creative writing is like trying to solve a riddle without knowing the question and every lit mag editor is just three bridge trolls in a trenchcoat

the good news is, when we DO get done sending out decisions, get ready for all sorts of news and delights about issue two and more

folks we’re so close to being done sending out decisions but computer is STILL broken so we’ll be on our fourth (FOURTH) trip to apple this week to try to get it fixed — until then may be unable to send out responses, but i promise we’re working on it 😭

squeezing down our final 25 submissions into three acceptances

another day, another series of heartbreaking decisions trying to narrow down our final acceptances for issue two

EIC’s basically-new computer is on the fritz, so communication might be delayed for a couple days. rip, sorry y’all

trying to choose like five more pieces for the issue out of ~35 remaining submissions, every single decision feels like this

“wow necksnap has been so quiet lately” we have whittled our way down to a pile of 50ish subs which means we’re about 85% done with sending out decisions 😮‍💨 the end is in sight!

so satisfying to start seeing the issue come together as we accept more submissions; sooo brutally difficult to start making some decisions on the great work that we have left in the pile

folks, did you grow up on creepypastas and rumors of dark web snuff? then boy do we have the interview (and book!) for you: our EIC recently had the good fortune of talking with "rekt" author Alex Gonzalez about all things internet horror. Read the full interview on our website. 💻🖤

whew boy we are starting to whittle our way down to some toughhh decisions. so many great flash & poetry submissions this round!

#FF Give some ❤️ and a follow to these publications in the lit community: @necksnapmag.bsky.social @newdoorbooks.bsky.social @newedgeswordmag.bsky.social @newfeathers.bsky.social @newversenews.bsky.social @newwelshreview.bsky.social Cont ⬇️

wondering if the social fabric is irreparably damaged and society is crumbling beyond saving and the arts are a complete waste of my life or if it's just cloudy for the second day in a row

new super exciting author interview will be coming soon our website 🖤 keep an eye out and join our mailing list if you want an early announcement when it's up – this is a great one for any of you digital/Internet horror folks (*hint hint*, if you're on our IG, you already know)

litmag editors, sound off! ⬇️ we want to make sure writers hear back quickly without sacrificing our thoughtfulness, and it seems like our sub count might only go up from here -- how do we keep things moving quick for future issues? 👀

tag yourself if you're a litmag publishing xxtra-weird, internet-pilled lit fic that's grungy and grotesque, looking for some friends

Not every story is for every reader or editor or reviewer. That's why I often suggest markets for stories I pass on. It helps to read the magazine your subbing to, but write the stories you want to, and think about venues after. I used to box myself in: I'll write a "Xxxxx Story" for "Xxxxx Mag"

congrats to our EIC! ✨

we've gotten through ~100 decisions, and have ~230 to go! s/o to our readers who have been hard at work vetting all submissions. our EIC still reads every one of them and is doing this alongside his day job, so your patience & support is a blessed balm to his psyche. thank u all for that

fwiw, re: decision emails – don't sweat if you submitted early in the sub call & are still waiting! we *mostly* move chronologically starting with the earliest subs, but subs can move buckets & go through multiple rounds of reading, so it may take longer for some subs than others

exciting publication news upcoming 👀

#FF It’s Digital Nomad Day. To celebrate, give some ❤️ and a follow to these members in the lit community that begin with “N”: @necksnapmag.bsky.social @newdoorbooks.bsky.social @newedgeswordmag.bsky.social @newfeathers.bsky.social @newversenews.bsky.social @newwelshreview.bsky.social Cont ⬇️

the gurus will tell you about ““beta readers”” and “query letters”” but the truth has always been the creative writing is about crouching like a moldy little goblin over a scrap of paper and channeling unthinkable thoughts through your slobber and drool

@chillsubs.bsky.social now let's you rank magazines 👀 give us a ranking if u love us www.chillsubs.com/magazine/nec...

just discovered that we made it onto the 2025 FISH List! thanks @charliefish.bsky.social 🖤 check out the full list here and find ur new favorite litmag www.fictionontheweb.co.uk/p/fish-list....

Starting August off ready for 👻 🕯️ ✨ 🖤 🎃 with some great reads from @necksnapmag.bsky.social

a common tenebrous press W

as we wade the churning waters of the literary estuary that is our submissions inbox, here's something to tide you over: an interview between our EIC & Tennessee Hill on the Southern Gothic & her debut novel, Girls With Long Shadows! full interview ➡️ necksnapmag.com/features/

SUBS CLOSED & reading is underway! thank you to all you ghouls who submitted 🖤

LAST DAY TO SUBMIT, btw

absolutely bonkers to say this but our submissions for this issue are almost t r i p l e the subs from our last issue... y'all are popping off

your reminder that subs close Sunday night so go ahead’n bleed out of your eyes and wipe it on a word doc for us if you’re feeling raunchy this weekend

we have officially hit dOUBLE the submission count of our previous issue 👁️👄👁️ five more days to submit your goblin scrolls to our digital cave of oracles

for the record, no matter how many times it’s said and no matter how pervasive it becomes in robotspeak — you can pry my em-dashes from the crumbling dust of my skeleton fingers only after empires have fallen and language has been reinvented twice over

decisions have been/will be trickling out as we near the close of our submission period — just know, if you get rejected, that I am a mere yarn-collecting bridge troll and you have only to take the right roads to find the troll-riddle your words will be the answer to

spread some goo on a page and let us read the rorschach

Don't start at the beginning. Don't explain. Don't state the obvious unless hearing the obvious would electroshock our slimy hearts into a new heaving pulse. Don't breathe. Tell us what the panic sounds like. Don't start with a cliché unless you really plan to mangle it.

HOW TO WRITE A KILLER OPENING: THRASH AND SWEAT. BALANCE TEA CUPS IN A MOVING CAR. WHISPER. THREATEN. PLEAD. DECIPHER A MESSAGE FROM RADIO STATIC. DIG FOR GRUBS. FLING MUD. CHEW YOUR NAILS. PUT AN ANIMAL ON THE PAGE THAT WOULD DIE WITH YOU IF IT WASN’T WRITTEN DOWN.

this interview was so much fun! head over to their website to read all our EIC's thoughts about gothic and ghosts 🖤

halfway there! two more weeks to submit get those subs in by 7/27 🖤 we are officially rockin and rollin

The Smart Search List of the Day is: Fee-Free Experimental Short Stories feat. @necksnapmag.bsky.social et al. https://duotrope.com...

Good news: every clumsy embarrassing fumble forward counts towards writing

we're 10 days in and already at ~80 submissions, that's crazyyyyy keep going though

it's been like a week and we've already hit over 50% of last issue's total submissions 👀 keep 'em comin

what our EIC is reading, if you need some writing/reading inspo 🍂 + interview coming soon with author Tennessee Hill!

read this thread! and immediately after that, yank yourself out from the two corporate gearshifts you're zippered between, do a back handspring into the exfoliating slime of your humanity, and enjoy the radical act of spreading some of it on a page just for fun

subs are OPEN! 🍂 get those subs innnnn

subs open July 1. $5 honorarium for accepted writers. now accepting poetry along with our normal fiction submissions. love you all, excited to get this issue rolling 🖤

email subscribers are getting an early announcement to their inbox tomorrow morning btw so sign up if you wanna be ahead of the game

Deadline Jul 13: @fracturedlit.bsky.social Flash Fiction OPEN; win $2,000 & pub; submit 1-2 unpublished stories of 1,000 words or fewer for a $20 fee; guest judge: Gwen E. Kirby https://fracturedlit.com/2025-fractured-lit-flash-fiction-open/ HT Literistic