[eZine] Unlikely Story / Journal of Unlikely Entomology, et al.

[Liz_V]

http://www.unlikely-story.com/fiction-submissions/

Any experiences, opinions, etc. regarding this short story market?

The Journal of Unlikely Cryptography is currently open for submissions, and I've got a story that just might suit them. I'll admit, I'm deeply entertained by the concept. They pay professional rates, though I don't see them on the SFWA list.

And that's about all I've been able to find out. Almost all the relevant hits I'm getting lead back to the site itself; not much in the way of reviews, yays/nays, or any other outside reactions.

Anyone have any data on the size of their... I guess it's not "circulation" with an online market, is it? Readership? Some idea of the number of eyeballs likely to see a story there, anyway.

 

[brni_x]

Hi Liz,

This is Bernie, one of the editors of Unlikely Story, so I don't really count as a disinterested party, but it's been a while since you posted, and nobody else has replied. So...

We've been regularly reviewed in Locus and elsewhere, including having some stories selected for Charlotte Ashley's in-depth reviews. Unfortunately, "Unlikely Story" is overly generic for search engine searches to be of much use, and you'll have better luck searching on the individual issues ("Unlikely Cryptography," "Unlikely Entomology," etc. Stories we have published have found their ways into Year's Best collections, made Ellen Datlow's honorable mention list, etc.

Yes, we pay professional rates, but no, we're not yet a SFWA qualifying market. We've been far more successful in attracting both writers and readers than we expected starting out, but we're not yet at a readership level necessary to be a qualifying market.

Anyway, I hope that was at least slightly useful, despite not being an outside opinion.

 

[Liz_V]

Hi Bernie -

Thanks for the reply! It does kind of give me the info I wanted -- sounds like not a large-scale readership yet, though if the current issue (Unlikely Cartography) is anything to judge by, I'd expect that to be changing soon. I'll definitely be keeping an eye on you folks!

 

[Polenth]

It might help research to know they were originally only "The Journal of Unlikely Entomology". The move to Unlikely Story (with the additional themes) is more recent. They certainly get discussed in the circles I float around in and I've submitted stories there. I'm sure they will see more success as time goes on, but they're not completely unknown right now either.

 

[agilebrit]

I was published in the "Unlikely Acceptances" issue. The editors are courteous and friendly, and payment was prompt. No complaints on my end.

 

[CaoPaux]

Went on hiatus for 2017. Has yet to reopen, but there's some recent social activity.