Issue #2 Coming October/November 2017

Betrayed! Banished from sanctuary. Left for dead. A knife in the back. Deceit and bloodshed. Our October – November issue of Aphotic Realm Magazine will be titled, Banished.

The theme: Each story must include a banishment or betrayal, but there is a catch… Not a twist ending. The banishment or betrayal should take place toward the beginning of the story because we want to witness how the characters survive – or attempt to.

The focus of this issue is Survival. Whether your character is thrown out an airlock in the void of space, left on a deserted island to rot, bamboozled and beaten by so-called friends, or brutally betrayed by loved ones – we want to see how they handle the situation for the better. Or the worst.

The cover art, pictured left, is a spectacular piece by Rolands Kalniņš. We hope this image helps to spark your creativity for the theme.

FICTION

Like all our stories, they must be Strange or Sinister in nature. Stories must be at least 1000 words and not surpass 5000 words.

Please submit all stories to submissions@aphoticrealm.com . In the subject line please write “BANISHED – Title of your story”. In the body of the email, please include a 50-100 word bio about yourself and your contact information. All stories must be submitted as a .DOC or .DOCX file. All other file types will be deleted without read.

CREATIVE NON-FICTION

(Basically the same as the fiction guidelines).

COMICS

Comics should not exceed 12 pages. The comics can be in black and white or color, but we do not accept works-in-progress or pages that are penciled and not inked. Not all comics have or need dialogue, but we are not accepting comics that intend to be lettered and are not. To put it simply, all submissions must be COMPLETED.

In addition to short comics, we also accept comic strips. These too, must be completed.

Please send all comic submissions to submissions@aphoticrealm.com. Please write “COMIC – Title” in the subject line of the email. In the body of the email, please provide the names of the creators (writer, penciler, inker, colorist, letter, etc.), as well as a brief description of the comic.

Comics should be sent as a .PDF file. Any attachment of a different file type will be deleted and unread.

Please keep in mind that all comics that are accepted for the print of the magazine will have to be sized to 8.5” x 11” (while retaining proper dimensions).

You must own all the rights to all work you send.

BOOK REVIEWS

Book Reviews should be at least 500 words and not exceed 2,500 words. Please make sure that the book review you send us falls in line with our style. We published Strange and Sinister fiction – it is very unlikely that we will publish your review of romance or YA fiction.

Please send all book review submissions to submissions@aphoticrealm.com. Please write “BOOK REVIEW – Title of book” in the subject line of the email. In the body of the email, please provide us with your name (people do forget this), a short synopsis of the book (not exceeding 50 words), along with links to where we can find/purchase the book.

ARTWORK

Please send all artwork to submissions@aphoticrealm.com. Please write “ARTWORK – Your name” in the subject line of the email. In the body of the email, please briefly tell us about yourself.

If you have an Art Station, Deviant Art, Tumblr, or website portfolio, please provide us with the link so we may view your work.

If you do not have an online portfolio, you may send us your work directly. However, artwork must be sent as a .PDF file. Any attachment of a different file type will be deleted without viewing.

You must own all the rights to all work you send.

WE DO NOT COMMISSION WORK.

Please do not send us artwork with the hope of pitching us to purchase a commissioned piece from you.

COMPENSATION

Unfortunately, we cannot financially compensate you for your story. Aphotic Realm is well within its infancy. However, if your story is accepted, you will receive a .PDF copy of the issue and we will help you promote your writing.

DON’T FORGET!

When submitting to Aphotic Realm, don’t forget to follow the golden rule when it comes to submitting to us: No gore for the sake of gore, no sex for the sake of sex, and no child abuse in any way, shape or form. For a refresher on the basics of what we accept, please head over to our Submissions page and take a look to save all of us some time and confusion later on down the road.