Matchlight Mystery is an annual mystery anthology dedicated to showcasing the best in classic and contemporary detective fiction. Each issue brings you impossible crimes, ingenious solutions, and detectives as brilliant as they are unforgettable. We remember the sensational tales of Detective Story, Black Mask, and Dime Detective. Matchlight is their modern day heir, the sharp, stylish twenty-first century pulp magazine that honors their legacy. Not only are we publishing imaginative detective stories from today's finest mystery writers, we're resurrecting the forgotten classics of yesteryear. Whether they're inspecting a locked room, tracking a killer, or unraveling an impossible alibi, our detectives will captivate and thrill you until the final reveal.
Photo by Hamid Tajik.
Guidelines
Matchlight Mystery seeks original detective fiction from new and established writers. We are primarily dedicated to stories in the classical detective mode of mystery fiction. If the story features a puzzling crime and a brilliant investigator with the deductive skills to solve it, we’d love to read it.
We’re captivated by detectives of all kinds: career homicide detectives, meddling amateur sleuths, hardened private eyes, even rookie insurance adjustors. And we’re excited by detective stories of all kinds: police procedurals, hardboiled noir, legal thrillers, comedy cozies, even speculative or supernatural mysteries. If you've been inspired by the adventures of Sherlock Holmes, Jane Marple, Sam Spade, Easy Rawlins, V. I. Warshawski, Kosuke Kindaichi, or Harry Dresden, you're in the right place.
Stories should be smart, stimulating, and well-structured. We value strong prose, vivid settings, and unforgettable characters. Above all, we favor stories that are fair play mysteries, featuring a solid plot with clues, credible suspects, clever misdirection, and a satisfying resolution earned through logic and deduction. Detectives should be memorable, with a distinct personality, voice, method, expertise, or perspective.
Submissions
We consider short stories of almost any length. Our preferred range is 2,500 to 8,000 words. We occasionally publish flash fiction under 1,000 words or novellas over 12,000 words, but only if they're exceptionally well-edited.
Matchlight publishes original work, reprints, and translations. If your story has been previously published, simply note this in your cover letter. We also accept simultaneous submissions, though we ask that you notify us immediately if your story is accepted elsewhere. Detective stories are tales of the human experience and we do not accept fiction generated by large language models or so-called artificial intelligence.
Authors
We view every author we publish as a creative partner. This means clear communication, a fair contract, prompt payment, and editorial support. We also believe that great literature comes from diverse perspectives. We're committed to championing the work of marginalized and underrepresented voices, and we believe the best detective fiction reflects the full complexity of the human experience.
Requirements
Inaugural Issue: December 2026
Reading Period: 1 April 2026 to 30 September 2026
Genre: Detective (Whodunit, Hardboiled, Cozy, et al.)
Story Length: Primarily 1,000 to 8,000 words
Submission Fee: $2.99 (non-refundable)
Publishing Rights: Onetime Print Rights
Response Time: Up to 3 Months
Payment: $10—$50 and a Print Copy
Previously Published: Yes
Multiple Submissions: No
Simultaneous Submissions: Yes
Submissions via Duosuma
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