A new gothic literary magazine has just launched in Dundee

A brand new literary magazine dedicated to gothic, horror and fantasy fiction has officially launched in Dundee - drawing inspiration from the city’s deep connection to dark storytelling and literary history.

The Dundee Review, founded by University of Dundee Professor of English Daniel Cook, describes itself as a “twenty-first-century literary magazine” focused on original gothic, terror, horror and fantasy fiction from writers around the world.

The new publication takes inspiration from Dundee’s own gothic legacy - including the time a young Mary Shelley, then known as Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin, lived in the city before later writing Frankenstein.

In the publication’s launch statement, The Dundee Review highlights Shelley’s famous reflection on Dundee’s “blank and dreary northern shores of the Tay” as a place where she could freely “commune with the creatures of my fancy”.

The journal says Dundee has “long revelled in the gothic imagination”, referencing local tales of demons, sea monsters and the legend of the nine maidens and the dragon - the story believed to have inspired the name Ninewells.

The Dundee Review is open to all authors and aims to publish a wide range of dark fiction styles including horror, speculative fiction, science fiction, crime, weird fiction and dark romance.

Each published story will automatically qualify for the Ninewells Literary Prize, which honours the best story to appear in the journal during the calendar year.

According to the publication, the project is currently supported by Ninewells Press in Scotland and hopes to eventually move away from a submission-fee model towards paying contributors as the platform grows.

The Dundee Review, now officially launched, is open for submissions through its website.