Heartlines Spec

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Heartlines Spec is an online speculative magazine focused on long-term friendships and relationships. It's the comfort of the known, the fierce hug of someone that knows you best.

We're looking for short fiction and poetry focused on long-term relationships: platonic, romantic, or familial. We don't want the blaze of new love or the obsession of a new friend. We want pieces that show that comfort that develops when people know each other for years.

Give us deep space, dusty frontiers, or dreamy fantasy. We want stories and poetry with strong, confident relationships amid all the sci-fi/fantasy. While we are primarily looking for stories with happy endings (yeah, yeah), we also want endings that are earned. If things get a little teary or gory, that's ok.

We are especially interested in stories featuring queer platonic relationships, ace/aro love stories, and polycules.

Thank you for your interest, we are currently closed to submissions.

The following submission types are temporarily closed:

Poetry

Writers are welcome to include up to five (5) poems in their submission. Heartlines Spec does not have any set formatting guidelines, all we ask is that files use black font on a white background.

Currently Closed to Submissions

Opens to Submissions on Wednesday, May 1, 2024 4:00 AM (UTC)

Closes to Submissions on Saturday, June 1, 2024 3:00 AM (UTC)

Opens to Submissions on Sunday, September 1, 2024 4:00 AM (UTC)

Closes to Submissions on Tuesday, October 1, 2024 3:00 AM (UTC)

Poetry (Early Period for Equity-Deserving Groups)

Writers are welcome to include up to five (5) poems in their submission. Heartlines welcomes submissions from writers of all identities. If you are comfortable, we encourage writers to indicate their intersections in their cover letter. Disclosure is not a requirement to submit, and we recognize that not all people are safe to disclose their identities. We are committed to addressing barriers and systemic discrimination faced by equity-deserving groups, which includes (but is not limited to): *Racialized people *People with disabilities *LGBTQIA+ people *Indigenous people *Women *Neurodivergent people Heartlines Spec does not have any set formatting guidelines, all we ask is that your fiction is uses black font on a white background, contains the story title and author name on the first page, and includes the word count.

Currently Closed to Submissions

Opens to Submissions on Tuesday, April 23, 2024 4:00 AM (UTC)

Closes to Submissions on Wednesday, May 1, 2024 3:00 AM (UTC)

Opens to Submissions on Saturday, August 24, 2024 4:00 AM (UTC)

Closes to Submissions on Sunday, September 1, 2024 3:00 AM (UTC)

Short Fiction

Heartlines Spec does not have any set formatting guidelines, all we ask is that your fiction is uses black font on a white background, contains the story title and author name on the first page, and includes the word count.

Currently Closed to Submissions

Opens to Submissions on Wednesday, May 1, 2024 4:00 AM (UTC)

Closes to Submissions on Saturday, June 1, 2024 3:00 AM (UTC)

Opens to Submissions on Sunday, September 1, 2024 4:00 AM (UTC)

Closes to Submissions on Tuesday, October 1, 2024 3:00 AM (UTC)

Short Fiction (Early Period for Equity-Deserving Groups)

Heartlines welcomes submissions from writers of all identities. If you are comfortable, we encourage writers to indicate their intersections in their cover letter. Disclosure is not a requirement to submit, and we recognize that not all people are safe to disclose their identities. We are committed to addressing barriers and systemic discrimination faced by equity-deserving groups, which includes (but is not limited to): *Racialized people *People with disabilities *LGBTQIA+ people *Indigenous people *Women *Neurodivergent people Heartlines Spec does not have any set formatting guidelines, all we ask is that your fiction is uses black font on a white background, contains the story title and author name on the first page, and includes the word count.

Currently Closed to Submissions

Opens to Submissions on Tuesday, April 23, 2024 4:00 AM (UTC)

Closes to Submissions on Wednesday, May 1, 2024 3:00 AM (UTC)

Opens to Submissions on Saturday, August 24, 2024 4:00 AM (UTC)

Closes to Submissions on Sunday, September 1, 2024 3:00 AM (UTC)

Short Fiction (Extended Edition for Canadians/Turtle Island Residents)

Since Heartlines Spec is primarily a Canadian magazine, we're looking to feature writers identifying as being from Canada/Turtle Island. This includes expats, refugees and displaced people living in Canada, new immigrants, and people who refuse/resist Canadian Identity. Heartlines welcomes submissions from writers of all identities. If you are comfortable, we encourage writers to indicate their intersections in their cover letter. Disclosure is not a requirement to submit, and we recognize that not all people are safe to disclose their identities. Heartlines Spec does not have any set formatting guidelines, all we ask is that your fiction is uses black font on a white background, contains the story title and author name on the first page, and includes the word count.

Currently Closed to Submissions