We are now OPEN to fiction submissions for our Demented Mother’s Day issue, deadline is April 25, 2026. We are also open to fiction submissions to our Something in the Water contest, deadline is June 25, 2026. Until further notice, we will no longer be accepting poetry submissions. If you are interested in joining our team as poetry editor, please drop us a line at: contact@talesmoonlitpath.com
To track and see if we received your story, visit: Where’s My Story?
Please note: If you do not want your story title added to the tracking page, let us know when you submit your work. (Author name is not listed, only story title).
***We were unable to send out individual status emails for our Bloody Valentine’s Day issue story submissions. If you did not receive an acceptance, please consider your story not accepted at this time. Thank you so much and we apologize for this, as it is not how we prefer to do things, but sometimes life gets in the way! ***
Tales from the Moonlit Path publishes dark, eerie, speculative stories. Horror is not a necessary element, although fiction should contain some aspect of the weak, frail, changeable human condition.
Gore and explicit sex for the sake of visceral shock will not find a home here, though we are not opposed to it in general, if it belongs in the story.
We are interested in character-driven stories more so than plot-driven, and we prefer dark fiction that makes us think, makes us feel, wraps us in its well-spun dream.
Hard sci-fi and fantasy are a hard sell for us, but not impossible. Revenge and ironic stories are also a hard sell.
Although we would love to publish fiction longer than 2,000 words, it is our experience that reading stories longer than that on a monitor can be tiresome and hard on the eyes. So please, fiction must be no longer than 2,000 words.
Our issues are usually themed. Keep in mind that we will always accept stories that are on theme, as well as those that aren’t. We prefer to have a mix in every issue.
Please include a short cover letter with your story, your name, email address, word count (please make sure an accurate word count is included in your short cover letter) and bio if we choose to publish your work. We accept email submissions only at fiction@talesmoonlitpath.com. WE DO NOT ACCEPT ATTACHMENTS. If your story is attached, it will be deleted unread. Please submit your story embedded within the email, with this format in the subject line: Your last name: Fiction-submission.
Please use regular formatting. 12 point Helvetica or similar font, double spaced is HIGHLY appreciated.
We do NOT send received notifications for fiction submissions but feel free to query us after six weeks if you have not heard back from us for a status update. Please also remember to check the Where’s My Story page for a quick answer.
For article or movie/book review guidelines, please submit to: fiction@talesmoonlitpath.com and embed the article in the body of the email. Articles and movie reviews should be no longer than 2,000 words. Please format your subject line: Your last name: Article-submission. We are unable to pay for articles at this time.
By submitting your work, you will automatically be subscribed to our Newsletter. We will not use your email for any other purposes.
Starting with our Halloween 2025 issue, we are, once again, paying authors $10 for their published stories.
Please allow one month before querying about your submission. Simultaneous submissions are welcomed (and encouraged, you have to get your work out there, right?) just kindly let us know if your story has been accepted elsewhere so we can remove it from consideration. You also may enter two separate stories for submission to Tales at the same time or while one is still being considered.
Please note that while reprints are considered, unpublished stories will be weighed more heavily for inclusion in the magazine.
We ask for first electronic rights, reprint or second rights, that revert to you once the next issue has been published (approximately three months). If you place your published story in another magazine, we will kindly take it off of our pages, just ask!
You must own rights to your story. Your story MUST NOT currently be up online. We won’t consider stories that are currently online in other journals.
We look forward to reading your work and sharing it with the world!
What are our stats? We run at a rough 6.5% acceptance rate per issue for both contest and regular submissions. Proper formatting, great proofreading, and sizzling writing will increase the odds for you. We favor previously unpublished stories, but will never overlook a great fit for the magazine.
