What we are looking for: short stories that are intrepid with regard to experimentation and oddity; the strange, the surreal, the atypical, the unexpected. Traditional genre divisions do not matter to us—we do not care whether a piece qualifies as strictly ‘literary’; we only care that it is high-quality, that it is well-written, and that it is interesting. Please send us pieces that you feel do not fit in anywhere else, or are beyond the pale of any given trend. Send us content that causes us to experience feelings we do not have names for.

We find that a lot of contemporary fiction is resolutely realist, and fundamentally anthropocentric. There’s nothing wrong with this—it remains something we enjoy—but we often find ourselves drawn to writing that seems to slip out of the folds of the human brain, and stretches toward becoming something beyond. We think this is one of the often unspoken dogmas of art—that art has to be about us (meaning: human beings), and we reject said dogma. We think art can be about anything.

‍Speculative fiction is also more than welcome, especially from those who, like us, find themselves looking back longingly on the more stylistically daring science fiction of the late 60s and 70s (see Damon Knight’s Orbit anthology series for a fine example of this ethos).

We highly recommend reading our previous issues to get a sense of the kind of stories we are interested in; that said, we are also always looking to be caught off guard with unprecedented content.

Submissions must be received by December 15th, 2023 to be considered for Issue Four.

Submissions may range from 1,500 to 10,000 words; any submitted pieces below or above this will not be considered. We are open to accepting flash, though we strongly prefer to receive a set of multiple (not necessarily related) pieces.

Propagule is prepared to offer $5 per 1,000 words (up to a maximum of $20) upon our decision to publish your work.

Propagule accepts only previously unpublished material. 

Please only submit one piece at a time—if your piece is rejected, we welcome you to send us another; if your piece is selected for publication, we ask that you wait until the reading period of the next issue to submit another story. 

Please do not resubmit the same piece more than once, even if somewhat changed—we do not accept unsolicited rewrites.

Simultaneous submissions are allowed, but please notify us immediately if your piece has been accepted elsewhere, so that we can remove it from consideration.

Upon publication, Propagule acquires First World Serial Rights, First World Electronic Rights, and Non-Exclusive World Anthology Reprint Rights, as well as the right to publish your work on Motif, an upcoming mobile app for literature.

Please send your submissions through Submittable.