Neon is a great journal to be published in, you get paid a small amount, your work is presented beautifully, it is available both online and in print, and you know if your work is accepted within a week.
Neon is a literary journal based in the United Kingdom. They publish short stories, flash fiction (100 words or less), and poetry. The publish four issues per year. Neon has a print edition and an online edition, both contain the same work .
Neon has been around since 2006, they have established a good reputation in this time, and accept relatively few pieces. They are particularly known for their quick response time. They usually except or reject work within four days of receiving it.
Because they are available online and in print a lot of people will see your work without having to pay for it. This is often a very good thing. However because they also have a print edition there are already people that subscribe to that and will read your work that way. You are also able to download a PDF version for free, although there is a suggested donation.
If your work is accepted you will be able to choose between receiving two copies of the print edition or being paid 5 pounds (because they are a British publication).
The website and the journal are both aesthetically pleasing. The website has a black background and pairs poems with spare black and white photographs. Each author’s bio is included below their story or poem when reading the edition online.
Neon is open to work on any subject matter but they lean towards poems and stories that are intense. Many involve apocalyptic or fantasy elements, but in a modern, urban way. They strongly prefer free verse poems over ones that rhyme. The writing they publish tends to be easy to read, and make sense, but contains strange, dark elements.
They except reprints and simultaneous submissions, but if it is a reprint they like to know where it was published before. Also if a poem is accepted elsewhere before they respond, they like to know. When they accept a poem of yours they have the right to publish it once, and achieve it, but you reserve the rights to publish it again, after they have published it.
You can submit up to 3 poems, 2-3 pieces of flash fiction and 1 short story at a time. Include a brief cover letter and a 50 word biography. The subject line of the email should include the word ‘Submission’.
Neon expects work to be pasted into the body of the email, no attachments. Their email address is subs@neonmagazine.co.uk. But the editors suggest that you read an issue of the journal online before submitting.
