Note: the pay rate of 1 cent/word is not a mistake. The reason it is based on the lowest pay an author can expect for original fiction. The publication pays less for translations including when it is their first English translation (at which point, by our definition, they are not reprints because they have not been published in English before)

Note: one submission per type per submission window.

Note: If your work is accepted, wait two full submission windows before submitting again.

Solarpunk is a prefigurative, utopian artistic movement that envisions what the future might look if humanity solved major modern challenges like climate change, and created more sustainable and balanced societies. As a genre and cultural aesthetic, it encompasses literature, visual art, fashion, video games, architecture, and more. Solarpunk carries many aspects of punk ideologies such as humanitarianism, egalitarianism, animal rights, decolonization, anti-racism, anti-sexism, anti-authoritarianism, anti-corporatism, and anti-consumerism. Similar to the cyberpunk genre, the big difference between the two is that in solarpunk technology and nature are in harmony with one another rather than in conflict.

?Not all solarpunk stories take place in idealistic utopias. Many are tales of are rife with compelling conflict among people and communities optimistically striving to reach that ideal while still struggling to solve some existing challenges. But all solarpunk stories do have things in common such as future or near-future settings, optimism perspectives, and looking toward a better future with at least a growing harmony between nature, technology, and humanity.

Our fiction editors are interested in works that stir readers with themes of defiance, change, and achievement. This effect isn’t likely to come via high concept utopias alone, but rather, from vibrant characters whose struggles affect the reader. Speculative elements should be apparent but not dominating; our disbelief suspended not by necessity, but immersion. Any genre of science fiction, interstitial fiction, magic realism, or fantasy has potential as a solarpunk forum—we welcome robots and elves with equal excitement.