What we're looking for: Good writing. Work that knows what it's doing. We don't care if it's realist, speculative, horror, romance, erotica, satire, or some genre that doesn't have a name yet. Send your best work, not your safest.
What we take: Previously unpublished fiction and short plays, 3,000–12,000 words. No genre restrictions. No content restrictions.
“Previously unpublished” includes personal blogs, newsletters, social media posts, public forums, and any work that has already appeared online in a publicly accessible form.
Upcoming deadlines:
— Volume 1 (August 2026) — submission period closes 1 June, 2026Fiction Formatting: 12pt Times New Roman, double-spaced, 2.54 cm (1 inch) margins. Left-aligned, 1.27 (0.5 inch) hanging indentation, space after paragraphs. Include your name and story title in the header. Number your pages. Scene breaks indicated by a centred ***.
Plays Formatting: 12pt Times New Roman, double-spaced, 2.54cm (1 inch) margins. Character names in bold caps with a colon. Stage directions in italics and square brackets. Include a character list, setting, and time at the start. Include your name and play title in the header. Number your pages.
Multiple submissions: Up to two stories at a time, one per form, please. Wait for a response before submitting again for future calls.
Simultaneous submissions: Fine by us. Just let us know immediately if your work is accepted elsewhere.
Editing: We may occasionally suggest minor edits or revisions. We will never publish changes without your approval.
Rights: First serial rights only. We get to publish it first and keep it in our archive. Everything else stays yours. You're free to republish anywhere after it appears in Nachtljocht.
Author Payment: We pay $15 USD per accepted piece, sent via PayPal upon publication. Contributors also receive a complimentary copy of the print edition. (Please note at the current time with shipping costs as high as they are and nachtljocht being a fully self funded endeavour, we regret that we cannot ship complimentary copies to those residing outside of the USA, that being said, we are trying to find a solution asap!)
AI Policy: Nachtljocht doesn't publish work written by AI. We don't use AI either. Your story gets read by a real person, start to finish, every time. We're not going to hassle you about this, just be honest with us. The work should be yours.
How to submit: Use the form below. Accepted files are .doc, .docx, or .pdf. No need to pitch, summarize, or include a bio.
First Serial Rights - An Explanation
By submitting your work, you agree to grant us First Serial Rights if it is accepted. This means we acquire the right to be the first to publish the piece, either in print or online.
After publication, all rights revert to you. You remain the author and retain full ownership of your work.
We ask that the piece not be published elsewhere before it appears with us.
Once published, you are free to republish it, though we appreciate a note acknowledging its first appearance here.
