Foofaraw looks for the best in storytelling across the realms of surrealism, slipstream, speculative, and the strange.

We often have multiple submission calls going on at a time, which may vary. We also may pause calls if we fall behind in giving adequate responses to ensure we do not leave people waiting too long.

In general, our main website call is open in Q2 with publishing happening in the back half of the year, and Q4 with publishing happening in the front half of the following year. 

Our print anthology is open for submissions in Q1 with a Q4 publication. 

An Ordinary Contest runs in Q3.

Quotidian Bagatelle, our micro imprint, alternates months between an open call in odd months and our Crumb's drabble contest in even months.

$3.00
$3.00
Submit to Novelettes

There is an optional $3.00 submission fee on the submission form. If you have the means, we kindly ask you pay the fee to help support cover the costs of running Foofaraw. If you don't have the means, please reach out and we will happily allow you to bypass the fee.

Guidelines

Word Limit: 

  • 7500-17500 words

Pay Rate: 

  • $25 advance & 50% profit share royalties

We are open to a sliding scale of higher advance and lower profit share royalties

Language: 

  • English

Rights: 

We request first serial rights and non-exclusive, indefinite archival rights. Any rights not used by the publisher within twelve months will return to the author.

Requirements:

  • We do not accept multiple submissions from a single person at a time
  • We do not accept previously published works.
  • We do not accept work created or assisted by AI.

What are we looking for

  • Fiction
  • Creative Non-fiction
  • Comics
  • Humor/Satire

Hard sells: 

religious themes / anthropomorphism / zombies / ghosts / vampires / dragons

Comps that would be an easy NO: Walking Dead, Midnight Mass, Cars, Sinners, Salems Lot, Apostle, NOS4A2

Comps for things that could work: What We Do in the Shadows, Only Lovers Left Alive, Preacher, Dead Man, The Many Deaths of Laila Starr, Rare Flavours, Cat's Cradle

Fiction

The general areas/genres of interest for fiction in foofaraw are:

  • Surreal, Slipstream, Speculative, Strange
  • Magical Realism
  • Sci-Fi / Horror / Fantasy
  • Mystery / Thriller / Crime / Noir
  • Experimental
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Submit to foofaraw zine

Response Time

You can expect to hear back within 21 days.

We are looking for 18 short stories (<2,500 words), five longer stories (up to 7,500 words), and five poems that will run in the second half of 2026.

Submissions are anonymous—please remove any identifying information from your story document you upload.

Guidelines

Word Limit: 

  • 250-7500 words

Pay Rate: 

  • Fiction: $0.02 per word; up to $50
  • Poetry: $1 per line; up to $25
  • Op-ed/Satire/Cartoon/Comics/Other: $15.00

Language: 

  • English

Rights: 

We request first serial rights, non-exclusive, indefinite archival rights, and the right to publish in a limited biannual print collection and a monthly ebook edition. Any rights not used by the publisher within twelve months will return to the author. 

Requirements:

  • We do not accept multiple submissions from a single person at a time
  • We do not accept previously published works
  • We do not accept work created or assisted by AI
  • Simultaneous submissions are allowed—please let us know as soon as they are accepted elsewhere

What are we looking for

  • Fiction
  • Poetry
  • Humor/Satire
  • Comics
  • Columns, essays, and other creative non-fiction
  • and anything else that fits the vibe

Fiction

The general areas/genres of interest for fiction in foofaraw are:

  • Surreal, Slipstream, Speculative, and Strange
  • Magical Realism, Sci-Fi, Horror, and Fantasy
  • Humor, Satire, Absurdist/Experimental
  • LGBTQIA+ and other underrepresented demographics
  • Mystery, Thriller, Noir

Poetry

We are looking for speculative, abstract, experimental, or poems with a bite.

We are not looking for typical rhyming patterns or religious, nature, or mythological themes.

Quantity:

Up to three poems per submission

Preferred styles:

  • Free verse, Prose poetry
  • Haiku/Senryu, Haibun, Tanka, Zuihitsu
  • Villanelle, Epigram, Glosa, Triolet

Mainstream authors we enjoy include: Robin Sloan, Cory Doctorow, Haruki Murakami, Kurt Vonnegut, Tamsyn Muir, Ray Nayler, Martha Wells, Corey J. White and fiction from McSweeney’s Quarterly Concern, Uncanny Magazine, The New Yorker, Flash Fiction Online, GigaNotoSaurus, Zoetrope: All-Story, Clarkesworld, Lightspeed, and The Paris Review.

Magazine inspirations come from the likes of: Believer, The New Yorker, NY and London Review of Books, Real Review, Delayed Gratification, Cereal, New York, Monocle, The Modernist, and The Economist.

Ends on This opportunity will close after 100 submissions have been received.
Submit to Crumbs

Crumbs is a semi-monthly, themed, 100-word drabble story contest from Quotidian Bagatelle and Emma Burnett.

Every other month, we will announce a theme and open for submissions. There is no fee to enter, but submissions are capped at 100.

Five stories will be selected for publication in Quotidian Bagatelle magazine and on the web. All published pieces will receive payment. Three shortlist writers will receive $5; “Kevin the Intern’s” choice will receive $10; and one will be crowned champion and receive a whopping $15.

APRIL THEME:

Mud: dirty & messy or creation out of chaos

Submissions close once we receive 100 submissions or on the final day of the month—whichever comes first.