New Independent Magazine Black Market Fiction Launches With Serial Stories Traditional Publishing Won’t Touch
Black Market Fiction, a new digital literary magazine, launched in December 2025 with a mission to publish serial fiction that bypasses traditional publishing gatekeepers—starting with a dystopian thriller about a coordinated terrorist attack where younger generations eliminate everyone over fifty.
The magazine, founded by editor Kristin McTiernan, positions itself as an alternative to what McTiernan describes as the declining quality of mainstream publishing.
“I got the idea for BMF after looking at an issue of vintage Playboy,” McTiernan told Fandom Pulse. “I was blown away by its quality. The articles, the fiction. Even the ads were clever. It gave me a true sense of how far magazine publishers have fallen.”
The December issue’s flagship serial, Night of the Pillow, centers on a unified uprising of under-40s who carry out coordinated killings of older generations. The story follows the fallout, both personal and structural, of what happens when everyone over 50 is just gone.
The magazine operates on a subscription model with no corporate sponsors, offering weekly serial episodes, cultural commentary, and monthly PDF compilations to paying subscribers. Two annual print editions compile complete story arcs for collectors.
“Black Market Fiction exists for readers who know good fiction when they read it and want stories where characters face real dilemmas,” McTiernan said. “For readers who want cultural commentary that challenges conventional thinking, not more recycled takes on the same topics.”
January’s issue will feature analysis of Gillian Flynn’s influence on psychological thrillers and an exploration of Kansas City’s independent writing scene—the underground culture that produced one of the genre’s most distinctive voices.
“Gone Girl lit the literary world on fire, but only Kansas City locals realized how perfectly Flynn had tapped into ‘flyover country’ writing culture,” McTiernan explained. “I’m sick of New York and California, and I want other cities at the forefront, starting with Kansas City.”
Black Market Fiction accepts submissions for both fiction and feature essays, and runs book advertisements in full issues to help independent authors reach readers.
Subscriptions start at $5.99/month, with a premium tier at $11.99/month that includes the biannual print editions. Individual digital issues are available for $5.99 and print issues are available for $25.
More information is available at blackmarketfiction.com.
LINKS:
Full December digital issue: https://shop.blackmarketfiction.com/b/WLaTm
Preorder full January Issue: https://shop.blackmarketfiction.com/b/Qw0c1
BMF Submissions & Advertising inquiries: https://www.blackmarketfiction.com/contact/
Subscribe to BMF: https://www.blackmarketfiction.com/about/
Looks great! Their submission guidelines are very basic and “AI agnostic.” They just require it not sound vanilla or too generative.
So "Night of the Pillow" is a modern retelling of the basic premise of Logan's Run, although in Johnson and Nolan's novel 21 years old was the original cut off.