Addendum, June 14, 2020: I just got an email from the editor reversing his decision and saying this story didn’t fit the Rebirth theme. This is the first time ever that I’ve had a story accepted and then subsequently rejected. Not sure what to think.

Original Announcement: My short story “Surtr and the Phoenix” has been accepted into an issue of Dastaan World Magazine, a Pakistan-based periodical, with the theme “Rebirth”

I’d originally written the tale as a charity submission to an Australian publication trying to raise funds for victims of the Australian Bushfires early this year. They rejected it, which is fine and dandy, since it’s a science fantasy tale and not your typical “wildfire” story.

I’ve submitted to Dastaan in the past, but the magazine went dark for many months. They finally put together a new editing team and…

…I’m acquainted, through Facebook, with one of their staff. I let him know (I don’t have permission to use his name yet, and he’s not listed anywhere on their website (and since their website has no sort of menu at all, navigation is quite a chore – hint, hint), so he’ll have to explicitly tell me it’s okay first) that one of my stories (a different one) had been languishing for over a year.

He asked me to send it to him via email which I did. He replied a few days later rejecting the story but said I should send more. Since there was a lack of data about themes and submission dates, I again queried him and he asked to speak with me by phone.

We had a very nice conversation, and apparently the magazine is just now getting back on its feet, so nothing is set in stone. He did mention on Facebook, that the next three themes for the magazine are Premonition, Quantum, and Rebirth, but that submissions to each could take a very loose interpretation of those terms.

I looked at the stories currently in my queue and chose two to send in last night. This morning, he said that Surtr had been accepted. My other submission is over 9,000 words long and he asked for a shorter version to consider for Quantum. Guess I have some editing to do.

You can find Dastaan World on their website, as well as on Facebook, and twitter.

I’ll pass along more info as it comes in.