Vile Things zine submission guidelines
This guide is available in PDF form upon request, just shoot us an email!
What you can submit to this zine:
You may submit writing up to around 3000 words, though less is completely fine. Average submission expected to be around 1500 words. You may write smutty horror fiction, gothic poetry, or you may write about a real life kink scene (it's up to you to keep your playmates safe! Make sure that the information of participants other than yourself is adequately anonymised). The subject line for these should be "Writing submission" and a name/identifier.
You may submit art or photography in greyscale or colour (please use cmyk formatting for digital art!). All photography subjects must be 18 years or older and participants must consent to their photograph being shared. The subject line for these should be "Image submission" and a name/identifier.
You may submit photographs of only your own body parts for our anonymous back cover collage. The subject line for these should be "Body part submission" and a name/identifier.
You may submit a letter to the editor to chat about whatever you want regarding this project—usually used to comment on content from previous issues. The subject line for these should be "Letter to the editor" and a name/identifier.
Note: Identifiers used in subject lines will be used for internal organising purposes only, not published in the zine!
This is a space for horror smut & dark fetish above anything else. We invite the gross, gothic, gorey corners of your mind to unfold in good company. Fictionalised taboo content which is welcome here includes but is not limited to:
Kidnapping, abduction, stalking
Coercion, manipulation, abuse
Dubcon, rape, molestation
Death, snuff, necrophilia
Incest, bestiality, power dynamics
Transformation, mind control, dollification
Body modification, sharps, scarification
Gender play, orientation play, blurplay (system kink)
Bodily fluids, scent, mess
If you have something nasty that's not on this list, send it in. The worst we'll do is say no, but we might love it! We prioritise erotic depiction of marginalised groups as expressed by people from those groups.
Okay, but some limits here. Everything that makes it into this zine is up to our discretion in the end, but here's some general stuff we won't publish:
Cop, Nazi, MAGA or white supremacy kinks
Intentional weight loss/starvation kinks
Depictions of genuine assault or photographs of nonconsenting individuals
Heavy/extreme ageplay [ageplay or age gaps are welcome as a layer on a piece, but preferably not as the main focus]
Fanfiction [characters you have developed out of a fan concept are fine, but if I need the context of a film or book to understand your piece properly it doesn't belong here]
Off-theme [the theme is: horror, smut. We are generous with our interpretations of both, but not to the point of incoherence]
Dickheadery [don't use this zine as a platform to harass a person, group, or type-of-person]
We're pretty open to a lot of things. Don't make me add to this list :D
Or, what info should I send with my submission? You should of course send a file containing your submission, whether that's a PDF with your writing in it or a PNG with your art. You're welcome to scan something physical or photograph a sculpture, we'll do our best to fit it into the zine—format isn't a huge deal, but something my computer can read is necessary. Each page of the zine will be half an A4 page in size, so bear this in mind regarding how much detail will be seen by the viewer. [If there is interest, we may publish a large-print version of the zine—let us know!]
With every submission email, we need your written confirmation that you understand that this zine will be published both physically and online, and that you (and any participating parties, such as photography subjects) consent to have your work published in this way. This consent can be revoked at any time prior to publication via email.
Please let us know if there are any important stylistic choices present in your piece we might not think to keep such as font, colour, etc. While we will be trying to edit the zine into something cohesive, we'll do our best to showcase your artistic vision! We will not edit grammar or spelling of submissions unless requested, though we are absolutely happy to do so for anyone who wants a proofreader.
Part of the curation of this zine will involve the notation of up to 10 content "tags" per written submission to help a reader decide if a piece might not be for them. A tag is a word or phrase which describes an aspect of your piece—"bondage" "wolves" and "feet" are all tags which might apply to different content. Please feel free to suggest your own tags for your submissions.
You are welcome to send multiple submissions in multiple categories. You are welcome to submit writing or comics with intent for serialisation—we'd love to have ongoing pieces across multiple zines. You are welcome to submit pieces which have been published elsewhere. You are welcome to submit multiple different pieces to be displayed next to each other.
We do not guarantee publication to anybody on the basis of prior publication or social cache. A reply to your submission is only guaranteed if it is accepted. We may hold your submission for use in a future volume of Vile Things—please make us aware if you do not wish for us to do so.
You are welcome to submit further biography alongside your piece & we'll do our best to fit it in, but none of these details are necessary—if you're worried about being identified please just don't give details! The following are examples of things you might share with the audience:
Submission title (absolutely anything)
Submission details (description, content notes?)
Name/pronouns (whatever you want!)
Area (as vague as you like!)
Website (is there somewhere readers can find your work?)
Additional notes (anything you'd like to add?)
Note: Submissions to the back cover collage will be published with no biography details as the collage is intended to be anonymous.
Accepted participants will recieve an email response prior to publication with details. Participants will recieve a digital copy of the zine (incl. a print formatted version), as well as a physical copy if they'd like (though I'm not forcing anyone to share their address). That's it! Then you get to say "look at me, I'm published in a zine!" and hope to hell your friends know what that means.
Stay updated with the latest zine drops and submission calls. We we will never spam you! In the age of social media, we simply don't trust that we won't get our accounts nuked constantly. This is the best way to stay connected.
