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Clarkesworld temporarily closed submissions on February 20, 2023, after founder Neil Clarke said a growing wave of suspicious stories had become difficult to review. Volunteers helped build a rudimentary spam filter, and submissions reopened by the end of March. The often-repeated claim that generated stories were on track to match legitimate submissions was Clarke’s estimate—not a verified count.
What happened to Clarkesworld’s submissions?
Clarkesworld is an online science-fiction and fantasy magazine founded by Neil Clarke. In late 2022, Clarke began noticing submissions that seemed unusual. He recalled that “there was something off about them” and described seeing repeated versions of a science-fiction plot. He told New York Magazine he had received dozens of versions of that pattern. New York Magazine’s 2024 account recounts the episode and its timeline.
Reviewing the suspicious submissions manually became burdensome. Clarke compared the workload to dealing with an inbox that had no spam filter. On February 20, 2023, he decided to close submissions temporarily.
Were generated submissions actually half of the total?
That is not established by a published count. Clarke told New York Magazine, “We had reached the point where we were on track to receive as many generated submissions as legitimate ones.” This was his description of the trend at the time, not a verified measurement that half of all submissions were generated.
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The distinction matters: the reporting describes an alarming trajectory and a moderation problem, but does not provide an independently measured share of AI-generated submissions.
How did Clarkesworld respond?
During March 2023, volunteers helped Clarke develop a rudimentary spam filter. Submissions reopened by the end of that month, according to New York Magazine. Futurism’s September 2024 summary likewise says the filter helped hold the problem at bay, attributing that assessment to Clarke.
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Clarke’s warning, quoted in Futurism from a February 2023 post, was: “If the field can’t find a way to address this situation, things will begin to break.” It framed the incident as a challenge for fiction publishing more broadly, not just a temporary interruption at one magazine.
Why were people sending AI-generated fiction?
The reporting connected the influx to online side-hustle advice that encouraged people to submit AI-generated fiction for payment. New York Magazine reported a rate of 12 cents per word and a submission range of 1,000 to 22,000 words. Those are historical terms reported in 2024 about Clarkesworld; they should not be treated as the magazine’s current rates or word-count limits.
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The reporting establishes that submissions reopened by the end of March 2023. It does not establish Clarkesworld’s present submission rules, AI policy, payment terms, or portal status. The 2024 articles recount the earlier episode and do not verify what the magazine accepts today.
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