OFIC Magazine is a thrice-yearly publication with a simple goal: to promote the original work of fanauthors whose aesthetics and interests may not align with the genres of traditional publishing, but whose work still aspires to literary aims—work that may be dark or grotesque, unabashedly joyful, or just too filthy for the general population. We publish work that can’t fit anywhere else.
Here is a direct quote from my best friend, Heather:
If I turned into a vampire and was given a library of infinite options, I would probably not read a short story collection until the sun had died.
Even though I guffawed at this (it was in response to me talking about my own short story collection), admittedly I once felt the same way. And, as it happens, the journey to discovering my love of short stories is also the journey of how I came to found OFIC.
The following has been copied over from our new Substack.
Dear reader,
OFIC Mag is back! Here’s what we’ve been up to:
We ended our print run with issue #13 last October. It was not an easy or willing choice for us. Being a print publication was part of our initial vision for OFIC. Unfortunately our subscription platform of choice was Patreon, which eliminated its “per creation” billing option last fall. We publish three issues per year, so we charged three times a year. With that change forcing us to reconsider our workflow, we decided that the complications of printing and distribution were no longer conducive to our long-term goals—our long-term goals being: keep going for as long as possible.
Initially I intended to pivot to a fully online publication with stories posted on our website, because that’s how most digital lit mags work. But I started doing research into how other mags operate, and I discovered that while I love the aesthetic of many of them and the work they produce, I really hate how they’re organized. Namely, you click a random title of a random piece and start reading. With print, you can just turn pages; there’s an inherent order to it. But with online magazines presented as tables of contents with no information but a work’s title and its author, there’s nothing that really encourages you to read.
What I found myself thinking repeatedly was, “Just send me a story. I just want to read a story.” I don’t want to click on a link to a page with the story on it. I don’t want to click on a link that takes me to a page of other links, especially if those links are just author names I don’t recognize. I don’t want to be met with a paywall after three paragraphs. I just want a story, in full, in my inbox at regular intervals.
Then I thought, “Hey, why don’t I just...do that?”
And here we are.
How it works
We’re keeping it simple. Free subscribers receive one story every other week. No paywalls.
In addition to the above, paid subscribers ($5 per month or $30 per year) receive the PDF and EPUB files of each issue as it releases. New issues come out on April 1, July 1, and October 1 each year. You can also purchase them on our website for $8. We understand that’s a weird price discrepancy, but $5/month and $30/year is the lowest Substack will let us go.
Funds from paid subscriptions go toward our operational expenses and contributor honorariums.
Subscribe
More info under the cut
In addition to our relaunch, here are some other changes we’re working on:
Building a digital archive
Since our initial launch in 2022, we’ve published 13 print issues containing a total of 112 stories. Recently we reached out to all our previous contributors and asked if they’d want their stories to be re-released online, and thankfully many of them said yes. So starting this month, every other Monday you’ll receive a story from a previous issue until our next issue in October.
We’ll also share stories from our archive sporadically throughout the year, particularly in January through March when we don’t have a new issue to post from.
New social media
Social media in general has kind of tanked in recent years, what with Twitter being taken over by a supervillain and AI slop infecting every corner of the internet. And yet we must persist. Going forward we aim to have a stronger and more consistent social media presence.
You can find us on:
Tumblr, which remains our platform of choice, being as we are a team of old school tumblrinas
X, simply because we already had that account set up
Bsky, which is a brand new platform for us but we have high hopes for it
Duosuma
We’ve finally moved away from Submittable, which has long been the bane of our existence. We’re instead using Duosuma to manage our submissions. We’ll open for submissions for our April 2027 issue in fall.
Lastly, here are a few miscellaneous notes/reminders:
To former patrons
We were unable to import our full mailing list from Patreon, so if you’re a former patron coming upon this post from a social media share and find yourself having to subscribe, please know that Patreon just straight-up erased most of our patrons’ email addresses. I did my best to go through and manually add people whose email addresses I knew, but I’m very sorry if I missed yours.
Back issues
If you’d like a physical copy of one of our previous issues, we have some remaining back stock you can purchase at our store. We’ve discounted all physical back issues to $12 each.
Up next…
Our next post will be on July 13—an essay I’ve written on the history and importance of the short story. After that, we’ll continue sharing archived pieces every other Monday until we publish issue #14 on October 1st.
We're clearing out our archives. Now through the end of 2025, here's the deal:
All print issues are $8
Orders over $15 get a free OFIC tote bag (while supplies last)
FREE shipping on domestic (US) orders over $10
Two of our print issues are already sold out, and the rest are close. Snag your limited edition copy now while you still can and while they're at their cheapest!
We're clearing out our archives. Now through the end of 2025, here's the deal:
All print issues are $8
Orders over $15 get a free OFIC tote bag (while supplies last)
FREE shipping on domestic (US) orders over $10
Two of our print issues are already sold out, and the rest are close. Snag your limited edition copy now while you still can and while they're at their cheapest!
We're clearing out our archives. Now through the end of 2025, here's the deal:
All print issues are $8
Orders over $15 get a free OFIC tote bag (while supplies last)
FREE shipping on domestic (US) orders over $10
Two of our print issues are already sold out, and the rest are close. Snag your limited edition copy now while you still can and while they're at their cheapest!
We're clearing out our archives. Now through the end of 2025, here's the deal:
All print issues are $8
Orders over $15 get a free OFIC tote bag (while supplies last)
FREE shipping on domestic (US) orders over $10
Two of our print issues are already sold out, and the rest are close. Snag your limited edition copy now while you still can and while they're at their cheapest!
And it is our last print issue. Although we're sad not to be able to hold future issues in hand, we'll have a lot more freedom going fully digital. (More on that in Beth's letter from the editor.)
Issue #13 is the perfect October issue, with a gorgeous thematic mixture of death, the body, the paranormal, and the most supernatural relationship of them all: sisterhood. We love this issue, and we're sure you will too.
PURCHASE ISSUE #13 HERE.
Thank you so much for your support and readership over these past four years. We are excited to keep OFIC alive online for many more.
We are accepting submissions for Issue #13 until 11:59pm EST on August 17, 2025. Issue #13 will be published on October 1, 2025.
Send us your dead doves, your blorbos, your plinkos, your wretched meow meows yearning to be free; that thing you wrote that made you think, “I don’t know where this belongs”; the stuff you’d never show anyone you know IRL. Give us your shameless, self-indulgent smut; the manuscript to the video essay you dictated to your YouTube subscribers in your head; your thoughtful explorations of trauma and identity; your Pepe Silvia wall; your sci-fi, your fantasy, your romance, your realism. We want anything and everything. As long as you identify as a fan, we want to read your work.
We are currently looking for:
Short fiction (only 1 piece at a time, max 12k words; if flash [under 1k], you may submit up to 5 pieces in one document)
Nonfiction (personal essays, articles, or meta, max 12k words)
Check out our MSWL!
Special Announcement: Issue #13 will be the last issue going to print. Starting in 2026, all issues will be published digitally. We have been so fortunate to print physical issues for the last ~4 years, and we thank all of your for the unwavering support that made it happen. <3
We are accepting submissions for Issue #13 until 11:59pm EST on August 17, 2025. Issue #13 will be published on October 1, 2025.
Send us your dead doves, your blorbos, your plinkos, your wretched meow meows yearning to be free; that thing you wrote that made you think, “I don’t know where this belongs”; the stuff you’d never show anyone you know IRL. Give us your shameless, self-indulgent smut; the manuscript to the video essay you dictated to your YouTube subscribers in your head; your thoughtful explorations of trauma and identity; your Pepe Silvia wall; your sci-fi, your fantasy, your romance, your realism. We want anything and everything. As long as you identify as a fan, we want to read your work.
We are currently looking for:
Short fiction (only 1 piece at a time, max 12k words; if flash [under 1k], you may submit up to 5 pieces in one document)
Nonfiction (personal essays, articles, or meta, max 12k words)
Check out our MSWL!
Special Announcement: Issue #13 will be the last issue going to print. Starting in 2026, all issues will be published digitally. We have been so fortunate to print physical issues for the last ~4 years, and we thank all of your for the unwavering support that made it happen. <3
We are accepting submissions for Issue #13 until 11:59pm EST on August 17, 2025. Issue #13 will be published on October 1, 2025.
Send us your dead doves, your blorbos, your plinkos, your wretched meow meows yearning to be free; that thing you wrote that made you think, “I don’t know where this belongs”; the stuff you’d never show anyone you know IRL. Give us your shameless, self-indulgent smut; the manuscript to the video essay you dictated to your YouTube subscribers in your head; your thoughtful explorations of trauma and identity; your Pepe Silvia wall; your sci-fi, your fantasy, your romance, your realism. We want anything and everything. As long as you identify as a fan, we want to read your work.
We are currently looking for:
Short fiction (only 1 piece at a time, max 12k words; if flash [under 1k], you may submit up to 5 pieces in one document)
Nonfiction (personal essays, articles, or meta, max 12k words)
Check out our MSWL!
Special Announcement: Issue #13 will be the last issue going to print. Starting in 2026, all issues will be published digitally. We have been so fortunate to print physical issues for the last ~4 years, and we thank all of your for the unwavering support that made it happen. <3
We are accepting submissions for Issue #13 until 11:59pm EST on August 17, 2025. Issue #13 will be published on October 1, 2025.
Send us your dead doves, your blorbos, your plinkos, your wretched meow meows yearning to be free; that thing you wrote that made you think, “I don’t know where this belongs”; the stuff you’d never show anyone you know IRL. Give us your shameless, self-indulgent smut; the manuscript to the video essay you dictated to your YouTube subscribers in your head; your thoughtful explorations of trauma and identity; your Pepe Silvia wall; your sci-fi, your fantasy, your romance, your realism. We want anything and everything. As long as you identify as a fan, we want to read your work.
We are currently looking for:
Short fiction (only 1 piece at a time, max 12k words; if flash [under 1k], you may submit up to 5 pieces in one document)
Nonfiction (personal essays, articles, or meta, max 12k words)
Check out our MSWL!
Special Announcement: Issue #13 will be the last issue going to print. Starting in 2026, all issues will be published digitally. We have been so fortunate to print physical issues for the last ~4 years, and we thank all of your for the unwavering support that made it happen. <3
We are accepting submissions for Issue #13 until 11:59pm EST on August 17, 2025. Issue #13 will be published on October 1, 2025.
Send us your dead doves, your blorbos, your plinkos, your wretched meow meows yearning to be free; that thing you wrote that made you think, “I don’t know where this belongs”; the stuff you’d never show anyone you know IRL. Give us your shameless, self-indulgent smut; the manuscript to the video essay you dictated to your YouTube subscribers in your head; your thoughtful explorations of trauma and identity; your Pepe Silvia wall; your sci-fi, your fantasy, your romance, your realism. We want anything and everything. As long as you identify as a fan, we want to read your work.
We are currently looking for:
Short fiction (only 1 piece at a time, max 12k words; if flash [under 1k], you may submit up to 5 pieces in one document)
Nonfiction (personal essays, articles, or meta, max 12k words)
Check out our MSWL!
Special Announcement: Issue #13 will be the last issue going to print. Starting in 2026, all issues will be published digitally. We have been so fortunate to print physical issues for the last ~4 years, and we thank all of your for the unwavering support that made it happen. <3
Summer is here and that means we've chosen two phenomenal novellas to share with you in our second "Doubles Issue." These novellas speak to each other in such unique ways. One is set in '90s USA and the other in '20s England (that's 1920s). One involves poison and the other possession. One is realistic and the other fantastical. Despite these differences, both unfold through the slow reveal of close-kept secrets.
In Unicorn, a teenage girl dreams of poisoning her abusive mother. Meanwhile, she fosters a crush on the town drug dealer, who may or may not be keeping a big secret from her.
In Cathexis, a demon prince bored with his tyrannical reign is presented with a young man possessing a secret the prince can't crack, and embarks upon an unorthodox method of interrogation.
PURCHASE ISSUE #12 HERE.
WAYS TO ENGAGE WITH OFIC:
Become a patron (the best way!)
Leave us your comments! If a piece spoke to you and you’d like us (and the author) to know, fill out this form.
Share your excitement on social media using the hashtag #OFICMag12!
Check out our store for cool merch & back stock!
Thank you all for your continued support! We hope you enjoy reading these novellas as much as we enjoyed publishing them!
We are accepting submissions for Issue #13 until 11:59pm EST on August 17, 2025. Issue #13 will be published on October 1, 2025.
Send us your dead doves, your blorbos, your plinkos, your wretched meow meows yearning to be free; that thing you wrote that made you think, “I don’t know where this belongs”; the stuff you’d never show anyone you know IRL. Give us your shameless, self-indulgent smut; the manuscript to the video essay you dictated to your YouTube subscribers in your head; your thoughtful explorations of trauma and identity; your Pepe Silvia wall; your sci-fi, your fantasy, your romance, your realism. We want anything and everything. As long as you identify as a fan, we want to read your work.
We are currently looking for:
Short fiction (only 1 piece at a time, max 12k words; if flash [under 1k], you may submit up to 5 pieces in one document)
Nonfiction (personal essays, articles, or meta, max 12k words)
Check out our MSWL!
Special Announcement: Issue #13 will be the last issue going to print. Starting in 2026, all issues will be published digitally. We have been so fortunate to print physical issues for the last ~4 years, and we thank all of your for the unwavering support that made it happen. <3
We're back from our winter hiatus and so jazzed to be entering our THIRD YEAR of publishing fantastic fucky stories for you.
In this issue, we have God and gods, and ghosts who haunt the narrative (sometimes literally and sometimes figuratively). We have ships traversing waters from life to death and ships sinking night after night. Codependent twins with blood magic. A sk8er boi with a gore fetish. And you’ll never look at mangoes the same way again.
PURCHASE ISSUE #11 HERE.
WAYS TO ENGAGE WITH OFIC:
Become a patron (the best way!)
Leave us your comments! If a piece spoke to you and you’d like us (and the author) to know, fill out this form.
Share your excitement on social media using the hashtag #OFICMag11!
Check out our store for cool merch & back stock!
THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR YOUR SUPPORT. HAPPY READING AND HAPPY SPRING!
i think it's been almost 10 years since i changed my blog colors/theme and 5 years since i changed my profile pic, but it is time. i am no longer Jesse Pinkman but Marilyn Monroe. this specific photo is widely acknowledged as her favorite.
it's been colorized though and i can't find that attribution. but the photo itself was taken by Cecil Beaton in 1956.
i spent a big portion of last year researching Marilyn's life for basically no reason. i just wanted to. and here i am, no longer a person but 10,000 Marilyn facts in a trench coat.
i took an accidental 6 month hiatus from my newsletter, but! i posted a new one this month to celebrate my fifth year as a writing coach.
or: my new sidestack, OFIC Mag Issue #11, and celebrating my 5 year coachiversary
i also launched an additional substack, unhinged morning pages, where i'll post my writing log, craft analyses, fiction, and personal essays. my lowkey writing-related newsletter will remain free, but unhinged writing pages will have paywalled posts.
if you want to support me as a writer, you can subscribe to unhinged morning pages for $7 a month or $70 a year. at the moment i plan to post 2-3 times per month.
This is a side Substack (sidestack?) to share my writing log, WIP updates, personal essays, and occasional fiction. Paid subscriptions to th
coming up:
my August 2024 writing log (scheduled to post tomorrow on ump).
i'll be opening summer asynchronous @fanauthorworkshop applications and @oficmag issue #13 submissions soon.
i'm working on revising my novella, Coping Skills, to post to ump in 4 parts.
i fully intend to post another lkwrnl in May. whether or not this will actually happen remains to be seen.
as soon as i have H4H out to early readers, i'm pivoting back to fanfic. i've got multiple wips to finish, an anora fic idea, a sunrise on the reaping fic idea, and my FTH fic which i'm jazzed to start working on.
