Call for Autumn 2026
Le Chat Noir
Alternative Histories… With Cats
Le Chat Noir
Alternative Histories
… With Cats
Carefully placed cats.
Any historical event, add a cat. How does it change the world?
Submissions open March 1, 2026. Closes June 2026, or when full
Published Autumn Equinox, 2026
Join the conversation on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/3523058367962366/
Discord: https://discord.gg/aGqTZW9e
We are on Submissions Grinder and Duotrope
We are looking for short stories, poetry, and audio.
Submission Guidelines and Payment information: https://societyforritualarts.com/rw/2024-spring/submission-guidelines/
Audio Guidelines: https://societyforritualarts.com/rw/2024-spring/audio-submissions/
For non-fiction essays, editorials, and reviews, go to our sister publication, Coreopsis Journal of Myth & Theatre Guidelines, here.
Submit here using this Form (open March 1, 2026)
Please state: Autumn 2026 “Le Chat Noir” on your manuscript under the word count.
Manuscripts received before March 1, 2026, by any other method or not in Shunn Standard Manuscript Form will not be read.
Poets: Because we received many submissions from poets in many different formats, we require that you use Shunn as your guide and, importantly! put your name and contact information on your submission.
Place NO art in text. Use Shunn Manuscript Form.
Payment is $20 per story, 7,500 words hard limit, and $10 per poem, 40 line limit. We do not accept dribbles or flash fiction at this time. (Defined as under 1,000 words.)
Le Chat Noir: Alternative Histories … With Cats.
In history, be it in the wild or content in our houses, Panthera or Felinae, felis domesticus or the ancestor of the tabby on your couch, Proailurus, cats have had a unique place. Loved, adored, worshiped, cherished and hated, feared and persecuted in equal measure we dedicate this issue to The Cat.
Premise: In an alternate world, Le Chat Noir at 84 Boulevard de Rochechouart, is presided over by Madame La Chatte and Les Hydropathes, who eschew water for wine and advocate their sociopolitical and aesthetic agendas.
The patrons come through a secret door on the Seine from places and times where history has run very differently, all because of a Cat. What tales do the patrons of this establishment bring? What secrets are shared between the numbers by the chanteuse of the evening and, especially, when the night grows old and even Paris sleeps? What empires have risen and fallen because of the whispers shared in the darkened corners of the Cabaret between worlds and at the edge of time?
It is here that Rodolphe Salis plays the role of conférencier expounding upon the philosophy of le Salon des Arts Incohérents.
It is here that the Les Dames Folles des Chats sip absinthe and plot revolution.
Madame La Chatte, herself, looks on all with wry amusement and a feline twitch of an ear and a Gallic shrug as she grooms her luxurious coat of fur.
,Cozy Twhat do we want?
We want alternate histories with cats playing a major role in the tail –er– tale. Asking this question: What changed because The Cat told all? (Or didn’t.)
Folk and Fairy tales re-imagined, Fantasy, Dark Fantasy, Eerie tales, Cross-genre Noir, Climate Fiction, Science Fiction and Space Opera, Adventure Tales, Humor, Cozy, Hope-, Solar -, Cyber -, Steam – and Gaslight Punk … all are welcome.
Some inspiration:
- What ship sank or sailed because the cat walked the deck?
- It’s the Cold War and the Walls are high and deadly. What is that cat doing?
- What happened when the jaguar arrived at the Tawantinsuyu kancha?
- What did the tiger say to the Huangdi of the First Imperial Dynasty?
- In the cool of the evening, when dapper felis feral struts through the alleys and rooftops of Paris or London or Mars Ezen Khaan seeing all, who does he tell his secrets to…?
- The Imperial Cats of Rome guard the Eternal Empire in an age of travel between solar systems.
- Basking in the sun the Lions of the Serengeti know all and guard the land.
- In the foggy backstreets of the City by the Bay is a dilapidated building with a door leading to an office where she walks in sleek and proud with a tail as long as the Golden Gate Bridge and eyes as deep and mysterious as the Pacific …
Hard sells:
- If the NAZIs won WWII
- Colonialism be it aliens or Cortez.
- Epic fantasy and sword & sorcery. We’re not against it, but it’s a hard sell.
Just do not send us:
- …pornography
- …gratuitous graphic violence or abuse regarding any vulnerable group. By which we mean flying body parts, mutilations, or medical procedures (note even by aliens) meant to grab the attention of the editors.
- …revenge or splatter fiction
- …mainstream literary fiction
- …rehashes of George R.R. Martin, C.S. Lewis, H.P. Lovecraft, Tolkien, Austin or any film ever made (no not even that one).
Note to Artists and Musicians: This call is open to you as well. We can work with jpegs and audio files. Guidelines: https://societyforritualarts.com/rw/2024-spring/audio-submissions/ Please send a query to [email protected].