Occult Detective Quarterly

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

OCCULT DETECTIVE QUARTERLY MAGAZINE is devoted to those intrepid investigators who investigate the weird, exotic and bizarre. These are the people who explore the darkness, both within and beyond, often to their own peril and the expense of their very lives and sanity.

The concept of an ‘Occult Detective’ actually goes back many years to writers of the 19th century like Poe, William Hope Hodgson, Algernon Blackwood, E. & H. Heron and many more. We’ve long been fans of the genre and now seek to celebrate it in all its forms in this new magazine from Electric Pentacle Press. We look forward to your submissions!

 

FICTION

The concept is wide open. We are looking for well-written stories featuring those who are investigating the strange and unusual. It does not have to be set in Victorian or Edwardian London. In fact, we are eager to read stories featuring a diverse range of characters, cultures and periods. We welcome new and established voices of all orientations. The primary goal is to tell a good story with great characters.

Technical Specs: We’re looking for stories between 3,000-5,000 words. Query if you have something longer before sending. Submission should be sent in Word or rtf format, double-spaced and with contact information on first page. Payment for original fiction is a base of 1 cent per word but, as we will be conducting a Kickstarter for this project, that could rise depending upon how many incentive levels are reached. Contributors are guaranteed at least the minimum. Reprints are also welcome, to be paid at a flat rate of $25 at this stage.

RECOMMENDED READING

If you’re interested in this concept but not sure what it is, here are a few recommendations to get you started:

Edgar Allan Poe “The Murders in the Rue Morgue”

William Hope Hodgson “The Whistling Room” and “The Hog”

Algernon Blackwood “Ancient Sorceries”

For more recent examples, characters John Constantine, Harry Dresden et al also fit the brief.

 

NON-FICTION

In addition to new fiction, ODQ also wants your articles and essays about Occult Detectives! We’re looking for articles that discuss the history of this unusual genre as well as essays about the many writers who contributed to it. We’re also looking for literary criticism as well as reviews and retrospectives. Did you know that the hero of the CURSE OF THE DEMON film could be considered an Occult Detective? Kolchak, the Night Stalker, certainly was and that’s not even considering many comics and characters in other media as well. Basically, if you have an article about ANY aspect of Occult Detectives, we want to read it!

Technical Specs: We’re looking for articles and essays between 3,000-5,000 words. Query if you have something longer before sending. Submission should be sent in Word or rtf format, double-spaced and with contact information on first page. Payment is a base of 1 cent per word but, as we will be conducting a Kickstarter for this project, the rate could rise depending upon how many incentive levels are reached. Contributors are guaranteed at least the minimum.

Please indicate if you would like to review Occult Detective material and, if so, which ones? We’re looking to build a stable of regular, reliable reviewers.

 

ARTWORK

We are looking for talented artists to contribute to all aspects of ODQ. We need illustrators for stories as well as cover artists. If interested, please forward a small sample of your work (jpg please) and we will be in touch. Art will be on an assignment basis with artist owning all copyright and rights to work after initial publication. Interior art rates are $40 – $50 per piece. Covers are dependent upon previous agreement between publisher and artist.

 

All submissions should be sent to:

occultdetectivequarterly@yahoo.com

Please identify it as “Art/Story/Article ODQ Submission” (as appropriate) plus brief title in the subject line.

We look forward to working with you in the future!

 

Best,

Sam Gafford
John Linwood Grant
Travis Neisler