submissions

nonfiction | the eco update

Have an idea for an article that you think would be a good fit at Brief Ecology? Send us a pitch at editor[at]briefecology.com.

fiction | the rotting leaf

If you are interested in submitting a story to The Rotting Leaf, take a look at our guidelines below, then use the link to the submission form at the bottom of the page (if we’re open).

general guidelines

  • Submission windows will open once per month: For the first week of the month or until 50 submissions are received, whichever occurs first.

  • We do not currently accept poetry*, but we will consider hybrid and experimental forms

  • Payment: $0.06/word ($30 minimum) + contributor copy of annual anthology

  • Words: 1,500 or less

  • Simultaneous submissions are allowed; multiple submissions are not

  • Submissions should be in a word doc file with a readable font

  • No reprints unless from markets that are now defunct (please indicate this in your cover letter)

  • Each published author will be offered an additional, optional by-line in the form of a mini-essay (500 words or less) to respond the the question: “What does ‘Eco-Fiction’ mean?”

  • Contract details: Full rights return to the author immediately upon publication, but TRL reserves print publishing rights for annual anthology

#TheRottingHaiku

  • The Rotting Leaf is experimenting with short-form poetry submissions. For a chance to be featured in one of our issues, write an eco-gothic inspired haiku for social media, tag us in the post, and use the hashtag #TheRottingHaiku

  • Places you can tag us:

things we like

  • Eco-fiction (broadly defined)

  • Eco-Horror

  • Eco-Gothic/Antigothic

  • Haunted/Unhaunted Landscapes

  • Transcorporeality

  • Eco-Surrealism/Existentialism/Absurdism

  • Complex/Flawed characters

  • Interiority

  • Any other uses of Eco-Fiction that challenge, shift, or obliterate the nature-society binary

things we do not like

  • Racism/Sexism/Misogyny/Transphobia/Etc

  • Misanthropy

  • Generative AI or LLMs

  • Eco-Fascism

  • Capitalism

  • Punching down

  • Simple “people are bad and nature is good” stories

  • Stories from a child’s POV

things that are a (very) tough sell for us

  • Humor

  • Outer space / other planets

  • Solarpunk

  • Apocalyptic/Dystopian futures

  • Robots

  • Virtual reality

ready to submit?

Submission form