The Dark Sire publishes fiction to 5,000 word, poetry to two pages, and art in the genres of fantasy, gothic, horror, and psychological realism. “Suitable subject matter may include, but is not limited to, vampires, monsters, old castles, dragons, magic, mental illness, hell, disease, or decay of society.” Read the complete guidelines here.
SQF: Why did you start this magazine?
Bre Stephens: I started The Dark Sire (TDS) for two reasons. First, I was nearing the end of my master's study in English and Creative Writing and wanted to give back to the writing community, to support fellow writers. I thought creating an additional venue of opportunity would help creatives find their voice. Second, I saw a lack of opportunities for gothic and psychological writers -- and anyone who wanted to write traditional slasher or horror fiction due to limiting guidelines of publishers. From my research, gothic and psychological fiction is a small market that most publishers won't cater to due to lack of marketability (profit); likewise, most publishers won't print too much violence, blood, gore, and/or controversial content due to the social climate we live in. In my professional opinion, limiting creativity in any way is a form of censorship that I cannot abide. Thus, the creation of TDS helps me support the writing community by giving opportunities to silenced writers of those works not publishable elsewhere. For me, giving a creative a voice, a platform on which to be heard, is the goal. I am proud to publish Poe-era works, as well as dark, creepy, twisted, and even violent works that entertain.
SQF: What are the top three things you look for in a submission and why?
BS: Professionalism is the number one thing I look for in a submission, with mastery of craft and story arc the second and third. I have guidelines set and expect the author to use them to be the most successful in the process. The attention to detail, making sure everything is in its place, wanting to make a good first impression is all part of professionalism. If a form is half done or the query letter incomplete, I wonder how professional or complete the creative work will be. The professionalism of the submission marks the professionalism of the author's craft. The author's craft, then, is what I seek in the first few lines of text -- mostly, the first line. I can tell a great writer from the look and feel of the writing itself. Short stories, for example, are a completely different storytelling mode, and how the writer crafts the story tells me a lot of the writer's mastery of the medium. This is why mastery of the craft is so important, which leads to mastery of the story arc. No matter what kind of submission I receive, each needs a story arc. Short stories need a beginning, middle, and end that throws the reader into a story led by a strong protagonist; a poem needs to delve quickly into its message; a piece of art needs to carry its viewer into a new world that is waiting to be expressed. In short, professionalism, mastery, and story is what I look for in all submissions, and I start looking for such in the submission form and query letter, which I will use as an indicator for the work itself.
SQF: What most often turns you off to a submission?
BS: The biggest turn-off is INCOMPLETE SUBMISSIONS due to not following guidelines, my pet peeve being no synopsis. Most often than not, a submission is rejected (many times without being read) because the creative doesn't follow the set guidelines. This includes completely filling out a form BUT not sending a query letter with attached piece. I do NOT want an email sent to me with just an attachment -- no greeting, no message of introduction, no query letter. When this happens, I just want to hit delete. Almost as equally, a secondary turn-off is a submission not correctly formatted and/or not professionally presented. If the work isn't polished, I'm not interested.
SQF: What do you look for in the opening paragraph(s)/stanza(s) of a submission?
BS: Action, the jump into mid-story, word choices that will drag me into the grit; for art, I'm looking at color choices, composition, and texture/depth. The creative has to grab me and hold on tightly within that opening (first glance). If they can do that, their work will most likely hold my attention. My suggestion, don't waste time in setting up description. Just. Get. To it.
SQF: Many editors list erotica, or sex for sex sake, as hard sells. What are hard sells for your publication?
BS: Politics, agenda, erotica, slice of life. TDS is a darker toned magazine that publishes stories with grit, dirt, and darkness intertwined with psychological aspects of mind-churning dizziness. Anything too bright or happy, or politically motivated, would be a tough sell for me to approve for TDS. I want at least an undertone of darkness churning in the story. Remember: "Suitable subject matter may include, but is not limited to, vampires, monsters, old castles, dragons, magic, mental illness, hell, disease, or decay of society.” Any story, poem, or art that strays from this would also be a hard sell, especially if politically charged, slice of life, or romance/erotica.
SQF: What one question on this topic do you wish I'd asked that I didn't? And how would you answer it?
BS: The question I'd like to pose would be, "Is TDS open to LGBTQ+, controversial content, and international submissions?" The answer: ABSOLUTELY! In the debut issue, I printed an LGBTQ+ short story that had been rejected by many other publishers because of controversial content. I'm all about giving a voice to the voiceless. And, it is my belief as a publisher that controversy is needed in order to discuss today's most critical social and cultural issues; and to do so, censorship is unwarranted. Lastly, I love getting submissions from international creatives, which have represented such countries as the United Kingdom, Canada, Japan, and Indonesia. I will give a voice to any creative that gets my attention -- though getting and keeping my attention isn't easy.
Thank you, Bre. We all appreciate your taking time from your busy schedule to participate in this project.
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