Dark City Soul Magazine is a tribute to a literary genre that has slowly faded away--crime fiction. These days, I am ashamed to say, there just aren't many places to read crime fiction online and even in print anymore. While I enjoy a good horror story or science fiction story like everyone else, I have become increasingly unenthused with the genres. How many times do we have to read about lovelorn teenage vampires, zombies and extra terrestrial beings? The internet is saturated with these kinds of stories, and there just isn't a high demand for crime fiction.

 

Thus Dark City Soul Magazine.

 

I am primarily interested in flash fiction stories about crime--the heart, the soul, the seedy underbelly--of the criminal underworld. 

 

I'm going to pay you for these stories--but since this is a new undertaking and mostly a passion project it's not going to be a whole lot. I pay five dollars per flash fiction story. Many magazines and zines have differing views as to what constitutes flash fiction. I believe anything over 1000 words is no longer flash fiction; it is a short story. The money will be paid via Paypal before the story is published at Dark City Soul. You own all rights to your story but you must agree not to have it published anywhere else for a year. 

 

Very soon, I plan on creating a version of print anthologies of many of the stories contained herein. Unfortunately, since this is a very experimental project, I can't compensate you monetarily for the print version. I can, however, compensate each author with a copy of the magazine his/her story is published in. So you'll be getting five dollars for your story being published online and--if your story is chosen for inclusion--a free copy of Dark City Soul to show off to your family and friends.

 

Being a writer myself I understand the importance of being able to submit stories to magazines simultaneously, so simultaneous submissions are accepted. Just be sure to send me a note and tell me if your story has been accepted elsewhere. Multiple submissions are fine as well but please limit them to about three a month. E-mail the flash fiction to jackbristow28@gmail.com. Please send it this way: The title. The word count. An about the author. And then the story.

 

I look forward to reading your submissions. Let's bring the crime fiction genre back!

 

Sincerely,

Jack Bristow

​