Submit Your Work

At Umbra Magazine we are looking for short mystery fiction that explores what lies beneath the shadows. Gritty, hardboiled tales that show the world as it really exists, not cozy mysteries or whodunits to solve with incredible wit. Stories about crime, corruption, shady dealings, corporate power and state agencies. We aren't committed to any specific setting. Urban, rural, or a near cyberpunk future, we want to unravel the mysteries unfolding there.

Use the submission form below to submit your work. You may submit one piece to each call. Our current pay for short stories is $20. If your story is serialized each serialization will be paid as its own story. Flash fiction is not paid at this time. We want to be open about how we pay authors, and as the magazine grows we are committed to increasing rates for authors. We aspire to pay pro rates and we're relying on our readers to help us do that.

If your story was posted or published somewhere else previously please include that in the cover letter area. Previously published pieces are paid at half rate. Simultaneous submissions are accepted, but please notify us if your work is accepted elsewhere. Please send your manuscript as a PDF or DOCX file. We aim to be quick in our response and will notify of acceptance or rejection for every submission.

Please note that if accepted, an audio recording of your story may be published along with the text of your story.