Worlds of Cthulhu Submissions Guidelines

[Gundamentalist]

'Worlds of Cthulhu' magazine is looking for quality articles and submissions dealing with any and all aspects of Call of Cthulhu gaming. We will be publishing materials for Classic 1920’s, Gaslight, Cthulhu Now, Delta Green and d20 Cthulhu. Standard pay rate for articles published is 1.2 cents a word EUR/Dollars.

We are open for submissions. Electronic submissions in .RTF format should be made to:

submissions@worldsofcthulhu.com

Please note that the guidelines are exactly that–guidelines. If you have a great idea for something that falls outside what’s described below, by all means contact us and make a pitch. A great scenario or article a little shorter or longer than described below will certainly be eligible for publication.

Scenarios

We hope to run at least two or three full-length scenarios in each issue, with at least one of them based on the 1920s. Gaslight, Cthulhu Now, and Delta Green are also desired. Good CoC scenarios for Dark Ages, The Wild West, and almost any other setting are also good bets for publication. Preferred length is 10,000-15,000 words, but others will be considered.

Historical/General Interest Source Articles

This can cover all sorts of interesting topics, from articles on archaeology, to information about American gangsters, to a treatise on monastic orders useful to Dark Ages Cthulhu. Articles could be 3000-5000 words, but subject matter will often dictate differently. As always, make a pitch and see what happens.

News Submissions

Send news about CoC, persons involved with CoC, convention news, or anything else worthy of mention to CoC players to news@worldsofcthulhu.com. There is no payment for news submissions.

Reviews

We have no plans to publish reviews. As we will only be publishing twice a year, we cannot publish reviews in a timely manner. We will, however, publish reviews on the magazine website. There will be no payment for these reviews.

Fiction

Do not submit fiction to 'Worlds of Cthulhu'. We will not be publishing fiction of any sort in the magazine. However, we may publish works of ficiton on the website, again with no payment.

Feature Departments

Feature departments will be published regularly, though not necessarily every issue. Quality submissions will govern the frequency of their appearance in the magazine.

New Monsters

We want to see more than a simple “Monster Manual” type description and a set of stats. These entries must be more expansive and detailed. Approaches may vary, but we want something that convinces us a new monster or god should be added to the Mythos.

Cults EXPOSED!!!

Cults may be original concepts or details on a cult from the body of Cthulhu Mythos fiction. As with new monsters, we desire more than a quick sketch, an odd name, and some stats. Cults are made up of human beings who, with the possible exception of the totally insane followers of Cthulhu, have human desires, goals, etc.

Professions Expanded

These pieces should be 2000-3000 words long and describe a Call of Cthulhu “Profession” that will aid players in the creation and roleplaying of these individuals. We already have plans to publish the “Flapper” and the “Archaeologist”. These can be professions described in the rule book, or a profession of your own design. The descriptions should center on the 1920s but when applicable the description should cover a history of the profession that gives some information about both the Gaslight and Cthulhu Now eras.

New Magicks

We are open to submissions for short pieces describing new spells or magic items. Call of Cthulhu does not hinge itself on such things, so any new magicks finding print will, like new monsters, have to convince the editors that it is worth adding to the Cthulhu Mythos universe.

Scenario Seeds/Tales of Terror

500-1000 words, these are short descriptions of possible scenarios with good hooks that leave the Keeper to fill in the details.

Lovecraft Country Corner

Got anything to add to the existing body of work covering Arkham, Kingsport, Dunwich, Innsmouth and environs?

Creepy Locations

Creepy locations can include old houses, cemeteries, or even ghost towns–use your imagination. The source may be historical, fictional, or something of your own device.

Regions and Cities

Historical, actual locations that would be of interest and helpful to Keepers.

How-To Column

Short entries primarily for 1920’s, and possibly Gaslight. How to make a long distance telephone call, how to send a telegram, how to finance a loan, or any other mundane task we take for granted in contemporary times but is perhaps a little more difficult in earlier eras.

Keeper's Corner

Tips from Keepers about atmosphere, rules judging, or anything else an experienced Keeper would like to share with the rest of the gaming world.

Personalities

Thumbnail biographies of historical figures, around 500 words plus stats. Personalities can be 1920s, Gaslight, or contemporary. Some historical figures may span more than one era.

Art Submissions

We will need various pieces of art for the magazine. Most of these will be assignments to fit the needs of published materials. Pay rates are as follows:

Handout artists receive 20 EUR/Dollars per handmade handout.

Map designers receive 20 EUR/Dollars per map.

People who find and scan photographs that are printed get 2 EUR/Dollars per photograph printed.

If interested, please contact us with samples of your work.

[Trifletraxor]

What about Cthulhu Rising? Is that a setting you look for adventures for too, or only the more classical Cthulhu settings?

You say that you'll pay for submissions. Is there a possibility to submit a scenario for a copy of the magazine, and keep the copyrights to the scenario (that is, being able to publish it online for free at a later time?).

SGL.

[Gundamentalist]

What about Cthulhu Rising? Is that a setting you look for adventures for too, or only the more classical Cthulhu settings?

We will be covering Cthulhu Rising with a special scenario by John Ossaway in WOC7.

Let me emphasis that there is no such thing as a rigid CoC setting. Some are more "classical" than others. But some of the more popular one-offs have been set in the far-future, or the London of 1667.

You say that you'll pay for submissions. Is there a possibility to submit a scenario for a copy of the magazine, and keep the copyrights to the scenario (that is, being able to publish it online for free at a later time?).

We don't buy copyright. We buy first publication rights. Copyright remains with the author. All we ask is that you don't tout your submission around the market again for 6-12 months after publication of the issue it appears in. Published authors and artists get a contributor's copy as well as pay.

Now, if after that you want to forfeit the money feel free...