Tales from the Pomegranate Forest is an anthology of short fantasy fiction. We are looking for:

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• Stories that feature trans and queer characters in a fantasy setting

  • Suggestions: empowerment, triumph, mystery, or slice-of-life

  • Prompt (optional): What would trans and queer people do in a fantasy world? What (counter) cultures would exist? Would it be a utopia, dystopia, or queer in-between?

    • Bonus points if you include pomegranates

• ​Any genre

• Word count: 1,500 - 7,500

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Submission Process

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1. Please pitch your new idea by filling out this form, OR

   1. If you retain the rights to republish an existing work, please fill out this form. If selected, you will be paid $100 for reprinting.
      

2. If your pitch is selected, you will be invited to submit a new work. Upon receipt of your submission, you will immediately be paid $25. This is not a publishing payment, it is a small fee to honor your work in the event it is not selected for the anthology.
   

3. If your submission is accepted for publishing, up to 2 rounds of edits may be needed for acceptance into the anthology. Once editing is complete, an additional $200 will be paid immediately (total payment: $225).

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Timeline

• December 5th, 2025: Deadline for new pitches and republishing submissions

• January 2nd, 2026: Acceptance notices sent

• February 13th, 2026:  First draft of short story is due

  • $25 fee sent within 48 hours of receiving short story

• March 6th, 2026: Editor will send feedback. Up to 2 rounds of edits begin

• March 20th, 2026: Final edits due

  • Additional $200 (total $225) payment sent within 48 hours once the final edited story is received

• June 30th, 2026: Anthology release date

​If you have any questions, please contact us.