Looking for fiction that offers elements of crime or criminal intent, violence, suspense, etc. Over its two-plus decades, BAMS selections have covered a very wide span of themes and subject matter.
Only U.S. or Canadian writers are eligible.
Aside from the numerous genre sources, over the years material has come from The Kenyon Review, Tin House, One Story, The New England Review, Zoetrope, The New Yorker, Glimmer Train, Harper's Magazine, StoryQuarterly, The Georgia Review, Ploughshares, The Antioch Review, The Sewanee Review, among many others --- in short, an eclectic range.
Two Options
1) either you choose and send stories you think might fall inside the catchment
or
2) Put BAMS on your comp list, allowing them to screen each issue.
Right now the Editors are reading for BAMS 2020 (stories published between January 1 and December 31, 2019). Editors welcome seeing any stories/issues published during this year, as well as being put on a list to receive future issues. Stories from digital journals and online sources are welcome, but must be printed out and sent to BAMS. Self-submissions are fine, begin sure to include information on publication, date, editor, etc. Material is not accepted electronically. All such submissions must be printed out or publication sent via hardcopy.
Mailing address:
Otto Penzler
BEST AMERICAN MYSTERY STORIES
58 Warren Street,
New York, NY 10007
Deadline for receiving submissions is December 31. However, since that falls within the holiday period, we request that eligible stories arrive by December 1st, if possible.
Send inquiries to: Michele Slung
mslung@earthlink.net
