Skip to main content

Story #1 Handout

ENG 3373:

Story #1 Assignment

 

THE THIRD FLOOR MAGAZINE is currently open for submissions until September 21st by midnight. We publish speculative fiction stories, which we define as anything that falls into or between the genres of fantasy, science-fiction, horror, and all of their associate subgenres (dystopian, urban fantasy, steampunk, slipstream, fabulism, etc.). We have a firm limit of 5,000 words, but prefer stories between 2,000 and 4,000 words, since that allows space to publish more stories. For reference, that is anywhere from about 5 to 15 pages.

Please submit only one story at a time, and let us know if this is a simultaneous submission. No reprints, please. When you submit your story, please format according to the Schunn manuscript guidelines, but keep all submissions ANONYMOUS (do not put your name anywhere on the document).

Include a COVER LETTER in your e-mail with the title and genre of your story, as well as a short bio and any previous publications. We should respond to your story within a week, but please don’t hesitate to e-mail us if you haven’t heard from us after that time.

Though we are a non-paying market, we do offer 20 points for each submitted story, as well as individual conferences in the spacious double office located in Horace Mann 348. Conferences will be scheduled for the Week of September 28th and there will be a sign-up sheet in your English 3373 class, so stay tuned!

SUBMIT YOUR STORIES ON OR BEFORE SEPTEMBER 21st TO jgrasso@ecok.edu.

ALSO: READER RESPONSES

All students in class will act as ‘readers’ for Third Floor Magazine, which means you will review one story and write brief editorial comments for the head editor, which can help them decide whether to accept or reject the story for publication. We will discuss guidelines for what to look for in stories and how to give useful, constructive feedback. Each Reader Report (you will do one for each story submission) is worth 10 points, and must be turned in time for me to give the feedback to each student during their conference on the week of September 28th. More information about this coming soon!

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Examples of Cover Letters and Manuscript Format (for Story #1)

  SAMPLE COVER LETER   Dear Connor, Jessika, Kara, or Other Editor, (you can find the editors' names on the website)  Please accept my story science-fiction story, "The Real Mona Lisa," for consideration in a future issue of Chatterbox Literary. The story is 6,051 words and has not been submitted elsewhere or published previously. (always give the genre, title, word count, and if you're sending it to other publications at the same time).  I am a professor of English at a small university in Oklahoma, where I teach classes in writing (mostly to people who hate writing), British literature, and the Humanities. My stories have most recently appeared in After Dinner Conversation, Allegory, and The Lorelei Signal. (if you don't have any publications, you can just leave this blank, or add more of your bio--something colorful and interesting without being too cute)  Thank you, Joshua Grasso SAMPLE MANUSCRIPT FORMAT Joshua Grasso      ...
Post a Comment
Read more

For Monday: Best American SF/F, Forward and Introduction

For Monday's class, read the Forward by John Joseph Adams, and the brief Introduction by the guest editor (and famous author) Nnedi Okorafor. These are both pretty short and are NOT stories, but they explain two important things: * How stories are chosen for a genre publication like this one: both where the stories come from and what the criteria for choosing them are * What genre means to both writers, and especially Okorafor, who writes speculative fiction. We also get an insight into how she markets her work, and whether or not genre distinctions are all that important to her.  I won't give you any questions or quizzes over this reading, but we will talk about it in detail on Monday, and some of these ideas may factor into future writings in one way or another.  
Post a Comment
Read more

Welcome to the Course! Now Get Writing...

Welcome to the blog site for our Fall 2026 Creative Writing: Genre course, focusing on writing what is popularly known as "speculative fiction," which comprises genres such as science-fiction, fantasy, horror, mystery, and their various subgenres. The goal of this class is to allow you to experiment with different styles and approaches to writing fiction, using the lens of the fantastic and the bizarre. Don't worry if you've never done this before, or if you don't even read sci-fi or fantasy literature--you don't need to! The point of this class, as in most college classes, is to grow, experiment, and have fun while doing so.  The guilding quote for this class, borrowed from the great speculative fiction writer, Ursula K. Le Guin is:  “The artist deals with what cannot be said in words. The artist whose medium is fiction does this in words . The [writer] says in words what cannot be said in words” (Ursula K. LeGuin, Introduction to The Left Hand of Darkness )....
Post a Comment
Read more