensure you are listed on our directory unless you are an international writer (in which case you're welcome to add a link to our International Web Links). We would appreciate you following us on Facebook as well.
3	You retain the copyright to your work and you will not be paid by The Specusphere (details below)
4	Send book reviews or requests for books to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and everything else to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
5	Image submissions should be JPG, 72dpi (eg. using Photoshop's Save For Web), no more than 400 pixels wide. Book covers should be supplied on a white background or with no background and preferably 150 pixels wide.

Editors for The Specusphere

Book Reviews Editor: Satima Flavell

If you want to submit a review, whether of a book, a film or a work in another medium, please read the article Write a Review worth Reading, written by our Reviews Editor, Satima Flavell, and create your review in accordance with those guidelines. Our regular (reliable) reviewers receive the benefit of free new release books being sent to them by publishers. This is coordinated by Satima on a special group email list specifically for Specusphere reviewers.

Visit our About Us page for more information about Satima or contact her here.

Other Submissions

Poetry: maximum length is 1,000 words
Fiction: maximum length is 1,000 words
Non-fiction: No limits but a reasonable yardstick is 2,000 words

Fiction and Poetry

We will publish:

Prose whose intention is to use scientific, fantastical or uncanny elements as an essential part of its character.

This includes experimental, alternative, conjectural as well as magical, futurist and supernatural. It encompasses all the traditional science fiction, fantasy and horror sub-genres, but it also includes things like Crime Scene Investigation, Kafka's Metamorphosis, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, Sherlock Holmes, magic realism and urban fantasy.

Non-fiction

We will consider almost anything. All we ask is for it to be interesting, entertaining and cohesive. And, of course, it must have some connection with the speculative.

Perhaps it is the fashions of Lord of the Rings, the sex life of Martian rock urchins, or something practical like introductory sword making. It could be politics, economics or anthropology, it might be personal opinion, a fan report or an announcement. If it engages an aspect of the speculative arena, it will be considered.

For more ideas for your articles, please see the list at the end of this page. Visit our About Us page here for more information about us.

Game Reviews

If you want to submit a game review, please read the article Write a Review worth Reading, written by our Reviews Editor, Satima Flavell, and create your review in accordance with those guidelines. You will need to buy your own games for review or contact publishers directly to request a review copy for reviewing on The Specusphere (not all game publishers offer this).

News, Publicity and Promotions

The Specusphere was created with a view to investigating and supporting speculative ficton industries (an adaptation of the phrase creative industries, which you can read about in Stephen Thompson's April 2010 editorial). As a public website, we are in a position to offer publicity to local publishers, writers, artists, performers and so on (anyone contributing to speculative fiction). Amanda Greenslade is the person to contact if you are a publisher or author with a new book (or a number of books) being released soon, that you would like to announce to readers of The Specusphere. There is no charge for this service, however we do ask that interested parties follow the submission guidelines above, namely become a subscriber and joining our directory.

Amanda Greenslade is currently managing general submissions.

Visit our About Us page for more information about Amanda or contact her here.

Further Information

**Can anyone submit to The Specusphere?**

Yes, we accept submissions from all ages, countries and creeds, including writers who are not previously published. Anyone may submit to The Specusphere provided they do their best to follow our submission guidelines, which are outlined below. Our focus is on Australia, however we welcome submissions from writers and artists from all over the world. Promotional items and news must be relevant to Australia.

**Will I be paid if my work is published on The Specusphere?**

No, The Specusphere runs at a small loss and is only maintained by the generous support and time of its volunteers. If we one day start to see some income from advertising, product sales or donations, we will, at that time, consider the possibility for paying writers from a certain point in the future forward.

**Will my work become copyrighted to The Specusphere if it is published there?**

No, you maintain copyright in any original works, whether fiction or non-fiction, text or pictorial. Your submission of the work gives The Specusphere permission to use the article in The Specusphere website or any Specusphere imprint until it is withdrawn. The editors reserve the right to edit material without consultation. The author has the right to withdraw the article at any time. We undertake to comply with such a request within 30 days. The item would not be used in any Specusphere imprint from then on.

Ongoing Contributions

Once we have a working relationship with you, as a writer, it can be very rewarding for you and for us to change your status to Ongoing Contributor. Casual contributors submit content when it is convenient for them.

Ongoing contributors are people who have demonstrated their ability (eg. as a casual contributor you have submitted at least 3 articles that we have published). We are looking for more ongoing contributors to become collaborators and join the team, who communicate entirely by using a special group email list. We are in different parts of the country, but we each have a passion for speculative fiction and a desire to expand our own experiences and contribute to this worthwhile project.

Once approved, you will be able to log on to The Specusphere and post articles directly to our website. We welcome new content, especially current topics (reviews of current books, movies etc.) which help us stay up-to-date and interesting for our visitors.

Categories of Speculative interest— examples only