Welcome readers and writers to Trigger Warning, an online short story site, created in the spirit of the pulpy, digest-sized magazines of the 70s and 80s: Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, and Analog Science Fiction & Fact (formerly Astounding Science Fiction) — monthly collections of stories printed on the cheapest newsprint imaginable with occasional spot illustrations. But maybe a little darker and more R-rated.

Each TW story will have a featured illustration. (At least one. Maybe more in the future but no promises.). Our illustrations will evoke old school, limited two-color printing (black plus one color) and the second color will change each issue. Our current intent is to put out an issue every 6 weeks, but no promises.

We think of this as a lowbrow literary journal, not a blog, and try to use analog language throughout. Our genres are science fiction, fantasy (not Game of Thrones so much as …), horror and noir, and always under 5,000 words. The most concise summary of our genres is, anything that would work on The Twilight Zone works for us.

While the editors are far from well-heeled, they believe in the sadly, now-radical concept that writers should be paid something for their words. Each writer will receive a small payment for the right to post their story. TW retains no other rights, but the illustrations are ©John Skewes. Writers will also receive a signed print of the illustration (suitable for framing) along with their stipend.

Your submissions are eagerly/desperately sought! Send prose not pitches. Submit your story, and contact information, in an editable, software format (no PDFs please) here.

We welcome your thoughts on this, our first issue; provide comments below (keep ‘em clean and non-threatening and we’ll likely share a few; trolls can stew under the Billy Goats’ bridge).

See you again before Halloween ye gorehounds, noir nuts, and star gazers.

Ye Trusty Editors