Murky Depths

Permanently Closed: This project is permanently closed to submissions. We provide the following information as an archive.

About

Murky Depths is rocking the speculative fiction world with its confounding mix of art and literature in a graphic-novel-style package. Within the glossy laminated cover are top quality speculative fiction stories with sprinklings of horror and fantasy that push the boundaries of science fiction. Each story is complimented with its own unique artwork. Cutting edge graphic stories, articles across the genres, interviews, and mixed disciplines add authority, humour and maybe a little controversy. Can you afford to pass on this?

Country of Publication

United Kingdom

Publication Medium & Frequency

Print Publication Print Publication: Published 4 x per year

Collapse section Fiction Closed

We are looking for stories (and poems) of dark speculative fiction. This includes elements of science fiction (not so much pure science or space opera), fantasy (fantastic as opposed to sword and sorcery) and horror (less gore, more fear), or any combination, that stand out from the norm; something a little different or something familiar with a different slant that someone who doesn't necessarily like any of the above genres might enjoy. Within those genres we don't mind alternative histories, crime and humour, so long as the latter works well. We like to see the darker side of humanity exposed with candor and honesty, but this needs to be balanced with an underlying faith in human nature - naivety if you like.

Audience:

Unknown

Genres:

Fantasy Open to all/most Subgenres, including: Cross-Genre, Urban Fantasy, excluding Shapeshifter, Sword & Sorcery, Vampire
Horror Open to all/most Subgenres, including: Cross-Genre, Psychological, excluding Extreme Horror, Shapeshifter, Vampire
Science Fiction Open to all/most Subgenres, including: Cross-Genre, excluding Space Opera

Lengths:

Flash Fiction: 500 - 1,000 words.
Short Story: 1,000 - 7,500 words.
Novelette: 7,500 - 10,000 words.

Styles:

Open to all/most Styles, including: Dark.

Topics:

None found.

Payment:

Token payment (under 1 US cent per word) Token payment (under 1 US cent per word).
Note: We list broad pay categories rather than payment specifics. Check with the publisher for details.

Submissions:

Method: Electronic submissions.
Reprints: Reprints are NOT allowed.
Simultaneous submissions: Unknown.
Media: Text.

Collapse section Poetry Closed

We mainly take short stories but will accept poems (preferably narrative rather than lyrical) if they tell a story within the above genres.

Audience:

Unknown

Genres:

Lengths:

Poem: Up to 50 lines.

Poetry Forms:

Narrative poetry.

Styles:

Open to all/most Styles, including: Dark.

Topics:

None found.

Payment:

Token payment (under US$5 per poem) Token payment (under US$5 per poem).
Note: We list broad pay categories rather than payment specifics. Check with the publisher for details.

Submissions:

Method: Electronic submissions.
Reprints: Reprints are NOT allowed.
Simultaneous submissions: Unknown.
Media: Text.

Always check guidelines for details and restrictions. If you aren't familiar with these terms, see our glossary.

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Murky Depths Submission Statistics

The statistics in this section are compiled from submission reports sent to us through our submission tracker. They are not provided by the publication's editors/staff or by Duotrope's admins. Information in this section is updated a few times per day. Learn more about the statistics.

This listing is inactive and does not have any submission reports for the past 12 months.

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Before Submitting

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Always read the full guidelines provided by the publisher.
Try to read at least one previous publication to get a better idea of what the editor would like to see.
Unless the publisher's guidelines state otherwise, always use industry standard manuscript formatting.
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Dates

Last Updated: 22 May 2026