The Journal of Unlikely Entomology is a new online literary magazine for fiction that delves into the world of things that creep and crawl and explores the limit of what it means to be human. The debut issue went live a few days ago. The Journal will publish issues twice yearly, with Issue Two expected to appear in November. The magazine is edited by Bernie Mojzes and A.C. Wise. The Art Director is Linda Saboe.
The tables of contents for the issue includes:
“Arachne” by J.M. McDermott (illustrated by Astrid Budi)
“Love in the Absence of Mosquitoes” by Mari Ness (illustrated by Lynnette Shelley)
“So Speaketh the Trauma Gods” by John Medaille (illustrated by Linda Saboe)
“Plague of Locusts” by Sylvia Spruck Wrigley (illustrated by Linda Saboe)
“Museum Beetles” by Simon Kewin (illustrated by Seth Fitts)
“They Wait” by Steve Barber (illustrated by Bryan Prindiville)
“The Cowboy, the Horse, and the Scorpion” by Nathaniel Lee (illustrated by Martin Koza)
The featured artist is Lynnette Shelley.
The Journal of Unlikely Entomology is a paying market, and is currently open for submission. Guidelines can be found here. What they’re looking for is “Beautifully written fiction, characters that grab us by the throats and refuse to let go until their stories have been told, worlds that draw us in and demand to be explored… and bugs. Genre isn’t particularly important to us—speculative, mainstream, slipstream, and the unclassifiable tales in between—we’ll read anything; all we ask is that something pertaining to bugs is integral or significant in your story. The bug element can be literal or metaphorical, hallucinatory or behavioral or metaphysical, or any combination thereof. Note, our definition of bugs is flexible and includes, but is not limited to: Insects, arachnids, scorpions, lobsters, BEMs of pulp science fiction fame, centipedes, trilobites and were-ladybugs—basically pretty much anything with bug-like qualities: multiple legs, stingers, feelers, or an exo-skeleton. Not quite sure what we’re talking about? Think of The Metamorphosis, Ender’s Game, Angels and Insects, Naked Lunch, A Recipe for Bees, District 9, and Eight Legged Freaks. Basically, think bugs, and let your imagination run wild. There are no barriers as to levels of profanity, gore, or sexuality allowed, but be sure to use them well if you do use them.” They’re paying one cent per word for stories up to 5,000 words, $50 flat for anything longer. They’re also looking for art, paying $5 per piece.