What is Eternal Haunted Summer?

EHS is an ezine dedicated to 1) original poetry and 2) short fiction about the Gods and Goddesses and heroes of the world’s many Pagan/polytheist traditions. We feature 3) reviews of books, graphic novels, academic journals, magazines, movies, plays, and so forth which have a Pagan focus, or which otherwise might interest our Pagan readership. And 4) interviews with established and new Pagan authors, or authors of texts that interest a Pagan audience. And finally, 5) essays concerning the Gods, Goddesses, heroes, myths and folklore of the world.

What do we mean by “original?” The submission must not have been previously published in hardcopy, or on another ezine, or website, or blog. Since people often discuss their writing on email lists and messageboards, we do not consider that previous publication. That is, if your poem or story or review has only appeared on email lists or messageboards, we still consider it original.

Submission Guidelines 

We’re looking for hymns to Odin and Inanna and Sekhmet and Pele. Prayers to Hermes and Brigid and Asherah and Amaterasu-omikami. Short stories featuring (or otherwise referencing) Lugh and Yinepu and Hekate. Every poetic form, from sonnet to rhyming couplet to free form, is acceptable. There is no set length.

Any genre of short story is welcome, from mystery to fantasy to true lifeish to reimaginings of classic myths, provided the Deities and heroes are treated respectfully (no bashing someone else’s Gods, please!). Please limit your story to 3000 words or less (though a smidge over is fine).

We are also interested in reviews of: classic works of literature (such as new translations of The Eddas or The Iliad); books about the ancient world; books by modern Pagan authors about contemporary Paganism/s; academic journals and popular magazines that deal with Pagan themes or issues of interest to Pagans, such as The Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion, Biblical Archaeology Review and witches&pagans; and comic books and graphic novels.

We are also interested in essays that address the nature of the Deities, the mythologies of the various pantheons, folklore, ritual, et cetera and et cetera. So, for example, we would be keen to read your essay on Hermanubis and how He relates to Hermes and Anubis. Or, your essay examining primary sources for The Cailleach. Or, a discussion of the evolution of Veles from (benevolent) God of the Underworld to (Christian) demon and how Polish and Slavic Pagans are resurrecting His worship.

Simultaneous submissions are fine, but please let us know as soon as possible if your work is accepted elsewhere.

The Big No-Nos. We absolutely WILL NOT accept submissions of writing or artwork created with AI software (e.g., Midjourney, ChatGPT). No generative AI. Any work must be wholly the creation of a human being. The use of assistive AI, such as spellcheck, is fine. In other words, use the tools to create something yourself, don’t let the tools do the creating for you.

Absolutely no ancient aliens. Pieces featuring Atlantis, Mu, UFOs, aliens, or subterranean civilizations, as well as levels of gore, violence, and sexual content will be judged on a submission by submission basis. No plagiarism. We trust you to be honest. If we discover that a submission has been plagiarized it will be rejected; if the discovery is made after publication, the submission will be removed and payment must be refunded to EHS. And be prepared to be stomped by the Fates for your poor character.

AI Training Prohibition: The creators of the individual poems, short stories, essays, and other works that appear in Eternal Haunted Summer retain control of their work. The creators retain all rights to their work; the appearance of that work in Eternal Haunted Summer is agreed upon by both parties, and compensated as agreed. Any use of this publication and the works it contains to develop and “train” AI in any way, for any reason, is prohibited without the express permission of the creator/s.

Submission Address: lyradora@yahoo.com

Please be sure to note in the subject line if your submission is fiction, poetry, essay, or review. Please only submit during the open reading period. Submitting outside of that window will make the editor very grumpy.

While we have no doubt that everything you have written is absolutely amazing, please limit yourself to three poems; or one short story; or one essay; or three reviews per acceptance period. Please send all submissions as a .rtf or .txt or .doc/.docx attachment, or in the body of the email, to lyradora@yahoo.com during the acceptance period.

EHS will pay a flat rate of $5.00 for an original piece. We retain first electronic publishing rights. After the piece moves to the archives and the new issue is posted, all rights revert to the author. Payment will be made via PayPal. No checks or cash. If you do not have a PayPal account, payment may be made in the form of an online gift certificate to Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Bookshop.org, or Kobo (all purveyors of fine literature). All payments will be made before the issue is launched on the Solstice.

Upcoming Themes!

Summer Solstice 2026: Flash Fiction and Poetry. Submission Period: 1 May through 1 June 2026. There is no theme for this issue beyond the base guidelines: send us poetry, prose poetry, and short fiction that draws upon the world’s polytheist, Pagan, and witchcraft traditions and practices. Instead, the submissions must be of a particular length: poetry must be exactly one hundred words, prose poetry must be exactly three hundred words, and fiction must be exactly five hundred words. Essays can be on any topic, provided it is of interest to Pagan, polytheist, or witchy readers; no word limit for essays.

Winter Solstice 2026: Science Fiction. Submission Period: 1 November to 1 December 2026. Space exploration and time travel. Parallel universes and alternate history. Space opera and planetary romance. For this issue, every subgenre of science fiction is acceptable. Send us your best science fiction poems, short stories, and essays featuring a Pagan/polytheist, witchy, or mythological theme. Send us poems about human colonists befriending native planetary spirits, a human becoming the sword-wielding champion of an alien God, Wiccans adapting their mythology and iconography to a world without animal life, and devotees of Inanna traveling to a parallel Earth where her worship continued without interruption. Send us prose poems and short fiction about spirit workers healing a living spaceship, devotees of Libertas fighting a totalitarian government, time travelers visiting Eleusis to experience the Mysteries, and conservationists saving an icon of Mazu from a dying Earth. Send us essays about mythology in modern science fiction novels, a how-to for incorporating polytheism into a science fiction story, or an analysis of Pagan iconography in science fiction films.

Summer Solstice 2027: Water. Submission Period: 1 May through 1 June 2027. Water — fresh and brackish and salty — is essential to life on Earth, and our many mythologies and spiritualities reflect that reality. How can water and its spirits be understood and celebrated through a Pagan, polytheist, witchy, and mythological lens? Send us your best poems, prose poems, short fiction, and essays centered around the element and spirits of water. Send us poems and hymns about Bunzi and Erzulie and Oshun. Send us short stories about the Dragon Kings of the Four Seas, Varuna, and Kamohoali’i. Send us essays about modern rites in honor of Poseidon, the place of selkies in urban fantasy, or a polytheist interpretation of the ancient Sumerian flood myth.

Winter Solstice 2027: The Pre-Raphaelites. Submission Period: 1 November through 1 December 2027. The pre-Raphaelites were a loose association of artists, poets, architects, textile designers, cultural critics, and others in the late 19th century. The aesthetics they created and the mores they celebrated had a lasting impact on the rebirth of polytheism and the interpretation of ancient myths and stories. Choose any member or individual work of the movement that you want — a short list and discussion can be found here — and write a poem, prose poem, short story, or essay. Send us an original poem inspired by Evelyn de Morgan’s Medea, or Lucy Madox Brown Rossetti’s last winter in Italy, or Swinburne meeting the spirit of Sappho. Send us short stories about Annie Miller sitting for Rossetti’s composition of “Helen of Troy,” or Lawrence Alma Tadema’s “The Roses of Heliogabalus,” or Julia Margaret Cameron photographing an old temple and capturing something quite unexpected. Send us essays about the impact of Christina Rossetti’s “Goblin Market,” the movement’s influence on Gustave Moreau, or a Goddess spirituality-oriented interpretation of James Archer’s “The Death of King Arthur.” [Note: if your submission references a particular work of art that can or should be used as an illustration, please make note of that in the email.]

Summer Solstice 2028: Romance. Submission Period: 1 May through 1 June 2028. Antony and Kleopatra. Zeus and Hera. Arthur and Guinevere and Lancelot. Venus and Mars and Vulcan. Lizzie and Darcy. Love — grandly tragic and grandly uplifting, comforting and despairing — has been a central element of spiritual traditions, mythologies, literature, and art since the beginning of civilization. Send us your Pagan, polytheist, witchy, and mythological poems and hymns about Inanna and Dumuzid tragically reuniting, about Frey courting Gerd, about Baucis and Philemon as eternally intertwined trees. Send us a short story about Isis reclaiming the pieces of Osiris, an urban fantasy about a devotee of Eros in modern-day Chicago, or historical fiction about a Renaissance artist falling in love with a painting of Aurora. Send us essays about Apollo and Daphne and that myth’s many different interpretations, the relationship between Athena and Pallas as romantic but asexual, about polyamory in modern Pagan communities. [Note: sexual content is appropriate for this theme, and mature content labels will be applied to accepted pieces if necessary.]

Winter Solstice 2028: War. Submission Period: 1 November to 1 December 2028

Summer Solstice 2029: Altars and Shrines. Submission Period: 1 May to 1 June 2029

Winter Solstice 2029: Tricksters. Submission Period: 1 November to 1 December 2029

Summer Solstice 2030: Ruins. Submission Period: 1 May to 1 June 2030

Winter Solstice 2030: Fire. Submission Period: 1 November to 1 December 2030

Reviews do not have to be in line with the issue’s theme.

We do not buy or accept submissions ahead of time. If you are uncertain if your submission will fit an upcoming theme, yes, please query.  

If your work is accepted for the Summer issue, you will be notified no later than 15 June. If it is accepted for the Winter issue, you will be notified no later than 15 December. Yes, you will also be notified if your work is declined, and, if possible, we will provide some critical feedback; but we may not always be able to do so. If you do not hear from us by either of those dates, please query; the net pixies may have eaten your submission, and we would hate to miss anything truly wonderful.

Now for the itty-bitty disclaimer: we reserve the right to edit accepted pieces for clarity. In other words, we’ll correct any misspellings or other typographical errors, and occasionally break up run-on sentences. If we have to make a significant number of such editorial corrections, we will send the piece back to you for approval before it goes live.

Any other comments, concerns, questions, profound thoughts? Please email us at lyradora@yahoo.com. And may the Gods and Goddesses and Spirits watch over all your creative endeavors.