ICYMI, we're open to submissions by authors of historically marginalized backgrounds for this entire month!
We want to read more works by Black writers, Indigenous writers, disabled writers, gay and lesbian and trans writers, and other folks whose voices must be heard!
www.havenspec.com/submit/
Our associate editor Ghazal is looking to leave Tehran as soon as possible, so if anyone knows of an art residency or work opportunity or uni posting that they can apply to, please let us know (dm or email). These are scary times, and we must protect each other as best we can.
Our associate editor Ghazal is looking to leave Tehran as soon as possible, so if anyone knows of an art residency or work opportunity or uni posting that they can apply to, please let us know (dm or email). These are scary times, and we must protect each other as best we can.
Haven Spec Magazine is open this month to submissions by authors of historically marginalized backgrounds only!
We want to read more works by Black writers, Indigenous writers, disabled writers, gay and lesbian and trans writers, and others whose voices must be heard!
www.havenspec.com/submit/
@brigittewinter.bsky.social + #AWP brought to my attention this wild movie which, while not exactly the direction I took with my story, "Bootcut" @havenspec.bsky.social, is, er, cut from the same cloth. 👖🔪
www.imdb.com/title/tt9741...
Read my murder jeans take here: havenspec.com/fiction/boot...
A familiar story that's worth hanging on to the end! Ouch @mktighewrites.bsky.social !!
#speculative #flashfiction
ICYMI, @havenspec.bsky.social published a new poem of mine last week! 🖤 it’s all about creating care and community in the face of apocalypse
havenspec.com/poetry/if-i-...
Amazing recs and the best thing to wake up to. What wonderful company to be in, especially with my long time friend and CP @thelialao.bsky.social
Four short stories I read and loved in FEBRUARY ✨
MAGICAL GIRL: CORPORATE FAILURE by @thelialao.bsky.social in @havenspec.bsky.social
THE SALT AND THE CURE by @rukman.bsky.social in @lightspeedmagazine.com
ICYMI: My poem "Roommate" is now free to read in @havenspec.bsky.social!
The day after Danny died of pneumonia
He came downstairs to call the landlord.
I watched trembling from the kitchen
As he rasped and bubbled into his
phone, “Damp’s gotten worse,
you need to get down here.”
...
"there’s a name for this—
suicide, hibernation, runaway.
bad daughter, goth wife,
crafty, avoidant, irresponsible
to throw ice over everything,
trade green for arctic gray.
but I am not my mother.
I never was."
ICYMI: "Persephone Wins Custody of Herself" in @havenspec.bsky.social 🦌
stoked to say I'm returning to @havenspec.bsky.social's eminent pages with "Mother's Bane," my short story about carnivorous plant women and confronting your abusive mother 🌿🌷🌹🌱 keep an eye out for it in their upcoming issue!
"Lean in, little girl—
drop pumpkin blossoms into my depths
Look into the dark and tell me
you don’t want to go."
ICYMI: all of @havenspec.bsky.social issue 22 is now available online, including my poem "Persephone Wins Custody of Herself" 🦌🌙
Read now ⬇️
Reading for 🌹award nominations🌹?
We published eight short stories and seven poems in 2025, and we loved each and every one of them!
If any of these pieces spoke to you, moved you, made you feel feelings like they made us feel feelings, please consider nominating them!
🧵 of issue links below:
deleted my last post bc of all the typos 😅 so anyway, promo take two! “skin deep” is out, with shapeshifting and sapphism in the suburbs (feat. samuel taylor coleridge and about one william mosquitos)! get it right here in the new issue of @havenspec.bsky.social!!
havenspec.com/fiction/skin...
"When the seasons fracture, we look up.
Leaves aren’t all that tumble from the sky,
carpeting our humble underworld.
You fall, and fall, and fall."
You can now read my poem, "Persephone Wins Custody of Herself" free online @havenspec.bsky.social 🦌🍂
Our ✨February 2026 Issue✨ is now free to read online!
Find it here:
havenspec.com/issues/issue...
Or get the PDF and EPUB:
ko-fi.com/s/805c9b3a99
In it, you'll find five stories and five poems for your reading pleasure. Please spread the word!
My poem “If I must exist here” is now free to read in the new issue of Haven Spec!
havenspec.com/poetry/if-i-...
The issue is now available for all to read!
See below for links and give Haven Spec a follow while you’re there!
My first published piece:
We are the Giants We Fear.
#writingcommunity
Fiction by Lex Chamberlin, @verybadllama.bsky.social, @eggandcressida.bsky.social, Dafydd McKimm, @lima-zulu.bsky.social!
Poetry by @eleanorball.bsky.social, Sophia Zhao, @marisca.bsky.social, @arthurmanners.bsky.social, @babblewocky.bsky.social!
Cover Art by @mspencerdraws.bsky.social!
Our ✨February 2026 Issue✨ is now free to read online!
Find it here:
havenspec.com/issues/issue...
Or get the PDF and EPUB:
ko-fi.com/s/805c9b3a99
In it, you'll find five stories and five poems for your reading pleasure. Please spread the word!
FFer Read of the Day: "Restaurant Space for Lease" by @vivianhchou.bsky.social in @havenspec.bsky.social
havenspec.com/fiction/rest...
Also, it's important to note that the poetry numbers aren't super accurate since they represent total submissions (and not total poems submitted!).
But even if the numbers aren't totally accurate, hopefully people find this data interesting!
Note: "Holds" represents what's currently being held, not what was initially recommended! I estimate that about 10% of fiction submissions move on to the second round of consideration.
A graph showing the total number of submissions to Haven Spec Magazine for the 2026 Winter Reading Period (covering January 1st to today, February 22nd). Each day is color-coded for open, recommended, rejected, and withdrawn. Almost all of the January submissions have been processed (either rejected or held for further consideration). The graph peaks at February 1st, with about 115 submissions, of which about half have been processed.
👀Submission Snapshot, 2026 Winter Reading Period👀
Fiction submissions: 967
Open: 658
Holds: 20
Passed: 274
Withdrawn: 15
Total poetry submissions: 211
Open: 108
Holds: 3
Passed: 97
Withdrawn: 3
(See the next post in this 🧵 for caveats about this data!)
Haven Spec Magazine is closing to submissions for the entirety of next month, so send us all the things while you still can!
For our complete guidelines and schedule, visit:
www.havenspec.com/submit/
