Bob and Spot expect to open January 1, 2027, for general submissions!
Send us your speculative stories (sci-fi, fantasy, light horror, cozy, fabulist, and/or weird) that feature non-human creatures. These creatures can be aliens, monsters, forest or ocean or sky dwelling critters, flora, microbes, fungi, robots, or anything else you can dream up!
What we’re looking for:
– creatures not typically found in stories (not saying no to octopuses, but there have been a lot of octopus stories lately, for example)
– a non-human point of view (human POV is possible, but will be a hard sell)
– a structure, voice, and/or arc that fits the creature featured in the story
– and we’d love to see stories depicting a disability or marginalized experience
We’re NOT interested in:
– anthropomorphized creatures (i.e. everything about the character’s setting, viewpoint, language, goals, clothing, and behavior could be human, but they happen to be a giraffe)
– the creature is one-dimensional and/or presumed to be the ‘bad guy’
– the creature is the only non-human character in a group of humans
– the creature is sometimes human or used to be human
– the creature wishes it were human
Submission details:
Please submit one story at a time. Simultaneous submissions are fine, but please let us know as soon as possible if your story is accepted elsewhere.
We accept original flash up to 1500 words, original short stories 1500-5000 words, and reprints up to 7500 words.
We will not accept stories created through the use or assistance of LLMs/AI. (Likewise, Spiderbot Press will not use LLMs/AI in the creation of any wording or art posted on the website or used in marketing and newsletters.)
Submissions are anonymous. Please follow Shunn format but remove any identifying information from your manuscript submission, including removing the byline and removing names from the header and file. Submit your manuscript in .rtf, .doc, or .docx format.
Contracts will include:
For original stories:
– exclusive First World Rights for online publication in English at Bob and Spot’s Featured Creatures
– all rights revert back to the author six months after the story is published, with an exception made if the story is selected for any Best of or Year’s Best anthologies, with the editor’s written permission
– all rights revert back to the author if the story is not published within twelve months of the contract being signed
– the author will have the option to request, in writing, the removal of their story from the website after one year of the story’s publication, otherwise the story will remain on the Bob and Spot’s Featured Creatures website for as long as the publication remains active
– the author acknowledges they are the sole owner and creator of the story, and that the story has been produced solely by the individual creative efforts of the author and without any usage of LLM/AI
– any edits made to the story prior to the publication are approved by the author
– payment of 4 cents/word or $25, whichever is greater, within 30 days of publication
– kill fee of $25 if publication does not occur within twelve months of signed contract
– option to include the story in the publication’s Year’s Best and/or Year One anthology in electronic publication format, for an additional payment of 1 cent/word for each anthology within thirty days of publication
For reprints:
– non-exclusive rights for online publication at Bob and Spot’s Featured Creatures within twelve months of the contract being signed
– the author will have the option to request, in writing, the removal of their story from the website after one year of the story’s publication, otherwise the story will remain on the Bob and Spot’s Featured Creatures website for as long as the publication remains active
– the author acknowledges they are the sole owner and creator of the story, and that the story has been produced solely by the individual creative efforts of the author and without any usage of LLM/AI
– any edits made to the story prior to the publication are approved by the author
– payment of 2 cents/word or $15, whichever is greater, within 30 days of publication
– kill fee of $15 if publication does not occur within twelve months of signed contract
– option to include the story in the publication’s Year’s Best and/or Year One anthology in electronic publication format, for an additional payment of 1 cent/word for each anthology within thirty days of publication
