The Monstrous & The Divine

Read about how submissions are going—including an updated story wish list—on Nicole Field’s The Divine Blog!

Eligibility Criteria Overview:

  • OPEN from May 1, 2026 to July 31, 2026 for short fiction, flash fiction, and poetry.

  • Authors must be female identifying or non-binary. Trans women are women.

  • Goddesses and Monsters need to be from existing mythologies and pantheons, not ones you made up.

  • Think outside the Greek! Rethink mythology in non-classical settings.

“This is not a time for men,” Inanna says from her place at the head of the table, in the seventh-storey boardroom where their number are tasked with decreeing fate.

“Inanna.” Not for the first time, Enlil gives off patronising patience. “Are you sure about that? I think you might not have considered the optics—”

The goddess of war and love’s gaze only softens after glancing in the direction of her ever-devoted handmaiden. Before that, its cold, quelling edge brings abrupt silence to Enlil and all masculine murmurs.

“It is time now for the women to speak.”

Submissions should focus on Sapphic goddesses and monsters from existing mythologies as you’ve not seen them before. Bring them down from the heavens and out of the caves. While goddesses and monsters aren’t like us, they do still crave the company of ones who love, fear and worship them. Not necessarily in that order. 

Reminiscent of Seanan McGuire’s October Daye, Laini Taylor’s Daughter of Smoke & Bone, Bryan Fuller’s American Gods, or the work of Nnedi Okorafor, Nghi Vo, or Francesca Lia Block, submissions for this anthology should be:

  • gritty

  • neon vivid

  • whimsical

  • character-driven

  • moody/atmospheric

  • offering social/political commentary, or

  • any combination of the above

Wrest your Sapphic goddesses and mythic monsters from traditional settings (though many may still possess paraphernalia of previous glory or destruction). They’ll doubtless have feelings about that, for good or ill. 

Send us the monsters of magical realism, and goddesses struggling to get by in a world they no longer recognise. Show us contemporary immortal immigrant families settling in the new world, divinities struggling with the inexorable slog of time or reincarnation. Write of constellation-based goddesses and monsters who have made their homes among the stars after finding no welcome on Earth.

Be bold! Sapphic urban fantasy, political fantasy, magical realism, sci-fi of ALL kinds, contemporary fantasy, weird fiction, and/or gender-bent takes are all welcome. Just make it speculative! Special consideration will be given to mythologies outside Greek and Roman (though interesting takes on these are still welcome).

We are interested in goddesses and mythic monsters hailing from all cultures and backgrounds. We have a FAQ here!

Submission Guidelines

  • DOs

    • We eagerly embrace inclusion and intersectionality where sapphics are any of asexual, polyamorous, kinky, transgender, people of colour, disabled, anything else!

    • The anthology is intended for mature readers, and we encourage mature main characters.

    DO NOTs

    • This is not a call for Goddesses Gone Wild. Please no erotica/porn.

    • No traditional mythic settings. Historical fiction should not be set in ancient times. We want you to push yourself!

    • No Young Adult please.

    • Though religion and mythology are interrelated, submissions must be speculative fiction, not religious commentary.

    • Don’t make up your own monsters. We’re looking for monsters that already exist in mythology, repurposed.

    Any questions about theme, please check our FAQs, and if the answer isn’t there, email submissions (@) scyllapublishing.com and we will answer them happily.

    • Authors must be female identifying or non-binary. Trans women are women.

    • The main character/s must be sapphic/wlw.

    • Stories must be between 2,500 and 5,000 words.

    • Flash fiction and poetry up to 1000 words.

    • AI generated stories will be immediately rejected. Assisted AI that enables disabled writers to participate, such as voice-to-text software, is acceptable.

    • Simultaneous submissions allowed. Please notify us if your work is accepted elsewhere.

    • Up to two (2) submissions per author. If you wish to do multiple subs, do them via the website form as Duosuma will restrict you to only one.

    • We will consider reprints clearly suited to the theme. Reprints must credit the original market.

    • Stories must be written in English. Translations are absolutely acceptable. We will credit the original writer and the translator.

    • Submit your stories as a Word (.docx) or RTF format document.

    • Use a clear font such as Times New Roman, Arial, or Garamond. Font size should be 12-point, left aligned.

    • Double-space the entire manuscript to improve readability.

    • Use 2.75cm (or 1-inch) margins on all sides.

    • Indent the first line of each paragraph. Avoid adding extra spaces between paragraphs.

    • Include page numbers in the header or footer, starting on the first page.

    • Include your name, country of residence, story title, and approx word count on front page.

    • Use either a centered hashtag (#) or a blank line to indicate scene breaks.

    • Avoid elaborate formatting, headers, footers, or decorative fonts that can distract or complicate reading.

    We’re not going to reject on formatting grounds alone, but please make it easy on us :)

  • The submissions window is May 1, 2026 (9am AEDT) to July 31, 2026 (5pm AEDT).

    DUOSUMA: Submit here

    Scylla submission form

    • Previously unpublished (original) stories are $0.10 (AUD) per word, max of $400 (AUD) per story.

    • Reprints capped at $100 (AUD) per story.

    • We use Paypal for payment and will cover all fees. If you’re not Australian there’ll be some foreign exchange differences.

    • Your author bio may include a promo blurb for other works, as well as a URL to your author (or small press) website.

    • You will receive an eBook copy of the anthology.

    • We are reviewing submissions as they are received, turnaround will likely be 6-8 weeks. That being said, if your story is submitted early and we are holding it for consideration, it’ll be longer.

    • We expect large numbers to arrive close to the end date and it’ll take us a few weeks to sort through it.

    • Target publication date is Feb/March 2027.