We’re looking for connections with nature, especially the parts of nature that aren’t traditionally thought of as beautiful. Think mushrooms and moths instead of flowers and butterflies.

We’re looking for weird and unique. Stories the equivalent of a rare thrift store find. The equivalent of lifting a rock and seeing multicolored bugs scuttle out. 

Note: These stories DO NOT have to have literal goblins or anything supernatural at all (though they can). We’re looking for the aesthetic of Goblincore. Characters who, in the words of Mckayla Coyle, author of Goblin Mode:

“understand the complexities of the world; they’re rebels and troublemakers who push boundaries when they know it’s the right thing to do. While other beings tend to shy away from the muck of life, goblins embrace it wholeheartedly. They don’t see the world as simply as some people do, and they know that everyone is more complex than an easily definable label can ever express. Goblins are weird and messy, and they thrive in the muddy contradictory spaces that we don’t always love about ourselves.”

In brief

• 500-1500 words

• outsider characters finding or creating a home

• connection to the less pretty sides of nature

• no gore or brutal violence

We’re actively (though not exclusively) looking for stories from authors who identify as LGBTQ+, BIPOC and especially who identify as neurodivergent (Autistic, ADHD, etc. – no I don’t need to see your diagnosis. We trust you!)