Background - my background's in "literary" fiction (quote unquote), but increasingly I've been working on stories that fit into the slipstream, fabulism, magical realism (etc) genres (think Vernon Lee, Theophile Gautier, AS Byatt).
I've got two stories in particular I'm not sure where to submit (2000 words each, give or take):
The first was written for a Jewish-themed fiction contest (which I haven't heard back from, but I'd like to keep it "active"): - Guilt, patriarchy, sibling rivalry, and family secrets in post WWII Vienna, with a bit of Jewish golem lore thrown in (Talmudic magical realism, maybe?).
The second is perhaps harder still - a Poe-inspired piece of literary/psychological horror about a woman who has had an abortion becoming convinced that she's still pregnant. I'm keen to stress that there's no "political statement" meant at all - apart from perhaps a feminist desire to explore what "horror"/"fear"/etc mean from a female perspective, and to provide a female counterpoint to "Tell-Tale Heart" or similar. Is there a market for very literary psychological horror that won't see "abortion" and immediately shut me down as a wingnut (from either camp)? It's on sub at Apex (but realistically, what are the odds?), rejected already from Nightmare.
Anyone interested in critting either is welcome to PM me, by the way. I'm fine with harsh, blunt criticism.