Alien Baby is an indie magazine seeking to uplift unique and fresh voices in the arts of science fiction, fantasy, horror, weird, and other outsider genres.

Alien Baby is intended to be a platform by which to gestate the careers of new genre artists, especially those who may face obstacles in breaking through via traditional publishing methods.

Subscribe here to the magazine for weekly stories and art features or to submit to the magazine beyond the Knights & Princesses anthology!

We accept all speculative genres including but not limited to fantasy, sci-fi, dystopian, apocalypse, horror, supernatural, paranormal, alternate history, and magical realism.

We encourage a creative approach to the definition of “knights and princesses.” The focus should be on two characters, one who is on the precipice of inheriting great power and responsibility, the other who is sworn to protect them. Any dynamic that fits is accepted!

Knights and Princesses are gender neutral terms and do not necessarily have to be romantic dynamics either.

We challenge you to embrace speculative fiction and all its possibilities! Here is an incomplete list of dynamic ideas on how to interpret knights and princesses!

• Prince and Lady Knight

• Princess and Lady in Waiting

• Knight and Therapist

• CEO and Bodyguard

• Vampire and Werewolf

• Mad Scientist and Rebel Artist

• Thief and Muscle

• Paladin and Angel

• Journalist and Politician

• Space Captain and First Mate

We are looking for short stories between 5,000 and 10,000 words.

It’s okay to be slightly over or under. If necessarily, the editing team will work with you on adjusting the length to best fit in the collection.

We accept traditional and digital drawings and paintings as well as comic pages, renderings, photography, and photographed sculptures.

AI is not art and will not be accepted.

We are accepting one (1) submission per person to feature as many artists and authors as possible.

You can submit a short story by itself or include one (1) image with it.

If you are only submitting art, you can submit a series of up to ten (10) images.

Editors reserve the right to break up submission collections to best fit the tone of the anthology.

Yes, short stories and art should be original and previously unpublished before, although they can feature original characters or settings from previously published work by the author.

We welcome Knight and Princess AUs featuring characters and settings from your own previously published novel! All IP must belong to the creator. (No fan fiction or fan art.)

We will accept a max of 4/5 spice levels in submissions. Short stories can have open door scenes.

Art submissions can have partial nudity but no genital can be featured. This is to ensure the anthology meets publishing guidelines for POD.

Please include any necessary content warnings related to your submission. We will not necessarily disqualify any submission for it. We will be including content warnings in the anthology and before each submission.

If you are unsure what might need a content warning, here is a list to reference.

Unfortunately, no art that depicts spiders, bugs, or trypophobia will be accepted.

• To ensure a collective tone of the anthology, we will not be accepting YA or younger category submissions. While characters can be children or teenagers, the target audience should be for adults.

• Unfortunately, no art that depicts spiders, bugs, or trypophobia will be accepted.

• 5/5 spice level short stories that has a majority or primary focus of sex will not be accepted.

• Any art that is full nudity (depicting genitals) will not be accepted.

• All spicy content must be between 18+ characters.

• All IP must belong to the creator. We will not accept fan fiction or fan art.

• No stories or art may contain elements created by AIs or LLMs.

• No works promoting real life bigotry or hate speech shall be considered.

Yes! Pen names are accepted. Please send your submission with the files saved under your pen name. Your work will be published under your pen name only.

We will need your legal name for contracts and payments, however this will not be disclosed publicly.

Submissions are free!

Yes! If you are selected, we will pay you $25.00 USD as compensation as well as an ebook copy of the published anthology.

Any royalties made from the anthology will go to the magazine to fund future anthologies and continue paying artists and authors.

If selected, we will send a contract requesting non-exclusive world rights of your submission in all languages and for all editions and formats.

This ensures you will keep all the rights to your story/art too. You are free to publish and use your submission piece however you wish.

As a courtesy, we ask that you refrain from publishing /sharing publicly your submission in its entirety anywhere before the anthology is released.

After submissions close, the editing team at Alien Baby Magazine will anonymously review the submissions. Submissions will be reviewed not just as an individual piece but how they will fit within the collection together.

Submissions open May 1st, 2026 and close September 30th, 2026.

The editors will review all submissions in the fall and reach out to those selected.

Once all contracts are signed and finalized, the editing team will work with authors and artists on any revisions that may be necessary.

In the winter, contributors will work with editors to make any necessary adjustments to their submissions.

The anthology is scheduled to be published in spring 2027.

If selected, we will send a contract requesting non-exclusive world rights of your submission in all languages and for all editions and formats.

We also ask you consider any feedback received by the editing team and cooperate with the editorial process. Any suggestions are made in good faith for the best interest of the creator and the anthology.

As compensation, you will receive $25.00 USD and an ebook copy of the published anthology. Compensation will be received after any revisions have been made and approved by the editing team.

Contracts must be signed before a contributor can continue with the selection process. If contracts are not signed, the editors will move onto the next contributor.

If the contributor fails to cooperate with revisions, stay in communication with the editing team, or meet the turn around deadlines, contracts will be terminated and your submission will be no longer considered for the anthology. Rights will return back to the creator and we will not send a payment.

Submissions may require revisions before publication.

Short stories may receive editing feedback. This will primarily focus on line, copy, and proofreading edits. Minor developmental edits may apply. Edits to adjust the word count may apply.

Art may be adjusted in cropping and color adjustment for printing compatibility.

An art series may have certain pieces removed from the series to better fit the collection.

We ask you to consider any feedback received by the editing team and cooperate with the editorial process. Any suggestions are made in good faith for the best interest of the creator and the anthology.

If you disagree with a particular revision, we are open to hearing your perspective and finding a compromise. If a compromise cannot be reach, we reserve the right to terminate our contract.

After we have the finalized collection of contributors, we will review cover designers who may best fit the tone of the Knights and Princesses anthology collection.

The editing team will review a panel of cover designers in consideration. Their portfolios will be curated anonymously so voting can be unbiased.

The editors will have rank choice voting based on which artist to commission. Voting will be based on who will best fit the tone of the Knights and Princesses anthology collection based on the submissions selected.

We are curating a list cover artists who can potentially design the cover for the Knights and Princesses anthology.

If you are interested in being considered as the cover designer, please contact akikezoe@starmistpress.com with your information. Email subject should be “KPA Cover Designer Nominee”.

Please include info/links to your portfolio, your rates, and your availability for 2027/how fast in advance you book up.

Designer requirements:

• Illustrative and Typographic responsibility of the cover design in its entirety

• Designs covers for adult target audience

• Ability to make an ebook and paperback version of the cover

• Availability in early 2027

We respect artists making a living wage and will only consider designers the anthology can afford. Do not apologize for your rates if we cannot afford you. We are working with an indie budget, but hope to be able to afford you on future projects!