Normal Submissions are temporarily closed as we run our
flash fiction competition.
Story Submission Guidelines
We find that agents, publishers, and presses often look for stories that are "dynamic," "plot-driven," and "emotionally impactful." Usually, they want a big twist at the end or some kind of fireworks. Darth Vader is the father and the Death Star blows up. But it's not often that our lives have big twists and awe-inspiring fireworks. Sometimes the moments that impact us the most are the quiet ones. The ones we didn't realize were happening and didn't know had ended. Stories that transport the reader and make them forget about their own lives, even if only for a brief moment. These are the stories we want. Stories that meander through city alleyways and country lanes. We want to feel as if we're also in that desert or in the middle of that argument. We want to see a snapshot of life, even something that blends the line between fiction and reality, a taste of magical realism.
This is what we know we love, but we're happy to be surprised. So if you have something outside of this aesthetic that you think we'll like, we want to read that too.
We're not accepting poetry, full-length novels/novellas, or the genres of horror, gore, and erotica. We don't tend to publish hardcore genre fiction, but we're always open reading your work and seeing if it's an exception to the rule.
Please send us either:
One short fiction story up to 2,500 words in length. (If it's a little longer that's okay, but shorter is better.)
or
Two flash fiction stories up to 1,000 words each in length.
or
Four micro-fiction stories up to 300 words each in length.
Please paste your story or stories into the body of the email and use the subject "FICTION SUBMISSION" without the quotation marks unless you have purchased an expedited response, in which case please use the subject "EXPEDITED FICTION SUBMISSION." See below for more details. We will not open attachments. If you have multiple stories, separate them by title.
We know that waiting to hear back can often been stressful, but please wait six weeks before reaching out. If you need to hear back sooner, scroll down, and learn about our options to hear back sooner.
Our reply to you will have the subject line "YOUR SUBMISSION." If it's not in your inbox, please check your spam or junk folder.
what we
need
from you... simplified
CLOSED
To:
From:
Your email here.
Subject:
FICTION SUBMISSION
(Or EXPEDITED FICTION SUBMISSION* if you have purchased this option through Ko-fi)
Body:
Introduction: Hi, Hello, Good day, What's happening, Top of the morning!
Our fiction editor is Nathaniel (he/him).
Cover Letter: Entirely optional to include. Doesn't affect our judgement in the slightest.
Word Count: Nice to see, again it's entirely optional to include.
Third Person Bio*: One paragraph, we'd love to see where else you've been published, any links to social media, and if you have a cat, we'd love to know about them too!
If you use a pen name, use it here.
Story*: Pasted into the body of the email. We understand that formatting can be, and often is, a nightmare, so please don't worry too much. As long as it's readable, we're happy to read it! Likewise with fonts; if you feel the need to get creative, toss us a couple of submissions with Comic Sans or Papyrus.
*(Required)
Expedited Response
Receive a response within 3 business days. This will not affect our judgement of your story. Please add "EXPEDITED" into your subject and either a screenshot of the donation or the name you made the donation with.
CLOSED
$3
Both payments can be made as donations through our Ko-Fi. (You can pay with PayPal, Credit/Debit card, and bank transfers through MyBank.)
The nitty-gritty:
-
As a general rule, we aren't looking for heavily political or Covid-19 related stories/art.
-
We accept all unsolicited submissions.
-
All work must be your own.
-
All written work must be in English but translations are welcome.
-
Submissions are open from the 16th to the final day of the same month.
-
We accept simultaneous submissions, just let us know in the email if it's simultaneous and if it’s accepted elsewhere, please let us know as soon as possible.
-
We accept multiple submissions. Please send each submission as a separate email (unless they are short stories).
-
If you hear back a "No" within an open reading period, please feel free to submit another story. If you hear "No" back outside of the reading period, we'd love to see more of your work during the next reading period.
-
Currently, we are not accepting previously published work. (We understand that writers need to share their work to gain exposure, so we don't consider publishing work to a personal website or social media as being published.)
-
If your piece is accepted, we acquire first-time North American serial/online rights and non-exclusive anthology rights. Upon publication, rights revert to the author. We ask that anyone whose work is published with us allows us to share their work on social media and email posts.
-
Please wait six weeks to hear from us. If you need to hear back sooner, we can offer that for a small payment.