Books should take forever to write. They should torture you your entire life and the things you could have said slightly better should haunt you forever. This is what art is for, transferring the discomfort of being human into something relatable to the other humans

as we hunker down and read through Issue Three submissions, we thought it'd be a good time to start a new tradition of shouting out the achievements of our alumni contributors ✨🖤 they've been busy! check out their latest work ⬇️

Raleigh/Durham friends! We’ll be at the @ncstate.bsky.social MFA 20th Anniversary Book Fair this Saturday! 1-4pm in Caldwell Hall 🎉 a whole host of events this weekend, check out all the info here: english.chass.ncsu.edu/graduate/mfa...

Do art pointlessly into oblivion, eat some snacks, watch a show later. There's nothing else to do in life unless you want to save lives or some shit and learn how to do open-heart surgery

This is NOT an April Fool's joke. I hope it will be helpful, even if you're farther along in your writing journey then I am! There is lots already in the pipeline. Subscribe now to get updated as soon as posts go live! thescrawlertapes.com/subscribe-to... #WritingCommunity

submission genre breakdown, for you numbers folks 🧮 158 short story 73 flash/micro 35 poetry 266 total reading is underway, issue three in the works!

just over 260 submissions in 2 weeks. 🖤 for reference, we got about 330 over a full month for issue two. shorter sub call this time to keep things manageable/timely, but we were on track to beat our sub record once again! thx to everyone who sub’d, issue three is officially in the works!

I'm so excited to announce a new project: my writing craft blog, The Scrawler Tapes. Look out for the first post on April 1!

last day last day last dayyyyyy get your subs in

one more day to toss your story into our pile of bones for issue three ☠️ subs close sunday night !!!

just a few days left to submit !!! issue three subs close Sunday 11:59pm. we are getting some STRONG subs so far, keep 'em coming!

just under a week to get your subs in !!! 🗣️ issue three subs close Sunday, March 15 11:59 ET

pushing 100 submissions within our first four days 🫨 just two issues ago, that was almost our total submission count for an entire month !!!

btw, we don't have an automated confirmation system set up for the new form, but rest assured, if your form successfully submits, it has landed in our inbox and it's in our queue 🖤 thanks to all ye submitters so far, so excited to read your work!

March goes out like a lamb and comes in with a ton of sub opportunities, so take advantage of a few that just opened: @rustandmoth.bsky.social @variantlit.bsky.social @thetemzreview.bsky.social @trashcatlit.bsky.social @sillygoosepress.bsky.social @necksnapmag.bsky.social @xraylitmag.bsky.social

So honored to be the listing of the day! 🖤😍 check us out on Duotrope 😎 subs now open!

thanks, Eric! 🖤

SUBS OPEN!

SUBS OPEN TOMORROW 🗣️🗣️🗣️

as you look to the fringes, here are a few common tropes we see: horror in the shape of abuse, grief, mental illness; descent into madness; therapy sessions; long drives to remote places (think: lost in the woods); medical horror. we like this stuff but for 003, see what new edges you can explore.

for issue three, we want alternatives; distortions; oubliettes; norms forgotten; borders stretched and faded; the uncanny; the imperceptible; shaky ground; ambiguity. make us feel weird. subs open march 1.

subs open in just under a week... bring us to the f r i n g e

an update to our mission statement 🖤

We've got a new sub form! Embedded directly on our Submit page, use it to submit your work easily and conveniently. Still absolutely NO submission fees. 🖤 + we've got new add-ons available, all of which will help us continue to cover operating costs!

this story is a bloodsucking banger 🦇🦇🦇 thanks so much for the shoutout!

website has been updated and zhuzhed – including more info about what we want, what we don't want, and what we get a bit too much of 😶‍🌫️ give it a looksie to familiarize yourself before subs open!

"Fringe implies dynamism, a prompt to action." Another wonderful snippet from our conversation with @gracekrilanovich.bsky.social 🖤 full interview on our website! [Issue Three: FRINGE - subs open March 1]

New interview with supercool NECKSNAP MAGAZINE on the subject of fringe

NEW AUTHOR INTERVIEW! For our first ever themed issue (FRINGE), we talked with @gracekrilanovich.bsky.social, author of the cult classic The Orange Eats Creeps & the upcoming Acid Green Velvet. Give the full interview a read on our website for some theme inspiration & other wonderful insights 🖤

ISSUE THREE: FRINGE. SUBS OPEN MARCH 1 - MARCH 15. [new mission statement. new sub form. new author interview. all on our website. more posts to come.]

folks, we’ve got about a billion new things to share in the next couple weeks, hope you’re ready

folks, print copies of issue two are now available for purchase! this is a SPECIAL EDITION: only 25 copies were printed, and we're down to about a dozen already. it's full-color throughout, perfect-bound, with a matte finish, and makes for a sleek coffee table book 🖤 link below!

Excited to announce that our EIC John Hanley will be guest editor for the inaugural issue of Furore Lit, a new magazine co-founded by NECKSNAP alum Sristi Sengupta! Subs are free and contributors are paid! More info here: furorelit.wordpress.com

GOD it feels good to be here for the first TBQ cosmic-nihilist bluesky thread of 2026

This week: HWA NC group reading at @flyleafbooks.bsky.social in Chapel Hill! flyleafbooks.com/eve... #writingcommunity #liveevents #northcarolina #chapelhill 💙📚🩸

HAPPY NEW YEAR! We have so many New Year's resolutions, so here's the scoop on a handful: (1/2)

thank you to everyone who voted for us in the @chillsubs.bsky.social Best Lit Mag Awards 2025! we feel so loved 🥰

did somebody say news thread? 👀 NEWS! 1. voting closes this weekend for the @chillsubs.bsky.social Best Lit Mag Awards! Vote for us if you love us! www.chillsubs.com/best-lit-mag...

Time is running out to vote for your favourite literary magazines and short story websites of the year: www.chillsubs.com/best-lit-mag... Please take a minute to vote, it means a huge amount to the editors and staff who put so much work into spreading the power and joy of stories.

three more days to vote! throw us a bone if you love us, and/or vote for any of your other favorite mags 🖤 www.chillsubs.com/best-lit-mag...

we made it to the #FISHList! thank you @charliefish.bsky.social! Full list here: www.fictionontheweb.co.uk/p/fish-list....

HAUNT DONT HAULT, FLOAT DONT GHOST, AND GET READY TO READ THIS INCREDIBLE ISSUE OVER @necksnapmag.bsky.social 👻🖤✨

so, so excited for this— please check it out if you haven’t yet!! 👻

my story THE CORDON is in here along with so many other incredible pieces!! and it's such a beautiful magazine too read it here: necksnapmag.com/issue-two/

So proud to be inside this gorgeous, ghostly, and at times disgusting magazine. My story is about a guy whose mind is disintegrating while he traverses one of the richest stretches of land in England - also disintegrating. And with zero spite: happy St Andrews Day 🤠🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

"i am transported into a flashing pinkish elsewhere/a place that is gummy and bright/" - POP! by Stella Vallon [Find this and more in Issue Two, out now!]

ISSUE TWO IS HERE. PDF is free to view and download on our website + download a Name Your Price ebook on our Shop if you'd like to throw us a donation. 🖤 featring @lucienrstarchild.bsky.social @anguslikeswords.bsky.social @kerminatrix.bsky.social and many more!

"unloaded from the trucks so kind and pink and waiting eyes throat bones of the throat tossed over each other like a butcher’s display case" from Morphopornobiological by Foster Gareau, coming soon in Issue Two 🖤

"The woman in front is praying for her dead wife to stop howling from the garden. Lowry finally closes her eyes, hands clasped like a saint. Take Mother away, if you're listening." from Motherland by Rhys Evans, upcoming in Issue Two🖤 available in just a few days!

VOTE FOR US in the @chillsubs 2025 Best Lit Mag Awards! it's free, just takes a minute, and you'll even get a free month of one of their Sub Club or Forever Workshop Memberships for your time 🖤 voting closes december 7th! www.chillsubs.com/best-lit-mag...