Candlemark Closed to Unsolicited Submissions

On March 23, we began receiving a flood of submissions; several don’t follow the guidelines and/or bear the telltale marks of ChatGPT. As a result, on March 23 we closed submissions to authors not already published by the press or not sending a work accompanied by a referral from a trusted colleague. A note about this now appears on the submissions page, and the feature notice on the front page of the website also reflects the new policy. We’ll announce when we’re open again to unsolicited submissions by authors new to us.  It is a terrible situation for new writers, but this step is necessary until we find a long-term solution. Heartfelt thanks to all friends of tiny but indomitable starship Candlemark!

This Post Has 4 Comments

  1. Scott Fisher

    Disappointing, but understandable. I’ve subscribed to the newsletter in the hope that, once you find a solution, you’ll let us know. Best of luck in solving this quickly!

  2. Athena Andreadis

    Thank you for the good wishes — I hope so, too!

  3. Michael Siverling

    Your notification mentioned ‘non press’ authors. My submission included the fact I’ve been published by St. Martins and Tor/Forge. Am I to consider my submission is still viable?

  4. Athena Andreadis

    All the related notifications on our website, as well as the email to any writer who sent a submission on or after March 23, specify that we have temporarily stopped accepting submissions from authors who are not already published by the press or are not referred by a trusted colleague. If you received that email, please consider your submission free to send elsewhere. Thank you for your interest in our press!

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