You qualify for Codex if you meet any of the qualifying requirements below:
Codex is a community of people who are actively writing.
1.
Any sale that paid a SFWA-qualifying rate at the time of publication
2.
Any sale to a paying English-language market that represents an underrepresented or marginalized demographic (such as Glittership, Anathema, etc) or that publishes primarily non-Western voices (such as LONTAR, etc.)
3.
An offer of representation for fiction from a literary agent at an established, reputable, and successful agency
4.
Completion of a major, by-audition-only speculative fiction writing workshop such as Clarion, Odyssey, Literary Boot Camp, Clarion West, Viable Paradise, VONA, Alphas, etc.
5.
Successful completion of an MFA program in creative writing
6.
Cumulative sales of fiction where the received individual author income is at least $100 (USD) from those sales
7.
Nomination for or winning of a qualifying major award for writing fiction in any form or medium, including but not limited to: Campbell, Nebula, Hugo, WGA, Carl Brandon Award, Nommo Awards, Chinese Nebula Awards, Galaxy Awards, Seiun Award, Otherwise Award, Stoker or Shirley Jackson award
If you are unsure if you meet Codex's membership qualifications, we urge you to contact us, especially if you're from outside the US or from a marginalized group. We're eager to assist, and look forward to expanding our membership worldwide. As a basis for continued participation in Codex, members stay involved in their writing careers through ongoing research, outlining, revising, writing, submitting, or other writing work.
A note about SFWA markets.
SFWA is in the process of updating their qualifying markets list with a review of market practices beyond pay rate and no longer provides a list of "qualifying markets." Their membership page states the following:
In January 2022, SFWA unveiled a plan to create a comprehensive market matrix or scorecard to better guide creators toward professional publishers. We are starting with short fiction markets on this rollout, and while the committee makes the finishing touches, we are suspending the short fiction qualifying markets list.
For Codex qualification purposes, SFWA's monthly market report can be used to find markets that pay at least $0.08 cents per word.
We also maintain a small list of markets that are comparable for our purposes. Please contact us to inquire whether a sale to a particular publication qualifies.
If you have sold work to one of these markets, you are qualified on acceptance; you don't have to wait for payment or publication.
A reprint sale to a qualifying market can be used for membership even if it pays less than $0.08/word.
Codex is a privately run organization.
We reserve the right to decline an application or to close an account for any reason or no reason, especially in the case of grossly unprofessional or antagonistic behavior online or elsewhere. However, we're glad to say this is hardly ever necessary.