The Ones Behind the Bookshelves

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The Ones Behind the Bookshelves is a Substack-based literary series spotlighting previously published and original speculative and contemporary fiction and poetry, with a preference for narrative or prose poetry and unusual, character-driven stories.

Response time info: ~8 days; sourced from The Submission Grinder

Read the full guidelines at theonesbehindthebookshelves.substack.com↗

Submission calls

fictionScience FictionFantasyHorrorLiterary

Prefers speculative fiction, contemporary fantasy, dystopian tales, and character-driven stories; the weirder, the better. Previously published stories are welcome and preferred. Submit only 1 story (up to 3,000 words) in doc, docx, or pdf. If submitting a series, send only the first chapter (up to…

poetry

Prefers narrative or prose poetry; shorter poems are welcome but priority goes to narrative or prose. Previously published poems are welcome and preferred. Submit 1 to 3 poems in doc, docx, or pdf. Fall 2026 Literary Series begins in September; season runs weekly for 2 to 13 weeks depending on…

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