Apex may focus on genre work but it is a highly respected journal with an enormous readership that has achieved much critical acclaim. Being published by Apex is a significant achievement. They are the science fiction, fantasy, and horror magazine.

Because they are both established and acclaimed they get to be fussy about what they publish. They publish less then 1% of the work they receive. They publish 12 issues a year, each released on the first Tuesday of the month.

They close to unsolicited fiction submissions on the 31st of August, so make sure you submit before that point.

Their average turn around time to respond to submissions is less than a month, but sometimes it takes them up to 3 months.

Besides the prestige of being published by Apex, if your work is chosen you will be paid for it. They pay 5 cents a word and they publish stories up to 5,000 words in length. So they pay up to $250 per short story.

They do not consider unsolicited reprints. They also do not accept unsolicited poetry  or non-fiction submissions, even though they publish both.

Submissions are processed by email, and they do not consider simultaneously submitted work. They have several other formatting guidelines so may sure to read them over on the website before submitting.

If you write fiction in the horror, science fiction, or fantasy genre’s, Apex should be the first publication you submit to. They are respected and established. They also pay their writers well.

To learn more and get a feeling for the writing they publish, visit their website here: http://www.apex-magazine.com/

You start writing from the point of being woken up by a strange and dangerous sound. What happens next is up to you.

You could be writing from your own point of view, or the point of view of a character. In the story the narrator could have been sleeping at home, or in a cabin, a hotel, or a friend’s house. The narrator could be in their home town or a strange city.

So many elements of this story are up to you. It is your choice what happens next. This could be come a serious story or a comedic farce. The direction you take it is up to you.

You could even try this prompt in poetic form for a bit of fun.

The great thing to do with this prompt is to pass it on to friends so that you see some of the different ways it could be interpreted.

Each work is published along with a thorough bio and a picture of the author. But one of the best features of Swarm is that they have editors notes listed below the biography of the author. In this section the editors make it clear what they like about the piece and why they chose it.

As a writer you often do not know why an editor has chosen your work. Often when your work is accepted the editor says nothing about your piece, beyond the fact that they liked it. Sometimes they do not even include that fact. However when your work is accepted by Swarm you get public acknowledgment of why the editor liked the piece.

This is also tremendously helpful as a writer. It makes it the editorial process more obvious. If you read the work, and then read what the editor said about the piece, you are one step closer to understanding what they are looking for.

Swarm accepts around 5% of the work submitted to them. They tend to respond within two months.

Before you submit to Swarm you really should read some of the work and the editors feedback. When you submit, include a cover letter and brief biography with your submission. You should only submit once per reading period. This reading period is over on October 31st.

You can access Submittable, their submissions manager on their website, and it is easy to use. They only consider short stories under 4,000 words. They consider up to three poems at a time.

In conclusion Swarm is a great journal to submit to. They are aesthetically pleasing, easy to use, and their editors give great personalized feedback. It your work is selected it will be given the attention it deserves. You can visit their website here: http://swarmlit.com/