What we are looking for:
👉 Speculative fiction – for a discussion of what this (typically) includes, check out this article. It can be anything from hard SciFi to Cozy Fantasy to Alternate History – to so much in between. But as a rule of thumb: if it probably has/does happen, it’s probably not Speculative.
👉 Theme: Biome wants stories that center on life, ecosystems, and organisms in all their dazzling variety – on Earth or beyond it. The “weirder” the better. You’re welcome to approach this idea in the broadest possible sense, just make sure the biological element is key (and not incidental) to the story. For inspiration of what this could mean, consider: Alien Clay, The Xenogenesis Trilogy, Annihilation, The Windup Girl, The Spellshop, Great North Road – to name just a few.
👉 Style: Stories will be published in audio as a Podcast, so we are looking for stories that sound good when they are read out loud. A strong “hook” or compelling opening is a must for this format. We are open to structurally unique and experimental pieces, but we find the pieces that succeed best often have a strong conflict, build tension, and develop memorable characters.
👉 Length: 1800 – 2500 words. Pieces longer or shorter will be declined unread.
👉 Submission Format: Your submission should ONLY include the title of your piece and the piece itself. Please do not include your information, word counts, page numbers etc. Do not include any images. If your story requires showing a visual of any kind, Biome is not the market for it.
👉 File Format: docx, doc, txt, rtf, pdf only. Documents submitted in any other format will be declined unread. Please do not submit audio or video files.
Additional Considerations:
🟢 Publication Format: Biome will release stories as audio podcast episodes with an episode transcript for accessibility purposes.
🟢 Multiple Submissions: Yes – you’re welcome to submit multiple pieces. If making multiple submissions they MUST be in separate documents and submitted via multiple form submissions.
🟢 Simultaneous Submissions: Yes – you are welcome to submit to us and to other markets. Please let us know right away if your piece is accepted elsewhere, though.
🟢 Previously Published: Yes – we welcome pieces that have been published elsewhere first BUT only for stories for which only text/print rights have been sold/claimed. We will decline any pieces for which any audio rights have been sold (even f they have not been exercised by that publisher). If this is a previously published story, we will ask to double-check the contract from the previous publication to confirm we have the necessary rights to produce a piece in audio.
🟢 Re-submissions: Only on request.
🟢 Submission Process: Only submissions received by the form (linked below) will be considered.
🟢 Querying: Please reach out via the contact form if you haven’t heard from us within 14 days. Please check any spam files before reaching out.
🟢 AI Policy: Do not use AI to create your piece in part or in whole.
🟢 Language: Stories will be read by and for an anglophone (English language) audience. Stories from all backgrounds and cultures are warmly welcomed, but pieces with more than occasional use of sentences, vocab, or names not familiar to an anglophone audience may be declined, as we would be unable to do them justice in the narration.
🟢 Identity: Submissions from and about all identities and backgrounds are warmly welcome. Please note that all pieces will be read by a masculine-presenting voice.
🟢 Sensitive Content: Graphic violence, sex, extreme offensive language, or any other content that could get us banned on Spotify or Apple Podcasts will be declined.
Ready to submit?
After Submission:
We will read your submission as soon as we can. If you do not hear from us within 30 days after submission, please query us at biome spec @gmail. com (remove the spaces).
We may “hold” a piece for publication or “accept” it. Neither holding nor accepting a piece constitutes a legal obligation to publish and you retain all rights until a contract is executed.
“The Business”
➡️ Payment: $10 flat payment per story. All payments are listed pre-tax. Any transfer fees may also reduce final payment your receive. Payment will be made upon release of episode via Venmo, PayPal, or Zelle. Accommodations for other payment methods may be discussed after acceptance.
➡️ Rights: Biome will hold the license for worldwide first audio and transcript rights with an exclusivity period of 1 year after the date of first broadcast and a non-exclusive audio anthology license thereafter. Audio may be released in whole or in part on different platforms including traditional podcast platforms and audio-visual platforms such as Youtube, TikTok, etc (these are examples – any electronic medium of audio distribution will be considered covered by this agreement). Biome will have sole discretion over the timing and platform-specific release schedule of the piece.
➡️ Confidentiality: All submissions are treated confidentially and are never used by Biome to train “AI” of any kind. Author identities and information are kept in strict confidence except as compelled by law.
Biome 