ISSUE I OUT NOW
Venus Hour is proud to introduce our first issue: "Guiding Star."
This inaugural issue of explores myriad issues of feminist discourse ranging from identity in social roles to dismantling systemic narratives of power. Through the selection of these submissions, we have endeavored to amplify diverse speakers in order to ensure that every poem, story, and artwork contributes to the overall mosaic of Guiding Star.
Thank you to each and every one of our contributors for your talent and support.
FAVORS TO VENUS
Venus Hour is an online speculative feminist fiction journal created in 2023 as a place to showcase new and emerging writers who craft stories that encourage us to see our world in unusual ways. Our aim is to publish divine literary work which transports us into a liminal space. We are especially inclined toward work that features feminine or nonbinary narratives, realms, characters, and dreams. With the goal of supporting outstanding speculative fiction writers, Venus Hour also publishes essays on aesthetic qualities that support the journal’s mission. We want our readers to explore the realm of the eternal-feminine through literature and art, even if it's only for an hour.
What We Want:
Venus Hour searches for stories, poems, and critical ideas that place femininity first. This does not mean only female writers writing female characters; this is about work that possesses an inclination to intuition, a resistance to closure, or rejection of convention. We are open to reading low fantasy, utopian and dystopian science fiction, alternate history, and horror, but will consider any story within the broad genre of speculative fiction and feminist critique as long as it gives us something to contemplate.
Format & Submission Guidelines
Format:
All submissions should be in Shunn Modern Manuscript formatting. Times New Roman and 12-pt font preferred. Although we may publish stories that contain various type fonts or colored text, we will only do so if the story absolutely requires those stylistic choices to achieve understanding.
Submissions:We are open to publishing poetry, fiction, nonfiction, critical essays, and visual art submissions. Simultaneous submissions are fine, but please e-mail us if your work is accepted elsewhere. The parameters for submissions are as follows:
Micro - We accept fiction, nonfiction, and hybrid works. Each piece should be less than 1000 words long. For poetry, submit poems 30 lines or less.Poetry - Please submit up to five poems- which should total no more than ten manuscript pages- at a time. Separate documents. Fiction - Submissions should be no more than twenty double-spaced pages. Three submissions at a time. Separate documents.Nonfiction - Submissions should be no more than fifteen double-spaced pages. Two submissions at a time. Separate documents.Essays- No more than twenty double-spaced pages. One submission at a time.Visual Art- One art submission at a time unless they are a part of the same set together (i.e. two pieces in conversation with one another). High-resolution images are preferred. Acceptable file types will be .JPEG or .PNG, including any photography or photographs of physical art. In the body of your submission e-mail, leave a brief description (150 words or less) of the piece including the medium(s) used as well as the title or lack thereof. Upon submission, you may be asked to provide a 100-150 word bio to publish alongside your piece.