Space Squid

About

Space Squid is an award-winning hybrid publication of hand-scrubbed scifi, fantasy, and humor. Surely you've seen the 'zine at your local zine superstore? Of course you were amazed at our snarky, outrageous stories, comix, and art. We've published work from Bruce Sterling (father of cyberpunk), Chris Roberson (Clockwork Storybook, Superman, iZombie), Jay Lake (John W. Campbell Award winner), Jennifer Pelland (Nebula nominee), Tony Millionaire (Maakies) and a lot of other cool people.

Want more insight into the editors' preferences? Read our interview with the editor(s).

Country of Publication & Year Established

United States

Established in 2005

Publication Medium & Frequency

Electronic Publication Electronic Publication: Unknown publication frequency

AI Policy

Human-created work only; no AI use allowed

405 members set this magazine as a Favorite.

Statistics Synopsis

Faster: Space Squid's overall average response time is faster than most magazines.
More Challenging: Space Squid's overall acceptance rate is lower than most magazines.
Less Responsive: Space Squid's overall rate of non-response is higher than most magazines.

Learn more about our statistics

Collapse section Fiction Open

Audience:

Open to a broad Audience.

Genres:

Fantasy Open to all/most Subgenres, including: Bizarro, Magic Realism, Slipstream, Weird/New Weird
Horror Open to all/most Subgenres, including: Bizarro, Weird/New Weird
Science Fiction Open to all/most Subgenres, including: Bizarro, Slipstream, Space Opera, Weird/New Weird

Lengths:

Flash Fiction: 750 - 1,000 words.
Short Story: 1,000 - 5,000 words.

Styles:

Open to all/most Styles, including: Humorous, Mainstream.

Topics:

Open to all/most Topics.

Payment:

Token payment (under 1 US cent per word) Token payment. Details: USD $5.

Submissions:

Method: Submission manager.
Reprints: Reprints are allowed.
Simultaneous submissions: Simultaneous submissions are allowed.
Media: Text.

Collapse section Visual Art Open

Audience:

Open to a broad Audience.

Lengths:

Graphic Narrative: No page limits known.

Art Media:

Cartoon/Comic strip.

Art Styles:

Open to all/most Art Styles.

Topics:

Open to all/most Topics.

Payment:

Token payment (under US$10 per piece) Token payment. Details: USD $5.

Submissions:

Method: Submission manager.
Reprints: Reprints are allowed.
Simultaneous submissions: Simultaneous submissions are allowed.
Media: Image.

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

Recent cover image or website screenshot for Space Squid

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Link to Duotrope

Space Squid 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.

Filter:

Group by submission

Include outliers

Accuracy

We have received 44 reports from 35 different members within the past 12 months, not including pending responses (see below). The more responses reported, the more accurate the information.

Days Reported

1 min | 48.0 mean avg | 15.0 median | 270 max days (67.0 std dev)

Responses

88.63 %

Acceptances:

2.27 % of submissions accepted (21.0 avg. days per acceptance) | 2.86 % of submitters accepted

Rejections:

86.36 % (39.7 avg. days per rejection) | 26.3 % personal, 47.4 % form, 26.3 % unspecified | 2.3 % rewrite requests

Non-Responses

9.09 %

Lost/Returned:

Never Responded:

9.09 % (166.5 avg. days before reporting submissions as never responded)

Withdrawals

2.27 % (2.0 avg. days per withdrawal)

Pending

5 responses are pending (1 min | 50.6 mean avg | 45.0 median | 107 max days waiting | 252.1 std dev) from 4 different members

Other Information

The editors will try to make a decision within 45 days. (38.6 % of the responses reported to us for this listing have taken longer than 45 days.)
Do not query on the status of your submission before 90 days have passed.
Most submissions are acknowledged on the same day.
Most recent response reported was received on 05 Sep 2026.
Responses have been received for submissions sent as recently as 28 Aug 2026.
Date compiled: 12 Sep 2026 06:48 UTC (19 minutes ago).
View report of recent responses from this project

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Before Submitting

We cannot guarantee that the information on this page is correct. It is not unusual for publications to evolve or close without notice. We do our best to keep up, but it isn't always possible. Duotrope listings do not imply endorsement or recommendation of the project being listed. Before submitting, you should use your own judgment to determine whether the project meets your standards.

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.
Be professional, patient, and persistent.

Dates

Last Updated: 14 Jun 2026

We check their guidelines for changes every four weeks, and we audit the listing twice a year.