submissions

We’re just a bit behind on reading subs as we work on the next issue–currently up to about 1 month on a handful of stories and 2-3 weeks on average.  But we tend to catch up pretty quickly once we get back on our usual reading speed, which should be in a few days.  So if you sent us something in June, you should hear from us in another week or so.

Thank you for your patience.

Issue 4 – Part 2… and our response times

Issue 4 is now a wrap.  All fiction has been chosen, and it looks like another great issue.  We constantly read submissions though so keep them coming and I’m sure we’ll start selecting stories for Issue 5 (our 1-year anniversary issue!) fairly soon as well.

Speaking of which, one of the things we strive to achieve are relatively quick response times.  I’m a writer as well and know what it’s like to watch weeks or months go by waiting to see if your baby has met with someone’s approval.  We generally target a 2-week response time.  When we get backed up it may go to 3 weeks.  It rarely gets to 4, and it’s sometimes as quick as a few days.

If it has been more than a month, query us.

-michael

 

Issue 4

The August issue (#4) has been filling up fast. We’ve got one slot left for fiction, with a couple stories in the maybe pile.   Lately I’ve had the luxury of having plenty of very well-written stories to choose from.  Getting harder to pick out the gems, but it does help fill up the issues quicker.

We could always use more book reviews though, so send ‘em on over.  5 bucks a pop… better than nothin’, right?

 

Our Guidelines

You may have noticed that our guidelines for the kind of stories we are looking for are simple and very general: anything that deals with the dark side of human nature.

This was not an act of laziness on our part, but was intentional.  We wanted to cast as wide of a net as possible – to not limit the subject matter of a story that you may deem worthy of our attention.  As you’ve seen from our first 3 issues, the type of stories and premises are all over the map.  Some are flat out strange or eccentric, and some have more of a classic-horror feel to them.  But they generally all share the following characteristics (i.e. this is what we really want):

• we are presented with characters that we feel for, care about, or otherwise are genuinely interested in seeing how they progress through the narrative.  Chuck Palahniuk has talked about his practice of focusing only on the ‘heart’ or ‘head’ method of characterization (making the reader care or empathize with a character because of the unfortunate but relatable situation he finds himself in, or making the reader respect and admire the character because of his intimate knowledge of a particular subject) and I tend to agree.  The best plot with the cleverest twist will fall completely flat if we don’t relate to the character on at least some level.  Likewise, a great character can make even the blandest story come alive (we may not accept it, but we’ll certainly ask you to keep submitting).
• The story takes us into new territory.  You may see this often in our rejection comments, and it means we want the story to present an experience for the reader that is beyond the ordinary.  Whether it’s the premise or the style of writing, it should be unique.  Readers have usually made up their mind about their willingness to get immersed in a tale during that first page, and if they don’t immediately think, ‘wow, this person really knows how to write’, there’s a good chance the story won’t work for them no matter how unique the premise.   And if you’re writing about a common theme, present it in a way that keeps us wanting to turn that page.  (yes, those first-person cold-hearted serial killer stories are probably best left in the trunk.)

So there you go.  We hope that narrows it down a bit for you…but not too much.  If you’ve got a story and you’re not sure if it’s right for us, toss it in anyway.  We’re happy to give it a read.  Just keep in mind that we started this zine specifically because we love the genre and we want to leave a mark on it.  To do so, we want each issue to be memorable.  Readers will keep coming back, the word will spread, and before long, Nossa Morte will be right up there with the big boys.  And your excellent fiction will help get us there.

-michael

Submissions — submissions@nossamorte.com

 

Website Design Ideas

Websites come and go. We plan to be here for a long time to come. In an effort to bring you the best and easiest to navigate site, we are always open to new ideas and suggestions.

Should you have any of these, please email us and we will be more than happy to try to implement them on nossamorte.com

UPDATE:  we have gotten a lot of feedback asking us to change our webzine into a magazine flip style.  This would make it appear as a real magazine where you would flip the pages to read the stories.

Please let us know what YOU think, as our August issue is quickly approaching.

Thank you

Nossamorte.com

How are we doing?

After nearly a year and three issues, we’re definitely in a groove here.  We’re now used to the process of reading submissions, choosing and editing stories and other content, and assembling the magazine.  For a relatively new e-zine we think things are going quite well and we couldn’t be happier with our progress and with the quality of the magazine and it’s content.   And as we’re now more accustomed to this process, we’ll have more time to give you regular updates on the inner workings of the zine and any other news that pops up.

The first order of business — how are we doing?  Feel free to leave some comments on anything concerning the mag – fiction, interviews, covers, etc.

And check back often for more news and updates.

-michael

 

Welcome to Nossa Morte 2008

Welcome to our new look. Many of you have followed us from the beginning when we were a small magazine happy to get just one hit a day.

We currently get over 200 hits a day and growing.  We are happy to present to you Nossa Morte’s new look.   

Read and Enjoy!