HEXFILED publishes science fiction and speculative fiction that takes the boundary between organism and machine seriously—not as a metaphor to exploit, but as a genuine site of inquiry. We are drawn to work that is strange without being obscure, rigorous without being cold.
Our editorial sensibility leans toward stories where the speculative element is load-bearing: where removing the SF conceit would collapse the story. We love biological SF, ecological futures, post-human consciousness, weird and slipstream fiction, military SF, and stories where the science is imagined carefully even if it isn't real. We are less interested in chosen-one narratives and portal fantasy.
We accept work in the following categories:
Work falling outside these ranges will be returned unread. If you are unsure whether your piece fits, query first at submissions@hexfiled.com.
We follow Shunn Standard Manuscript Format for prose. Poetry may be submitted in your preferred house style. Please include:
#Simultaneous submissions are permitted. Please withdraw immediately if accepted elsewhere. We accept one prose submission and one poetry submission per reading period, per author. Do not submit the same piece to multiple categories.
We aim to respond to all submissions within 14 days. We do not send form acceptances or rejections—every response is written personally for your submission. If you have not heard from us after 21 days, please query via email with your submission date and title.
Authors retain all rights to their work. By submitting, you grant HEXFILED first world English publication rights for a period of 90 days from the date of publication. After this window, you are free to republish elsewhere; we ask that you credit HEXFILED as the original publisher. We accept reprints on a case-by-case basis—please indicate in your cover letter if you are submitting a reprint, and include the original publication details.
Accepted works may be lightly copyedited for house style. Any changes beyond minor corrections, including structural or substantive edits, will be shared with you for review and approval before publication. We do not make significant revisions without the author's agreement.
HEXFILED is currently a non-paying market. It is a new, independent magazine run by one editor, and we want to be upfront about that. We do not offer payment at this time. The goal is to grow into a paying market, and that will be announced clearly when it happens.
What we do offer: careful, attentive reading; detailed personalised feedback on request; and publication in a magazine that takes the work seriously.
A HEXFILED Serialized Sub-Issue · Learn more →
HEXFILED publishes The Parallel Biome, a serialized sub-issue featuring recovered evidence from alternate or parallel timelines.
We're seeking archival artifacts: field reports, intercepted transmissions, recovered documents, environmental samples, technical schematics, medical records, surveillance footage transcripts, or any other "evidence" from worlds beyond ours.
Format: 1,000–3,000 words. Must read like recovered documentation, not traditional narrative fiction, for full immersion. Visual elements (diagrams, stamps, letterheads) encouraged but not required.
Worldbuilding: Your parallel world should feel lived-in. We want verisimilitude — bureaucratic language, institutional aesthetics, specific details that make the world feel real. It can be a single entry or a serialized one. For serialization, we recommend you send us at least three entries, so we can get a better sense of your world.
Examples
Submit Parallel Biome entries to submissions@hexfiled.com with "PARALLEL BIOME" in the subject line. Include your world name or timeline designation if you have one.
HEXFILED does not accept work generated in whole or in part by artificial intelligence language models or AI writing tools. This applies to prose, poetry, essays, and all other submitted categories. By submitting, you confirm that the work is entirely your own original writing.
We take this seriously and will withdraw acceptance if AI generation is discovered after the fact.
Send your submission directly to submissions@hexfiled.com. Please include your manuscript as an attachment (.doc, .docx, or .rtf) and a brief cover letter in the body of the email: your name, title, category, word count, and a short publication history if you have one (not required).
HEXFILED is listed on The Submission Grinder. You can track your submission and find us alongside other markets there.
"We read everything. We take risks on strange, difficult work. We are not looking for the safest version of your idea—we are looking for the one that kept you up at night."
— The Editor
Submissions:
submissions@hexfiled.com
General & editorial:
editor@hexfiled.com
Curiosities & other:
curiosities@hexfiled.com
General enquiries:
hexfiled@gmail.com