Ophelia by Sir John Everett Millais (1829-1896)

Ophelia's Muse is currently an annual Web-based publication. Submissions are ongoing. All submissions will receive a personal response. Please allow up to six months for a response. Response time is usually within three months or sooner.

We are accepting both previously published (you must own the copyright) and unpublished works. Must be erotic, must be tragic, must be under 3000 words. May be in a contemporary or classical theme. We recognize experimental formats. Absolutely no non-fiction, articles, photography or artwork will be considered.

Tragedy can embrace the themes of loss, unrequited love, longing, death, guilt, addiction, romance, co-dependency, unhealthy relationships, suicide, murder, abandonment, mourning, anger, grief, insanity, psychological horror and more. We will accept necrophiliac themes so long as they are not purposefully gross. Tread carefully with that theme, please. Erotic may mean sensual as well as graphic sexual content. We want to see beauty in tragedy, not whining, no saccharine or maudlin prose. Make us cry, make us feel something. Give us extremely well-crafted art that connects us as humans. 

Sorry, we offer no payment, however your work will be displayed and promoted as elegantly as possible. All submissions published will be considered for possible future Ophelia's Muse anthologies. Ophelia's Muse is visited by editors seeking material for "best of" anthologies, therefore any published work may be considered for other additional paying markets.

"Erotic tragedy is my favorite genre. I dedicate this webzine to my Muse, Melpomene, the muse of song and tragedy. I hope you enjoy reading Ophelia's Muse as much as I do."