• We want to increase the number of people of color in speculative fiction. We are an actively anti-racist venue for voices of people of color in speculative fiction and stories authentically portraying the experiences of characters of color in speculative fiction. Show us strong protagonists of color, show us stories drawing from non-European experiences, legends and myths, show us the impact of extraordinary events or experiences on people of color. Show us us that stories can be told from the perspective of people of color without being just “about” race.
• We want to increase the ethnic diversity of speculative fiction. We are a welcoming venue for the voices of people from diverse ethnic backgrounds, and for speculative fiction stories authentically portraying the experiences of characters from diverse ethnic backgrounds. Show us strong protagonists who come from ethnic backgrounds not often portrayed in speculative fiction. Show us speculative fiction stories which take place in those cultures, societies, neighborhoods and communities. Show us how people of different ethnic backgrounds interpret and understand extraordinary events and experiences differently.
• We want to combat sexism in speculative fiction. We are an actively anti-sexist venue for women and female-identified people and for and stories authentically portraying the experiences of women and female-identified people in speculative fiction. Simply having a strong female protagonist in your story is not enough, by itself, to get your story published with us- your story must also directly further our mission of diversifying speculative fiction (by its author or its characters) in some way. Show us stories which pass the Bechdel test, show us how gender affects people/is interpreted in the future, show us how extraordinary events or experiences impact men and women differently, show us how gender plays a role in the magickal or supernatural lives of people in under-represented cultures. Show us that women don’t have to look or act a certain stereotypical way in order to be sympathetic characters with powerful voices of their own.
• We want to increase the number of lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer and asexual people in speculative fiction. We are an actively anti-homophobic and safe space for voices of LGBQ and asexual authors and for stories authentically portraying LGBQ and asexual characters and their experiences. Show us positive, realistic examples of strong LGBQ and asexual protagonists. Show us that a story can feature LGBQ or asexual characters without being “about” sexual orientation or lack of. Show us these characters in their own, unique voices.
• We want to increase the number of transgender, transexual, intersex and genderqueer⁄fluid people in speculative fiction. We are a safe space for transgender, transexual, intersex, genderqueer and fluidly gendered authors and for speculative fiction stories that authentically portray the experience of characters who travel through, transcend or break the binary gender paradigm. We accept stories that reflect authentic transgender, transexual, intersex, and genderqueer⁄fluid experiences, but please keep in mind that WE DO NOT PUBLISH EROTICA OR SEXUALLY EXPLICIT STORIES. Many people’s only exposure to gender identity issues is through commercial pornography featuring transgender and⁄or transexual models, which conveys a skewed and inauthentic picture of what it means to be transgender and⁄or transexual. We aim to challenge this by publishing material which focuses on the full human complexity of gender identity experience. Show us strong protagonists who transcend this binary, or who have transcended this binary in the past. Show us that stories featuring transgender characters don’t have to be just “about” gender identity. Show us that gender is not limited to just two options.
• We want to increase the number of people with disabilities in speculative fiction. We are a safe space for authors with disabilities and for speculative fiction stories that authentically portray the experiences of characters with disabilities. Show us strong protagonists with disabilities. Show us that stories which feature characters with disabilities don’t have to be just “about” those disabilities. Show us characters with disabilities who are not in the story for some token or allegorical purpose. Show us the experiences of these characters in their own voices.
• We want to create a story-telling venue for those with rare and unusual sensitivities and awarenesses. Uncommon sensitivities and awarenesses (sometimes called psi, intuition, etc.) are a popular theme in speculative fiction, but these stories are rarely, if ever, written from a realistic, authentic, internal perspective. These stories are usually written by authors who find the idea of such people “cool” in a plot device sort of way. Therefore, in speculative fiction, people who possess these sensitivities and awarenesses are not only misrepresented, they are often made linear, not to mention oppressed, stereotyped, tokenized, subjected to senseless violence, verbally abused, made into plot devices⁄agents of a “Deus ex machina,” “otherized,” dehumanized, and judged by standards which reflect majority biases. We aim to challenge this portrayal by publishing stories about characters with these abilities that show such people in a realistic and respectful manner. We aim to publish stories that feature such characters in their normal lives, stories which are not primarily “about” these awarenesses and abilities, or even about them at all. For an excellent example of such a book, read How I Live Now. Note: We have a very strong preference for authors who are themselves sensitive and aware in these ways. We encourage these authors to write about their own experiences in the form of fiction, or to write about characters who are like them and other psi/intuitive folks they know. We recognize that these experiences are diverse, and we value creativity in story-telling. There are as many different experiences out there as there are people who have them. However, in our experience, telepathic and empathic people are misrepresented in speculative fiction far more frequently than any other psi experiential category. Therefore, we are not looking for stories about telepaths by authors who are not telepathic, or who have never met a telepathic person, or whose only knowledge about this subject comes from other science fiction and from their own imagination about what this “could” be like. These stories do not help further our mission of increasing the authentic representation of misrepresented people in spec fic.
• We want to create a story-telling venue for esoteric minorities and those with esoteric affinities, including but not limited to Otherkin, Mediakin/Fictionkin/Otakukin and Vampyres. Those with esoteric affinities often draw on themes, images, and stories in mythology and speculative fiction in order to identify, understand, process, contextualize, and identify with their own experiences. Do you want to contribute to the genre in your own voice? Do you want to challenge any of the negative portrayal of people like you? We welcome your stories.
• We want to create a story-telling venue for Pagans, Wiccans, Witches and other people who use ritual magick. We aim to publish stories authentically told from the perspective of people for whom magick is an important part of their lives. Show us your stories, in your own voice!

We do not publish material which does not fit with the mission of our magazine (see above). Please do not send us a story until you have thoroughly proofread it.

Most of the stories we accept do not overtly discuss oppression, prejudice, sexism, racism, or discrimination in any way. We do not publish stories about poverty, slavery, sex-trafficking, racism, sexism, homophobia, able-ism or other forms of oppression that do not realistically reflect a deep personal sense and understanding of what it is like to endure and survive these hardships, or reflect a grasp of the complexities and nuances of the systems which support and underlie these prejudices on both social and institutional levels. If your story addresses or deals with these themes, please carefully consider whether your story is written from direct personal experience before submitting to us.

We do not accept stories that use extraterrestrials “allegorically” or metaphorically to tell a story or make a point about race, oppression or diversity among humans, unless the story otherwise fits very closely with our mission. Don’t get us wrong, we’ve seen stories that use extraterrestrials allegorically really well, and those stories can be a lot of fun, they’re just not what we’re looking for in this magazine (without more). Our magazine is about increasing the actual diversity in/of the genre, so stories whose publication would not directly promote actual diversity (here on Earth) do not work for us. Note: “The aliens came down, and we learned to stop fighting amongst ourselves (and to fight them instead)” is overused.

We are not keen on zombie stories. Although we have published a limited number of zombie-themed stories, we receive many, many more that we do not publish. We are not keen on stories which use zombies “allegorically” or metaphorically to make a linear point about race, disability, oppression or diversity among humans. Don’t send us a story with the premise, “In this world, being a zombie is like being disabled/a person of color/someone with a terminal illness,” and then try to make a point about one of these things (or about prejudice versus social acceptance in general). Remember- most of the stories we publish do not deal with oppression or prejudice in any way. We’re not interested.

We do not accept stories depicting gender-based violence, or any form of abuse of women, girls or children. We do not publish any stories depicting rape in any form. We do not publish any stories in which women/girls/children are physically/sexually/verbally abused, made into sex slaves, or held captive for sexual purposes. Though it takes great strength to leave an abusive situation, surviving/escaping abuse is not the only strength a woman can possess.

We do not accept stories in which robots or androids are “perfect” (or expected to be perfect) in some sexual, aesthetic or romantic way. Examples: androids make “perfect husbands” or “perfect wives,” androids make “perfect fashion models,” androids are the new, better prostitutes/sex workers. We’re not interested in stories in which female sex objects are, for the sake of the story, actual objects (but with feelings!). This runs directly contrary to our mission of combating sexism in speculative fiction. (Note: “Android geishas” are racist as well as sexist.)

We do not accept stories which contain or promote negative/inhuman images of obese people. Sometimes the whole point of a story is to say “this person was disgustingly fat!” Sometimes the whole development a character receives begins and ends at obesity (or obesity and skin color). Sometimes something awful happens to a character, but it’s “OK” because he or she was fat. Sometimes fatness is shown as a sign of moral decay. Sometimes fat characters are ostensibly shown in a “positive” light, but their bodies are described in offensive inhuman terms (whales, parasites, mountains, something else not human). Sometimes, this being spec fic, a character is inhumanly fat, for no clear reason in the story. This all goes against our mission, and we are not interested. If, on the other hand, your story authentically reflects the experience of obese people — your character happens to be obese but is a full human being, your character’s obesity is not the sole purpose of the story, and your character’s obesity is never described by the author or any character as inhuman/a monstrosity, we will consider your piece.

We do not accept stories where disabled characters are, or become, “super-people” to compensate for (or in spite of) their disabilities, where the sole purpose of a character is to be disabled (i.e. “the blind guy”), or where the sole purpose of the story’s plot is to describe a character’s disability. These are very common tropes in spec fic, and don’t authentically reflect the experiences of disabled people, which is what Expanded Horizons is all about. We are interested in stories in which disabled people face challenges and overcome them just like any protagonist should, and stories which hold up a lens and examine how disability is seen in our world today — not stories which reduce people to what they can/cannot do (and define them as characters based on that), or which give them super powers of some sort to compensate for their “deficiencies.” Note: We’re also not interested in stories in which characters who are very powerful (magically, psychically etc.) are given disabilities by the author to “balance out” their power.

We do not accept stories about indigenous⁄Native peoples that are not told realistically from the perspective of those indigenous/Native peoples themselves. We do not accept stories featuring indigenous⁄Native people or cultures where the author exercises “creative license” to invent the beliefs, customs, religions, languages, traditions, legends, myths and lore of indigenous/Native people or communities. If you, the author, are not indigenous/Native, you will be asked to provide the research you have conducted in order to write your story. This research, while important for all stories where the author is “writing across difference”, is especially important in stories representing Native and indigenous peoples, whose cultures, traditions and lore are so often mis-represented in fiction as well as non-fiction, whose cultures and spiritual traditions are appropriated by whites, and about whom white authors so often feel the “right” to invent material with little to no historical or contemporary basis. It should also go without saying that if your story, or the viewpoint character in your story, portrays or describes indigenous/Native people as savages, or “magical savages”, in any way, it will be rejected.

We do not publish stories involving “savage” or “primitive” alien species. Such alien species simply serve as literary proxies for indigenous/Native people here on Earth (see note on indigenous/Native people above). If your story describes an alien race or species as primitive savages in any way, it will be rejected.

We do not publish stories about Lizardmen, Ratmen, or any other oppressed Vermin-men. We don’t want to hear about how the rich, selfish, and corrupt humans are oppressing the poor, simple and genuine-hearted Vermin-people. These stories present a romanticized and distorted picture of oppression. If your story follows this pattern, it will be rejected.

We do not publish erotica. Mild sexual content is allowed, so long as this is not the sole point of the story, it serves an artistic purpose, and the overall story furthers the mission of the magazine. If your story includes explicit sexual content, it will be rejected.

We do not publish any stories where a telepathic character is introduced only to be berated, belittled, verbally abused, physically assaulted and/or brutally murdered for being telepathic. It boggles us why these stories are written, and it goes without saying that they go directly against the mission and purpose of our magazine.

We do not publish any stories with excessive violence/gore. Some violence is acceptable, so long as this is not the sole point of the story, it serves an artistic purpose, and the story furthers the overall mission of the magazine. We do not publish stories that depict hate crimes in “loving detail” (see above). If your story promotes the real life use of violence against a specific group of people, or advocates the use of violence against a real person (such as a currently living public figure), it will be rejected.

We do not publish stories which depict real-life groups (or fictional groups that call themselves by the same name as real life groups) as violent, dangerous, abusive, or violating of the law, when this is untrue. This goes directly against the mission of our magazine, which is to promote the authentic representation of under-represented minority groups, and to combat negative stereotyping in speculative fiction. It’s also walking the line between mean-spirited and defamatory.

Please try to avoid Christian-themed clichés. European-based (or interpreted) Christian beliefs, and the Christian worldview of Heaven/Hell, are not underrepresented viewpoints in speculative fiction and literature. Please do not submit to us any stories along these lines. Examples include, but are not limited to: Jesus returning, the Apocalypse, the Devil coming to Earth and interacting with people, angels with feathery wings, white male controlled Heaven/Hell, blonde-haired blue-eyed characterization of divine/angelic beauty, and the Devil’s really the “good guy”. We are not interested.

In general, we do not accept humorous stories, with two main exceptions:

These are very narrow exceptions. Most stories which are intended as humorous will be rejected.

Please also consider the following when deciding whether to send us your work:

• We do not publish stories in dialect unless the use of dialect is both accurate and realistic for that community.
• We do not publish stories which read like D&D campaigns, video games, or anime action television shows.
• Stories which feature strong female protagonists does not mean “chicks with swords”.
• Stories which feature transgender characters does not mean “men who suddenly wake up with huge breasts”.
• We do not publish werewolf stories, we publish Therianthrope stories.
• We do not publish vampire stories, we publish Vampyre stories.
• We do not publish ANY stories with the following plotline: “White male is a dick to women/ethnic minorities/indigenous people/oppressed aliens. Something happens, and white male learns his ‘lesson’/gets his comeuppance/feels guilty/tries to save everybody/learns to believe native lore/gets the girl.”
• We do not publish ANY stories with the following plotline: “Woman is helpless to escape oppression/improve her situation and then a MAN comes along to save her and show her the virtues of independence.”
• We do not publish ANY stories with the following plotline: “Member of oppressed fictional group/alien species tries to ’save’ his or her people⁄tries to escape oppression/is ‘rescued’ from oppression.”
• We do not publish ANY stories with the following plotline: “Earth is conquered/invaded by aliens/giant bugs. The human protagonist is humanity’s last hope!”
• We do not publish ANY stories with the following plotline: “Protagonist prays really hard/convinces someone else to pray really hard/convinces the whole world to pray really hard and the entire conflict goes away.”
• We do not publish ANY stories in which anyone gives birth to a cyborg savior or anti-Christ.
• We do not publish ANY stories in which some subset of people declares themselves the “new evolution” and releases a plot to kill/enslave all the “normal” people, or those in the dominant group (ex. mutants rise up to kill all “normals,” androids/cyborgs rise up to kill all organics, women rise up to kill/enslave all the men, telepaths rise up to kill all those who are not similarly gifted… gelatin becomes sentient and eats all the people).
• We do not publish ANY stories where the protagonist complains about reverse discrimination.
• We do not publish ANY stories which include a token female character who serves no purpose in the story other than for the (straight, male) protagonist to ogle her body/get aroused⁄lust after her/fantasize about her.
• We do not publish ANY stories where “blonde, blue-eyed and pale skinned” is described as “perfect” beauty.
• We do not publish ANY stories with the following plotline: Woman is depressed.  Bad things happen to her.  She dies.
• We do not publish stories in which the female “protagonist” does not drive the story in any way, where the plot events just keep happening to her and she is powerless to stop or change them.
• We do not publish stories about the multiverse/parallel universes or about someone meeting their past or future self unless the story very closely furthers our mission of diversifying speculative fiction in some way. There is nothing wrong with these stories per se, they are just overused. Consequently, we will only consider stories with these premises if the stories themselves very closely further our mission of diversifying speculative fiction. Examples: Ian R. MacLeod’s Breathmoss (Muslim, polyamorous and lesbian), or a story in which a transgender protagonist communicates with him/hir/herself before and after transition as part of wrestling with his/hir/her identity.
• Strange Horizons, a well-known online speculative fiction magazine, publishes a list on their website of stories they see too often, as part of their submissions guidelines. Please review this list carefully before submitting a story to us.