Since its inception, Tor.com has prided itself on the strength of its original short fiction. For a long time our unsolicited submissions formed the backbone of our catalog. We’ve found some of our favorite, most innovative, and most surprising stories through slush. However, in recent years we’ve found that more and more of our stories have been coming to us from different sources. As more of our stories are being brought in by consulting editors, fewer slots on our schedule can be filled by submitted stories. As such it’s time for a change.
On January 7th Tor.com will close its short fiction submissions system. Our dedicated editors and readers will read through and respond to everything that is submitted up to that point, but we do not plan to reopen in the foreseeable future. We are thankful to the authors who submitted stories to us, and to the readers who read those stories, always looking for the next great undiscovered work.
How sad! Well, I have my Silver HM from Q4 V32 in their submission process, so I've got one shot at a Tor publication.
Just thought I'd let everyone know. If you have a story you've been wanting to submit to them, it's now or never!
Contest history: R, R, SHM, R, HM, R, R
1 very hopeful: V34 Q2
"Remember: Plot is no more than footprints left in the snow after your characters have run by on their way to incredible destinations." ~ Ray Bradbury
Tor.com is closing to unsolicited short fiction submissions only, stories eight thousand words or less. They remain open for unsolicited novella-length fiction submissions. They rarely published short work from their unsolicited submission deluge anyway.
The policy change reflects the actual state of the digest for most of its operation. More reprints, more solicited submissions, more of a fandom multimedia and lifestyle slick than actual prose digest, Tor.com's change is only a narrower business model definition of the company slick as it actually is and has been since 2008 inception. Slick: glossy magazine.
At a reported 1.5 million copy per month circulation, Tor.com fits into the second tier magazine marketplace along with similar lifestyle content slicks The New Yorker Magazine and Highlights for Children. First tier: Readers Digest. The former two, though, are open for unsolicited submissions. The Digest, generally not open for other than brief and narrowly construed lifestyle anecdotes.
Tor and Forge Books, siblings of Tor.com, remain open to unsolicited novel submissions.
That's a good point, Orbivillein.
Although the idea that Tor.com is even remotely similar to Highlights makes me laugh. (Even though I get what you mean, and agree with you.)
Stewart C Baker - 1st place, Q2 V32
My contest history: Semi-finalist, R, HM, R, R, HM, HM, R, R, R, R, HM, R, R, R, R, Winner
