Hydra Publications is based in Indiana, and should not be confused with Random House’s Hydra imprint, or Hydra House, a Pacific Northwest based publisher of speculative fiction. Hydra Publications started out publishing a wide variety of genres, but now publish mainly speculative fiction, with a few imprints outside of that.

Hydra also has a number of other imprints. These seem to be active to varying degrees but all have their own submission guidelines page, and I am not covering them as part of this review.

In 2024 they updated their website and it works better now.  It appears to be mostly a one-man operation, run by Tony Acree, They talk about winning the 2015 Jason Sizemore Award for Outstanding Small-Press Publisher, which they won again in 2021. But I can’t find any more information about the awards online, outside of their site and press releases. This means I do not know if the award means anything, or which other presses won it. I do assume that it was given out by this Jason Sizemore.

Tony Acree has published his own books with Hydra, but he has primarily published other authors. Most of the books they’ve published have reviews, which is always a good starting point. Some of the anthologies they have published, including Writers Workshop of Horror 2, feature major authors. They do not list print distributors.

Hydra Publications is now particularly interested in LitRPG submissions. If your submission is LitRPG, please say so in the subject line. LitRPG stands for Literary Role Playing Game, and is a genre that combines the conventions of computer RPGs with other genres. They list subtypes as “VR, no logout, sci-fi, fantasy, thriller, dungeon core, harem, crunchy, light, moba, portal fantasy, town builder, and LitFPS”.

All manuscripts must be a minimum of 70,000 words, but LitRPG should be around 100,000 words in length. Manuscripts can not be previously published in any format. They need not be professionally edited but the excerpt should be relatively error free. They are currently closed to submissions. You can see their submission guidelines here.

Emily Harstone is the author of many popular books, including The Authors Publish Guide to Manuscript Submissions, Submit, Publish, Repeat, and The 2021 Guide to Manuscript Publishers.

Their general submissions are free, but they also have a contest. The deadline for the contest is whenever they reach 130 submissions, and it does cost $30  to enter, but everyone who enters will get extensive personal feedback on their piece. To learn more about their contest, go here.

Pieces filed through their general submissions manager are still eligible for the Editors Choice Award.  The award is $1000 and is given out annually. They do not pay contributors whose work is featured on the site, but if your work is then chosen for one of their anthologies, they will pay the contributor $40.

The stories they publish must be between 300-1000 words in length. They do not accept erotica but are open to work that contains other adult themes including sex, politics, and violence.

To get a feel for what they have are currently publishing, go here. They do not accept previously published work. Authors can submit work up to once a month. All submissions must be made through their electronic submissions manager.

To learn more, visit their submission guidelines here.

Emily Harstone is the author of many popular books, including The Authors Publish Guide to Manuscript Submissions, Submit, Publish, Repeat, and The 2021 Guide to Manuscript Publishers.

• Getting payment for your work
• Visibility from a wide audience (top/mid-tier markets)
• Supporting university student-run journals
• Supporting a specific demographic, e.g. feminist or women-focused, disabled community, BIPOC lit mags/journals (if applicable)
• Hitting a goal of certain number of submissions, rejections, or acceptances in a specific timeframe
• Working with editors you admire
• Only submitting to no fee markets
• Winning awards
• Urgency (topics on current events or publication prior to a reading or collection release)

Where to Find Markets

There are many resources online to find markets open for submission and it can be overwhelming. If a giant list feels like too much to process and sort through, consider some easier to access options:

• Trishhopkinson.com for current no fee calls and editor interviews
• Erika Dreifus monthly Newsletter and weekly Monday markets.
• Submissions Calendar by Derek Annis
• Authors Publish weekly lists for themed calls and other specific lit mag open calls
• Stalk your favorite poet!
  • Go to their website and see where they’ve recently been published
  • Check the acknowledgements page for their most recent poetry book and consider submitting work to the poet’s past publications
• You can also check my Poetry/Writing Resources for a comprehensive list, including the big lists, like Entropy Magazine’s quarterly Where to Submit lists and Erica Verrillo’s Publishing and Other Forms of Insanity lists
• Duotrope is a subscription site, but some of the information is available without a subscription. Not only can you track your submissions easily and quickly, Duotrope has comprehensive listings of most literary markets.

Researching a Market

Once you’ve identified some markets you want to submit to, do a little research to see if it’s the right fit for your work.

• Consider the value of your time and how much time seems reasonable to you to review a specific lit mag or journal. A process of quick review and elimination can save time:
  • Skim the web site and ask yourself (5 minutes):
    • Do I like the aesthetic?
    • Is the site professionally done and current?
    • Are the menus easy to navigate?
    • Would you be proud to share with friends, family, and the poetry community if published?
  • If the answer was yes to the above, there are a couple of approaches I use. My first approach is to just go ahead and send, especially if there is no fee to submit. My second approach is to spend a little more time familiarizing myself with the types of work they publish (10-30 minutes):
    • If urgency is important due to poem topics and/or to support an upcoming reading or collection publication, check Duotrope for response statistics or submission guidelines to see if they disclose their average turnaround time or check my site, since I include turnaround time in detailed section at the bottom of each interview
    • If visibility is important to you, you can gauge their presence by checking their social media accounts for number of followers, frequency of activity (How often do they post? Have they been active recently? Are the engaging with the community with helpful articles and tips? Do they promote and cross-promote their contributors work? For example SWWIM often shares work published elsewhere by past contributors.)
    • Check the Masthead and/or About pages to see who the editors are and for information about their mission
    • Read the submission guidelines for queues to what they are looking for
    • Skim the table of contents for a couple of recent issues to see if they have published poets you admire or to whose work you identify
    • Read a few poems in one or two issues
    • Search for reviews and interviews with the editors:
      • Trishhopkinson.com (I take suggestions!)
      • Duotrope often has a link to editor interviews in the description
      • New Pages and The Review Review publish reviews of lit mags and journals

Solicitations

Just because a lit mag or journal asks you for work may not mean they are ready to publish it, but are interested in considering it for publication. Do the same research (if not more) for a publication who reached out to you directly to ask for your work; while it’s flattering and amazing when it happens, make sure it’s a good fit and don’t feel obligated to send work. Saying no can be simple, keep it to a quick “Thank you for your interest, but I don’t currently have poems ready for publication,” or “Thank you for your interest, but I’ll pass for now.”

Other Tips

Try to balance your time in a way that pleases you most. Some days I want to write new work, some days I want to focus on revision or workshopping, others–the busy work of submitting is more fulfilling.

Don’t worry about how prolific other poets are or if your peers are getting published more frequently than you are. Your success as a poet is based on your own expectations and goals. If you set out to publish as many poems as possible in a year and send to a wide variety and levels of markets (and send a LOT), you can hit your goal. If you want to focus more on creating and honing your craft, submitting and publication may not matter at all. If you’ve hit a period where poetry isn’t calling to you, give yourself permission to take a break and focus your efforts elsewhere until the passion returns.

Bio: Trish Hopkinson is a poet, blogger, and advocate for the literary arts. You can find her online at SelfishPoet.com where she shares submission calls and publication tips. She resides in Utah, where she runs the nonprofit group Rock Canyon Poets and curates the Poetry Happens series for KRCL 90.9 FM.

These three international fellowships are closing to submissions soon. The details are as given on their websites.

AKADEMIE SCHLOSS SOLITUDE RESIDENTIAL FELLOWSHIP 2022/2023

International artists, writers, scientists, scholars, and business representatives are invited to apply in the following seven spheres:

1. VISUAL (Visual arts and media):

2. AURAL & PHYSICAL (Music and performing arts)

3. DIGITAL (Digital Solitude)

4. SPATIAL (Architecture and design)

5. TEXTUAL (Literature and language)

6. SOCIETAL/COMMUNAL-BASED WORK (Education, mediation, theory)

7. SCIENTIFIC (art, science & business/Humanities, social, natural and economic sciences)

Eligibility

• Applicants should not be above 40 years old (a limited number of fellowships is awarded regardless of the age limit)

• Students enrolled for a degree program are not eligible

• PhD students can apply

• Scholarships are awarded for a period of six, nine or twelve months. Fellows are obliged to spend at least two-thirds of their fellowships at the Akademie.

• Artist groups may be considered, in which case, they choose ‘group profile’ and  list all members with their personal data.

• Double applications to the Kunststiftung Baden-Württemberg gGmbH (Arts Foundation Baden-Württemberg) and the AkademieSchloss Solitude ARE NOT PERMITTED.

• Applicants whose applications are refused during the current selection procedure may apply during two other rounds.

• Former fellows of the Akademie Schloss Solitude are not eligible.

• Knowledge of either German and/or English and/or French is a prerequisite for application.

• Applicants must sign up before they can apply.

Benefits

1. A free, furnished living/working studio including electricity, water and heating,

2. A monthly stipend of € 1,200,

3. Travel expenses for arrival and departure (on a one-time basis).

Deadline is November 30, 2021.

For additional benefits, Jurors and selection procedure, visit here.

MONIACK MHOR’S INTERNATIONAL WRITERS’ RESIDENCY 2022

This international residency is for one month in March 2022. Six mid-career/established international writers and three Scottish (UK-based) writers, working in poetry, prose, nonfiction, playwriting, or songwriting, will be given time and space to develop their work, whilst expanding their professional practice through the cross-pollination of ideas across cultures. Participants will take part in an artistic programme that brings them together with Highland communities and engages audiences with work from different cultural backgrounds.

Benefits

The month-long residency at Moniack Mhor includes:

1. Stipend of £1000, travel and food costs, and accommodation;

2. Time and space to develop work and expand creative practice;

3. Informal opportunities to share and collaborate with other participating writers;

4. Transport to locations of interest within the Highlands;

5. Optional attendance at an in-house event on Gaelic place names.

6. Participation in an event that includes workshops/readings, tour to North-West Scotland, an evening ceilidh event, Edinburgh International Book Festival and StAnza Festival.

Deadline for application is October 31, 2021.

There is also an opportunity to participate in the Connect and Collaborate Residency, a partnership with the Lagos International Poetry Festival to travel to Lagos in October 2022.

For enquiries, contact: residencies@moniackmhor.org.uk or +44 (0)1463 741675.

For details and applications, visit here.

FORGE FELLOWSHIP

The FORGE Fellowship is for anyone who wants to make a new experience. Whether your output is a book, a business, a burrito, or a better world, what is required is you are engaged in your process and interested in developing your craft.

It is entirely online and open to people from all backgrounds, lived experiences, and cultures of expression.

With a FORGE Fellowship, individual makers and small teams (of no more than three) are invited at any point in their career or process to spend a year (February through January) digging in, getting curious, and defining success.

Deadline for application is November 1, 2021.

For details, visit here.

Bio: Hassan Muhammad writes children’s books as NmaHassan Muhammad. He resides in Minna, Nigeria.