Apex Books & Apex Magazine

Pull up a cozy mug of something warm, or a tall iced glass of something cool if you’re one of our southern readers, and get comfortable – this is a big one! We’ve got tons happening that we’re excited to share. In addition to book releases, sales, submissions closing, and new team members, we’re getting ready to migrate and update our websites to a brand new platform! We’re also putting together an annual report on publication stats, demographics, and big changes – watch for that in early December.

Let’s crack open the coffin and see what’s rising.

Issue 147

Issue 147 of Apex Magazine continues to release on the website. Original fiction by Rachel Bolton, Rachael Severino, Danny Cherry Jr, Avra Margariti, Garrett Ashley, flash fiction by Parker M. O’Neill and Juniper White, reprints from Danian Darrell Jerry and DaVaun Sanders, essays from Robert V.S. Redick and Zohair, with our regular nonfiction from AC Wise, plus an excerpt from the new release Island of the Dead by Brian Keene and two book reviews.

The cover art is by Asya Yordanova, who has done Apex covers in the past.

Letters from Nowhere by Asya Yordanova 

Snap Judgment Episode 12 with special guest Sloane Leong Rescheduled

Every quarter, industry professionals Lesley Conner, Rebecca E Treasure, and a special guest offer live feedback on the first pages of anonymous submissions, which are read aloud by our brilliant host and narrator, Aly Grauer. We are pleased to announce that our special guest editor for this event is Sloane Leong!

Due to an illness on the team, Snap Judgment 12 was canceled and will be rescheduled as soon as possible. Watch our social media for updates!

New Social Media Manager

We had to say goodbye to the incredible Arie Kushner as our social media manager due to promotion and girlbossing at her day job. But, lucky us, we get to welcome the wonderful Ori Whipple to the team, stepping into Arie’s shoes without missing a beat.

Ori Whipple is a social media manager and avid reader with three years of experience supporting online communities for independent artists. Her professional interests include community-building, platforming underrepresented creatives, and promoting engagement with the arts and literature. When not logged into Instagram, Ori can also be found working as a comic book colorist and writing horror novels.

Welcome Ori!

Coming Soon: ChloroPhilia by Cristina Jurado

Kirmen is different from the other inhabitants of the Cloister, whose walls protect them all from the endless storm ravaging Earth. As a result of the Doctor’s cruel experiments, his physical form is gradually evolving into something better fit for survival in the world outside.

Kirmen worries about becoming a pariah, an outcast among the other denizens of the domes. But his desire for affection and acceptance, and his humanity, fade away as the Doctor’s treatments progress. What will happen when the metamorphosis is complete? What will be left of Kirmen and the group of survivors that he knows and loves?

In English for the first time (translated by Sue Burke), ChloroPhilia, an Ignotus Award-nominated novella by Cristina Jurado, is a strange coming-of-age story while addressing life after an environmental disaster, collective madness, and sacrifices made for the greater good.

Apex Book Company Black Friday Sale

Apex Book Company is holding our annual sale from November 29th to December 2nd (Black Friday to Cyber Monday). All of our novels, anthologies, and collections are 25% off, and three random buyers will win ARCs of the upcoming Apex Books title by Cristina Jurado, ChloroPhilia. Every order comes with a free Apex alien head enamel 1 inch pin and an Apex Magazine bar coaster (printed on medium-weight 60 pt. coaster board).

Closing to General Submissions

Apex will be open to general submissions through the end of November. Our regular submission guidelines are available here. We will close at midnight Eastern November 30th and re-open sometime next year. Until we finish reading all this year’s submissions, we won’t have a specific date.

Breath of Life by LH Moore

Preorders are open for Breath of Life by author and poet LH Moore! 

Breath of Life is a collection of the works of author and poet LH Moore, whose history- and Afrofuturism-inspired speculative short fiction, poetry, and essays move between and blur the genres from horror to science fiction to fantasy. With themes of family and identity, rooted solidly in history and imagining the unknown—both here on Earth and beyond—Breath of Life is an exploration of the unexpected.

Writer, poet and historian LH Moore’s Afrofuturism- and history-inspired speculative fiction and poetry have been in numerous publications and anthologies, such as all three groundbreaking Dark Dreams anthologies of Black horror writers; Bram Stoker Award Finalist anthology Sycorax’s Daughters; Black Magic Women; Chiral Mad 4 and 5, SLAY, Conjuring Worlds, StokerCon 2019, Humans Are the Problem anthologies; and Fireside, Apex, and FIYAH magazines.

Preorder Now!

Apex Flash Fiction

The Flash Fiction Contest for November 7-31—themed Memory—will close on November 30. The theme for December 7-31 will be announced and will open to the public on December 7th for flash fiction submissions. Themes are chosen by Patrons at the end of the month and announced to Patrons on the 1st of each month. Submissions will be open to the public on the 7th of each month. Submissions close on the last day of the month at midnight (US Central Time). 

Good news! The flash fiction contest will continue to run and be open to submissions monthly throughout 2025. Issues will now include 3 flash pieces instead of 2!

The winner will be paid $0.08/word or $10, whichever is more. The winning story will appear on our Patron Hunt as an exclusive and will be included in a forthcoming issue of Apex Magazine.

Discord Happenings

As always, we have a fun community on our Discord, offering critique swaps, co-writing opportunities, and general community support for writers. (Rejectomancy, anyone?)

Patron Hunt Exclusives

On our Patron Hunt, we have an exciting lineup of exclusives for our Patrons from the Authors of Issue 147. We’ll have our usual interviews, critique opportunities, and some story insights. Keep an eye on our Patron Hunt!

Not a Patron? Join us for as little as $3/month to get access to these exclusives and the magazine in your inbox!

To add the Apex Events Calendar to your google calendar, follow this link: https://tinyurl.com/4c74rext