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 / retelling of fairy tales, folklore, etc.

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

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
Submit to Satire, reviews, op-eds, and cartoons

This is our combined, year-round call for Satire, Reviews, Op-eds, and Cartoons.

Cartoons:

We are looking for political, witty, or surreal cartoons in the style of The New Yorker, Economist, or The Weekly Humorist.

We are not looking for amateur art or quick sketches. Pieces should be polished.

Submit up to three at a time.

Pay: $15/each

Satire:

We are looking for satirical pieces related to politics, tech, culture, entertainment, or sports.

We are not looking for short stories that just happen to be humorous. Plot is not the goal here.

Think McSweeney’s Internet Tendency, The Onion, and The New Yorker’s Shouts & Murmurs.

Word count: 500-1000

Pay: $15.00

Op-eds:

We are looking for timely, biting, and witty op-eds to cover the moment we are in.

We are not looking for lengthy essays, regurgitated news, explainers, or personal pieces.

Word count: 500-1000

Pay: $15.00

Short Fiction Reviews:

We are looking for reviews of short fiction from other small litmags and indie presses.

We are not looking for reviews from big magazines or well-known authors.

Word count: 500-1250

Pay: $15.00