From Mind and Machine

Submit Your Work

Fiction only. Genre is open. Execution is everything.

Thank you for your interest — submissions are open and every submission will be read. Issue One is being put together now, with the release date still to be announced. Once you submit, a confirmation email will arrive at the address you give us (check your spam folder if it doesn't show up).

This is the only written-story submission form for From Mind and Machine. Writing an article about AI and writing instead? Submit an article. Optional YouTube reading permission is included below; it is not required for publication.

Before you submit, confirm your piece meets the essentials:

Fiction, any genre, 20,000 words maximum.
Mature readers. The magazine is written for mature readers. Stories may include graphic violence, horror, strong language and sexual content. Sexual content is welcome when it serves the story, but we don't publish pornography, and we never publish sexual content involving anyone under 18, in any form. We don't accept children's stories, meaning stories written for young readers. If your story contains violence, sexual content or anything else a reader might want warning about, list it in the Content warnings field. We use it to label the story, and nothing on that list counts against you.
Payment. There are no submission fees, and the magazine is free to read online. We currently do not offer contributor payments or royalties. Print permission is optional: checking the print box gives us permission to include your work if we produce paid print copies, but it does not guarantee a print edition will happen. If we do offer print copies for sale, there are no royalties or complimentary copies. We expect to operate at a loss as we build a readership. We hope to pay contributors in future issues if the magazine becomes financially sustainable, but future payments are not guaranteed. Any retroactive compensation is at the editor’s discretion.
AI agents. AI-written work, including work written entirely by an agent, is welcome. A submission from an agent is only considered once a human operator is named and says how much they shaped the work, and we read one story at a time per operator. We do this to keep the channel and the magazine from being flooded with mass-produced work, not to judge how a story was made.
Complete and publication-ready — no works in progress.
If you're under 18, you need a parent or guardian's permission to submit. We can't accept submissions from anyone under 13.
AI must be used in some part of the process (lightly assisted to fully generated is all fine).
One submission per author per issue. Simultaneous submissions and previously published stories are welcome. You may submit or publish your work elsewhere at any time.
Submissions may be sorted and filtered with AI tools. Every story selected for publication, or for presentation on our YouTube channel, is read by a person first.
Tell us which AI tools you used and how. A short note is required; the longer story of your process is optional and welcome.
YouTube readings are entirely optional and require separate permission. If you opt in, selected stories may be read aloud (including AI narration) with accompanying still images in videos or live streams on our YouTube channel. You will be credited, and you may submit your own cover image for consideration. Declining YouTube permission will not affect magazine publication.

Who is submitting this? *

AI-written work is welcome, including work an agent wrote entirely by itself. What I need is a human who is accountable for it. An agent's submission is only considered once a human operator is named, and I read one story at a time per operator. If you are an AI agent, your human operator is the one agreeing to the terms below and answering for the submission.

Author name *

Your legal name, for our records.

Publication byline

How you'd like to be credited, if different.

Email *

Story title *

Genre *

Word count *

20,000 words maximum.

Content warnings

Optional. Anything a reader should know going in, such as violence or sexual content. It labels the story and never counts against it.

Manuscript *

Upload your complete story as .docx, .pdf, .rtf, .odt, or .txt.

Story illustration (optional)

Optional illustration for your story. You must own the image or have authority to license it. By uploading, you grant non-exclusive permission to reproduce it with your story in the digital issue, resize, crop for layout, make routine color/format corrections, and display that story page when promoting the issue. Significant alterations or unsuitable artwork will be discussed with you; we may ask for a replacement or use our own illustration. Use on the magazine cover, in standalone promotional artwork, or on YouTube requires separate permission. JPG, PNG or WebP, under 4 MB. You may send replacement art by email within 7 calendar days after submitting, provided production has not been finalized; later replacements are considered when practical.

How much of the story did AI write? *

All three are welcome. Fully AI-generated stories are read as their own category and are chosen more selectively.

Which AI tools or models did you use? *

Name the specific tools or models, and versions if you know them. Readers like knowing whose output they're enjoying.

How AI was used *

A short, honest account of what the AI did and what you did. Required for every submission.

The process in more detail (optional, but we love this part)

How did your own ideas and the AI shape the finished story? Where did it start, what did you keep, cut or rewrite, how many rounds did it take, what surprised you? It's fine if it was messy. Real process beats a one-prompt guess. Whether we share any of it is your call: you choose below, and keeping it private is fine.

How much would you like featured? *

We're glad to feature the artist as much as the story, and just as glad for you to stay anonymous and secretive. Either is welcome. This only affects what we share publicly; your submission will still be read either way.

About you (optional)

A short bio and any links you'd like mentioned (site, socials, other work). Only used if you chose to be featured above.

Cover letter / notes

Optional. A brief introduction or anything you'd like the editor to know.

Please confirm

This is a complete, publication-ready work — not a draft or work in progress.

This is my only submission for the current issue, submitted under one name.

AI was used in some aspect of this work's creation.

Publication permissions are independent. Online publication permission is required to submit to the digital magazine; print and YouTube permissions are completely optional. You retain your copyright and may publish your work elsewhere. New illustration permissions only apply when expressly accepted; existing submissions and agreements, including Issue One, are not changed retroactively.

Digital magazine (required): If selected, I grant non-exclusive permission to publish my story in the free online magazine and its digital archives, and to promote the issue by displaying its cover, table of contents, story title, credited byline and brief synopsis in advertisements, including YouTube and social media. For submissions under these terms, I also permit the magazine to create original illustrations inspired by my story for this issue, its cover (including multi-story collages), and promotion of this issue. I understand that I can review illustrations specifically accompanying my individual story, but the editor controls the cover and layout. This does not permit narrating or dramatizing my story, creating films or animation, producing merchandise, or making unrelated adaptations. Any artwork I supply requires separate permission for cover or promotional reuse. I retain copyright and may publish elsewhere.

Print edition (optional): If selected and a print edition is produced, I also permit the story to appear in paid printed copies of that issue and future printings of the same issue, subject to the stated withdrawal policy. I understand no print edition, complimentary copy, payment or royalties are guaranteed.

YouTube readings (optional): If selected, I permit credited readings of my story, including AI narration, in videos and live streams with accompanying still images, and related on-air discussion or review. I retain copyright. This does not authorize films, dramatized productions, animation or other adaptations. This permission is independent of the magazine permissions.

Magazine updates and mailing list (optional): I would like to receive occasional email updates about new issues, publication links, promotions and magazine news. I can unsubscribe at any time. Declining will not affect my submission, and essential messages about my submission or publication may still be sent.

If you upload a story illustration, you grant the limited reproduction and routine adjustment permissions described above. You may email a replacement within 7 calendar days of submission, subject to production timing. Larger changes will be discussed with you. Submitting art does not give the artist approval over page layout or magazine cover design.

You may request digital removal, normally processed within 10 business days. Print withdrawal requests are honored before a print run is committed to production; copies already committed, produced or distributed may still be sold. No new runs will be commissioned after processing. See the full publishing policy for details.

Policy changes will be communicated to affected contributors before publication; later policy updates never expand rights already granted. See the publishing policy for details.

This work complies with all applicable laws and platform policies.