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Rumple_deWriter

Over 90 days ago

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7 Jan 2021

Morning toall, especially those mourning what happened yesterday. sad

sad

Larry, thanks for the 'heads up'. I'll check my settings but something tells me getting in touch with Gav is in my future.

Glad I am to have 'The Big E' stop by. etairay has been around here since way, way back when.

Time for the three C's (coffee, cookies, and contemplation) over in the corner table by the heater.

Later, Inspirators. glasses8

glasses8

6 Jan 2021

Morning, Larry. Is it just me, my software or general incompetence, but is the story picks list missing. I'm not even sure that's the correct name but there used to be lists of top stories and writers. Best I recall, there was a ten vote minimum for a story to qualify. As for the writer list, beats me.

Any elucidation would be depreciated. ;)

glasses8

glasses8

6 Jan 2021

Happy 'Hump Day' to all who enter. Coffee's cooking, the tea kettle is kettling and Sarah's cookies await both one and all.

Me, I'm editing my last SS story, 'A Winter's Day' down from just under 3k to under 2500 words. That's the word limit for a story site called 'Magnets and Ladders' which twice a year posts stories by writers with disabilities.

BTW, here's a link to, 'A Winter's Day'.
https://www.storiesspace.com/stories/general/-a-winters-day-.aspx
I'm hoping for three more votes so it can qualify for the story picks list. (hint, hint, hint)

Now let me grab a mug full of coffee and a handful of cookies and retire to the corner table by the heater and get to work.

Later, Inspirators. glasses8

glasses8

5 Jan 2021

Morning to all fellow travelers in the the world of Inspirations. Coffee's on and the tea kettle is filled with mixer for the tea and coco crowd.

Think (in a manner of speaking) I'll fill my mug, grab some of Sarah's cookies and go sit by the heater. Not sure what I'll do over there but it's bound to be uninteresting.

Later, Inspirators. glasses8

glasses8

4 Jan 2021

Morning 'Spacers. Larry, coffee made with water from the mighty Kansa River and, I'm guessing, also the source of fluids for the tea kettle. What a way to start the first Moanday mourning in 2021.

Just posted a new list of themed calls for subs over on the aptly named 'Contests and Calls for Subs' forum. Even if the last thing you want to do right now is submit a story, check out the list for the variety of subjects which run the gamut from mermaids to modern gothic

And now, thanks to the efforts of Larry and Sarah, I'll grab a mug full of coffee and some cookies, then go sit outside in the sun like an the old dog I am.

Later, Inspirators. glasses8

glasses8

.

4 Jan 2021

Some of the themes are: mermaids, lost civilizations, lesbian historic fiction, monsters, protest diaries, stories inspired by Jules Verne, parenting, engaging with the natural world, health, and (reimagined) Gothic fiction. All are paying markets.

Copied from the free online newsletter of the Authors Publish' magazine newsletter. Links will not work so if you're interested in something, just google the site.

x x x

SUBMISSION CALLS

Mermaids Monthly
They want short and micro fiction, nonfiction, poetry, comics, and artwork on the mermaids theme. “Everything should in some way relate to merfolk. We are loose about how you want to define that, and we will consider other aquatic fantastical creatures to be on theme”, according to guidelines. For nonfiction, they accept pitches as well as submissions. They also accept reprints.
Deadline: 9 January 2021
Length: Up to 5,000 words for fiction; poetry of any length
Pay: $0.10/word for short fiction and nonfiction, $50-100 for poems
Details here.

Planet Scumm: Snake Eyes
For this submission call, they want stories only by cisgender women, transgender women, transgender men, non-binary people, and genderqueer people.The anthology theme is ‘Snake Eyes’. They want hard sci-fi, soft sci-fi, speculative fiction, weird fiction, and slipstream.
Deadline: 10 January 2021
Length: 2,000-6,000 words (one story or a collection of flash stories)
Pay: $0.02/word
Details here.

The Other Stories Podcast: Lost Civilizations; Government Experiments; Newly Discovered Creatures
This is a horror fiction podcast by Hawk & Cleaver. Currently, they’re seeking work on three themes: Lost Civilizations; Government Experiments; and Newly Discovered Creatures. They ask you to submit work if it can terrify, scar, and haunt their audience. The link to download guidelines is on the submissions page.
Deadlines: Lost Civilisations – 11th January; Government Experiments – 25th January; Newly Discovered Creatures – 8th February 2021
Length: Up to 2,000 words
Pay: $5
Details here.

Channel
This Ireland-based journal takes submissions of fiction, poetry, and nonfiction from all over the world. They publish work that engages with the natural world, and have a particular interest in work which encourages reflection on human interaction with plant and animal life, landscape and the self. They also accept translations. For nonfiction, they accept both completed work and pitches.
Deadline: 15 January 2021 for fiction and poetry; ongoing for nonfiction
Length: Up to 6,000 words for prose; up to 4 poems
Pay: €40/poem, €40/page of prose up to €120
Details here.

Women Artists Datebook: Activism and/or Healing
This is a call for submissions of poetry by all women and femmes (LBTQ2IAA) – they want work that promotes activism and/or healing. They can be in any style or language (please provide an English translation). They are also looking for artwork.
Deadline: 15 January 2020
Length: Up to 30 lines; send up to 4 poems
Pay: $70 for poetry; $70-200 for artwork
Details here (scroll down).

Alpennia: Lesbian Historic Motif Podcast Fiction Series
They want short stories in the lesbian historic fiction genre, to be produced in audio format for the podcast, as well as published in text on the website. The editors want to see actual historic culture and the plot and characters should be firmly rooted in that time and place. Stories must be set before 1900; the editors would like to see stories that reach beyond the popular settings of 19th century America and England. Romance is optional – meaning story lines focusing on the establishment of a new romantic relationship – and romance stories should have some other strong element in addition to the romance. Stories may include fantastic elements that are appropriate to the historic setting. For example, they can include fantastic or supernatural events or beings that people of that era considered to be real. Or stories may be modeled on the fantastic literature of a specific historic era and culture. No time-travel or past memories, erotica or tragic endings.
Deadline: 31 January 2021
Length: Up to 5,000 words
Pay: $0.08/word
Details here.

Mysterion: Christian speculative fiction
They want science fiction, fantasy and horror stories that engage meaningfully with Christian themes, characters or cosmology. The stories need not teach a moral or be close to an approved theological position. Nor do they need to be pro-Christian – see their detailed guidelines on the kind of work they see too often, and what they would like to see. They are especially interested in stories that show Christians from cultures beyond those of the United States, Canada, and Western Europe. They also accept translations and reprints, and art submissions. Art submissions are open year-round.
Deadline: 31 January 2021
Length: Up to 9,000 words
Pay: $0.08/word
Details here.

Room Magazine: Indigenous Brilliance
This is an international feminist magazine publishing work from marginalized genders, including women, trans men, Two Spirit, and non binary creatives. They publish fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, and art. They’re reading for the Indigenous Brilliance issue. They have extensive guidelines, including, “This issue is to hold space for Indigenous writers to tell their stories. Indigenous is used to refer broadly to peoples of long settlement and connection to specific lands who have been adversely affected by incursions by industrial economies, displacement, and settlement of their traditional territories by others. We acknowledge this is not limited to Turtle Island and the America’s, and welcome Indigenous experiences from around the globe, who share histories of European colonialism, genocide, enslavement, subjugation, resistance, sovereignty and liberation.”
Deadline: 31 January 2021
Length: Up to 3,500 words for fiction and non-fiction; up to five poems
Pay: CAD50/page, up to CAD150
Details here and here.

The Alchemy Press Book of Horrors 3: A Miscellany of Monsters
This UK-based publisher wants stories for this monster-themed anthology. Their guidelines say, “Monsters are many things. They come in all forms, shapes and sizes: from to the tiny to the titanic; from amorphous blobs to many limbed (or tentacled) monstrosities; from supernatural demons to man-made terrors. They come from any place and time: from under the bed to the woodshed; from the icy wastes to the darkest jungles; from the depths of the ocean to outer space; from the past, the future, the now!
Many things. Any things. ….
This is a loosely themed anthology. Just use that word – monster – and run with it.” See guidelines for the kind of stories/themes they do not want to see. Deadline: 31 January 2020
Length: 3,000-6,000 words
Pay: £0.01/word
Details here.

The New Gothic Review
They want short stories that embrace and reimagine Gothic fiction for the 21st century. They want compelling plots with a strong literary bend; eerie atmosphere is key, and stories with Weird Fiction and Folk Horror elements are welcome. They want some terror and horror, but this is not a horror fiction outlet. They don’t want stories written in Victorian Era prose (see guidelines and FAQ), or those containing gruesome violence, gore, or explicit sexual content, fantasy, strong science fiction, or true crime stories.
Deadline: 31 January 2021
Length: 1,500-6,000 words
Pay: $30
Details here.

Zoetic Press: NonBinary Review — Apocalypse; Industrial Revolution
They are reading fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry for two themed issues now: Apocalypse, and Industrial Revolution. They want writers to “explore each theme in any way that speaks to them: re-write a familiar story from a new point of view, mash genres together, give us a personal essay about some aspect of our theme that has haunted you all your life”, according to their guidelines. Each work must have a clear and obvious relation with the theme. They also accept artwork.
Deadlines: 1 February for Apocalypse; 1 May 2021 for Industrial Revolution
Length: Prose up to 3,000 words; poetry up to three pages
Pay: $10 for poetry; $0.01/word for prose
Details here.

B Cubed Press: Three themes
They are open for fiction, essays, and poetry submissions for three anthologies. They will also accept reprints.
— Protest Diaries: “Stories from the front lines of revolutions throughout history.”
— Alternative War: “War shapes the world through technology, boarders, and norms. What will come next?” Stories can take place anywhere in time and space.
— Alternative Deathliness: “Death brings so many options” – this anthology will be a “fun filled romp into the concept and nature of Death.”

Deadline: 1 March 2021
Length: “Story length for our books average about 2200 words but have ranged from 100 to 7500 words. However, we only use one or two stories over 5000 words and our advice is to keep it under 5K, unless we communicate in advance.”
Pay: $0.02/word + royalties
Details here.

Out There: Into the Queer New Yonder
They want fiction by queer YA authors, about queer teen protagonists – stories that are set in the future. This will be extremely competitive, as they are looking to fill two slots for the anthology via the open call. This anthology is open to young writers also (see guidelines). Stories do not have to be #ownvoices, nor do they have to contain romantic elements.
Deadline: 1 March 2021
Length: 4,000-8,000 words
Pay: $900 + royalties
Details here.

The Were-Traveler: My job is a Hellhole!
This is a call for fantasy, dark fantasy, horror, humor, and science fiction. Their guidelines say, “Working for demons, imps, devils, and other minions of hell. Your boss is a denizen of the underworld, but the story can take place in any setting. Any setting means: hell, another planet, Modern Earth, Future Earth. Heaven? Sure why not? Maybe there’s an employee exchange program between heaven and hell.” They also accept drabbles and poetry. See the theme page for other upcoming calls that will open later in the year.
Deadline: 31 March 2021
Length: Up to 2,500 words; poems up to 30 lines
Pay: Up to $15
Details here and here.

Extraordinary Visions: Stories Inspired by Jules Verne
The North American Jules Verne Society is seeking short fiction and illustrations for its upcoming anthology. This is the first anthology of new fiction ever sponsored by the Society. They want short stories inspired by the writings of Jules Verne. Their guidelines say, “Your story may be set in any time or place. You may use characters from Verne’s novels (they’re all in the public domain) or make up your own. You need not write in Verne’s style. The connection between your story and at least one of Verne’s works must be obvious and significant.” They also accept reprints.
Deadline: 30 April 2021 (or until filled)
Length: 3,000-5,000 words
Pay: $0.02/word
Details here.

Midnight From Beyond the Stars
This is a project by Silver Shamrock Publishing. They want original alien horror stories with a The Thing/Alien/The Blob/Critters/Night of the Creeps kind of vibe.
Deadline: 30 April 2021
Length: 2,500-6,000 words
Pay: $0.06/word
Details here.

Horizons: Health; Mission/Go and Do Likewise
This is a Christian magazine. It is published by Presbyterian Women, Inc. for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). They seek articles, stories, and poems on specific themes. For their March/April 2021 issue, the theme is Health; for Summer, they want work on Mission/Go and Do Likewise. There are other themes listed, as well.
Deadlines: Unspecified
Length: 600-1,800 words for articles/stories
Pay: At least $50/page, depending on the time and research required
Details here (download submission guidelines), and here (themes – scroll down).

Motherwell: Home for the Holidays; Back to School and COVID-19; Essays on the parenting experience
They publish personal essays and features/perspective pieces, some of them themed, as well as work in alternate formats (like graphic memoir) on the parenting experience. For personal essays their guidelines say, “We are looking for evocative first-person narratives that have a unique focus, or take a novel angle, on a slice of the parenting experience. We are open to a range of styles and tones: the only requirement is that the essay works on its own terms—be it lyrical, humorous, research-oriented, etc—and conveys something fundamental about its writer. Up to 1,200 words. Completed essays only and please include word count.” Apart from general essays on parenting, they are also reading essays on two themes: Home for the Holidays; and Back to School and COVID-19. Some types of submissions/formats are unpaid (see guidelines).
Deadlines: Unspecified
Length: Up to 1,200 words for personal essays
Pay: Unspecified
Details here.

Bracken
They are currently open for poetry and art submissions (not fiction). “Bracken is a literary magazine born of the love of the woods and its shadows. … We seek poetry, short fiction, and art that will root, tender and tough, in us”, according to guidelines. They consider any style of poetry, although they have a bias toward the lyrical. They look for natural-world, and especially arboreal, elements in poems.
Deadline: Unspecified
Length: Up to 4 poems
Pay: $30/poem
Details here and here.

The Pomegranate London: Artists, and more
This is a biannual printed art and literary magazine featuring short stories, poems, and essays on artists, and was founded in July 2020. It seeks to publish and promote innovative, fresh and experimental new work from established and emerging writers and artists from the UK and internationally. All submissions must feature an artist or an artist’s tool, creation or environment in some way. Artists include, but are not limited to: writers, painters, musicians, dancers, performing artists, actors, filmmakers, artistic directors, fashion designers, sculptors, photographers. They publish short stories, flash fiction, self-contained novel excerpts, and works in translation year round, as well as poetry, and some nonfiction.
Deadline: Ongoing
Length: Up to 4,000 words for prose; up to 4 poems
Pay: £30 per story/essay/poem. Each issue will also select a single poem, story, essay or artwork to receive £200.
Details here.

3 Jan 2021

Morning, to those seeking inspiration or maybe just shelter. The coffee pot has been hosed down and wiped dry, then filled with dark roast ground coffee, sparkling fresh tap water and then put to work. Meanwhile the tea kettle is doing its thing to assuage the needs of the tea and/or coco crowd.

Thanks to Sarah, there are enough cookies so everyone can have several even after I get first shot at them. ;)

Y'all keep on keeping on while doing the best you know how.

Later, Inspirators. glasses8

glasses8

3 Jan 2021

Morning, to those seeking inspiration or maybe just shelter. The coffee pot has been hosed down and wiped dry, then filled with dark roast ground coffee, sparkling fresh tap water and then put to work. Meanwhile the tea kettle is doing its thing to assuage the needs of the tea and/or coco crowd.

Thanks to Sarah, there are enough cookies so everyone can have several even after I get first shot at them. ;)

Y'all keep on keeping on while doing the best you know how.

Later, Inspirators. glasses8

glasses8

2 Jan 2021

Morning to all who wander in searching for a warm place to chat and a hot cup of coffee and/or tea.

Great to have Molly pop in. Molly is a major goodness, especially around here. If not for all her dedicated verification work, I might have to do a spot of honest moderator-type work around here. ;)

Now I'll shut-up, fill my mug to the rim, grab a handful of Sarah's cookies and slide over to the corner table near the heater to contemplate the contemplatable.

Later, Inspirators. glasses8

glasses8

1 Jan 2021

Welcome to 2021, y'all!

Here's a wish for everyone to have a great NEW (and improved) Year.

The coffee pot is filled with (surprise) some medium roast, breakfast blend coffee. For the tea and coco crowd comes word that the cafe's venerable tea kettle is hot to trot.

Sarah, glad I am those cookies are all diabetic friendly. Now I won't feel guilty at taking a few more than I should and skulking over to the corner table by the heater with a mug full of coffee to contemplate life and today's bowl games.

Later, Inspirators. glasses8

glasses8

.

31 Dec 2020

Morning, Inspirators. I'm pleased to announce the following glad tidings:

1. The coffee pot has been rinsed (sorta) and filled with primo coffee and water free of debris, probably.
2. There are still plenty of Sarah's cookies -- at least for now.
3. This is the last day of 2020.
4. In three weeks, the US of A will get a new President.
5l Gill is getting mo' better and Sarah's heater is working. ;)

Later, Inspirators. glasses8

glasses8

30 Dec 2020

Morning to all no matter how cold it is outside your front door. Coffee's on and the kettle is ready for business. Thanks to Sarah, there's a generous selection of cookies. The rest is up to y'all.

My thanks to Mr. M. for the pimp of my new story. His kindness has inspired me to add 'A Winter's Tale' to my sig line.

Later, Inspirators. glasses8

glasses8

29 Dec 2020

A blessing upon the heads of: Sarah for all the cookies and for enduring those days with cold feet, Gill being our Gill, Mandalla for getting the coffee pot and kettle attended to, and Survivor for being exactly that -- oh yeah, and for Vic. ;

With coffee mug in one hand and cookies in the other, I'll now stumble over to the corner table near the heater and think warm thoughts.

Later Inspirators. glasses8

glasses8

)

28 Dec 2020

My thanks to Larry for pimping my new story, 'A Winter's Day'. I've contended that its main claim to fame is possibly being the only story here to include 'goldfish' among its tags. However, truth in SS posting regs require me to add that one of my other stories contains tags that mentions: possums, frogs, perch and big-mouth bass. Those eager to investigate this possible breech of site rules and/or regs should click on the following link:

https://

glasses8

glasses8

28 Dec 2020

Good topic, Mendalla. They got me to thinking about Terry Pratchett's 'Discworld' the flat planet resting on the backs of four elephanbts standing on a giant turtle hurtling through space. Within that framework, he developed different lands, technologies, cultures, races, and species. Some of them are at least sorta human others less so: trolls, dwarfs, igors, along with vampires and werewolves who swing both ways, so to speak. among others. Obviously, I'm a big fan.

Over the years, I've cranked out two still unpublished novels. One is set in NYC while the other is in a small to medium size rural town. For me, the land was as big a challenge as the characters but I enjoyed doing both.

Hope you can continue with this thread and some others join in.

glasses8

glasses8

28 Dec 2020

So here's the bad news -- it's Monday. Now here's the good news -- it's the last Moanday mourning in 2020. And finally, the so-so news -- I've posted a new story. Details to follow, but first...

The coffee pot has been scoured, then rinsed and is now busy converting coffee and water into a caffeinated ambrosia. Meanwhile, the tea kettle is kettling along to beat the band. Sarah dropped off a fresh batch of cookies to include some she described as 'blackberry'. Now I've consumed way more than my fair share of blackberry: cobbler, preserves and fresh picked but this is new to me. Nobody better take the last one before me. ;)

Now about my new story. 'A Winter's Day' is a breaking up is dang hard to do' 'General' category story that comes in at just under 3K words. It's main claim to fame is possibly being the only Stories Space story with 'goldfish' among its tags. Please check it out if you get a chance. Here's the link.

https://www.storiesspace.com/stories/general/-a-winters-day-.aspx

Later, Inspirators. glasses8

glasses8

27 Dec 2020

Morning, Larry. Hope my hearty greetings didn't disturb Vic. It may fall under the heading of 'Miracles to Happen' but I've just submitted a 3K General story to bedevil poor Molly or maybe Maggie. Who knows, with my innate incompetence, both might be needed to deal with my latest insult to good taste and English letters. ;)

Many thanks for today's setup, young Survivor. Here's hoping we all make it to 2021.

Later, Inspirators. glasses8

glasses8

.

26 Dec 2020

Hi ya, Larry. Congrats on your Muse reappearing. Being as how I have an honest-to-goodness story about ready for submissions, I felt lead this morning to help out a bit with some verifications but a sinus headache spared the submitting authors that fate. ;)

Here's hoping the rest of the holidays treat you and yours in a most agreeable manner and please scratch Vic behind both ears for me.

BTW: Congrats to Inspirations and to its founding father, Scott (Mandala) for getting it started and keeping it going onto its 100th page.. smile

smile

Later Inspirators. glasses8

glasses8

25 Dec 2020

MERRY CHRISTMAS, y'all!

Coffee's on and Sarah's cookies are both available and delicious. The rest is up to any 'Spacer' who drops in.

Later, Inspirators. glasses8

glasses8

24 Dec 2020

Happy Christmas eve to all Inspirators and any lost Spacers taking a break from searching throughout SS for something to cure writer's block.

Mendalla got things going and left a generous supply of goodies. Ya know, for a coffee house founder/owner/manager, he ain't half-bad. ;)

Sarah, bless her warm heart and cold toes, dropped by and left a bountiful supply of Christmas cookies but failed to report on her thermostat troubles. If all else fails, Larry might feel lead to motor down to her mountain to remedy the cold crises.

Y'all do the best you know how to make this a merry Christmas.

Later, Inspirators. glasses8

glasses8

23 Dec 2020

Morning, Spacers. Huge cyber HUGS to Gil. I'd even offer a brohug to Lary except Vic might not approve. ;)

Your are hereby encouraged to go back to the previous page (99 on my 'puter) and read yesterday's posts. You can come back later and thank me for this gentle nudge.

Larry's Coffee and Sarah's cookies in hand, I'll stumble off to the corner table by the heater and count the days until we have a New Year and here in the States, a new President. Oh, let it be.

Later, Inspirators. glasses8

glasses8

22 Dec 2020

These magazines publish creative nonfiction, including personal essays, memoir, lyrical essays, narrative nonfiction, and others. Most of them also accept other genres, like fiction and poetry. Some of these pay writers. Here they are, in no particular order.

Small Print Magazine
They publish fiction and creative nonfiction (flash pieces to 8,000 words; serialized and longer works will be considered), poetry, book reviews, articles on the craft of writing, features and interviews, cartoons, and software/hardware reviews relevant to writers. Details here.

The New York Times: Modern Love; Solver Stories
They are reading personal essays on two themes.
— Modern Love: Modern Love publishes honest personal essays about contemporary relationships; see guidelines for details and examples of past published essays. They especially encourage BIPOC to submit, as well as those outside of the United States and people who identify as members of L.G.B.T.Q.I.A.+ communities. Modern Love pieces are 1,500-1,700 words, and pay is $500. Submissions are also open for Tiny Love Stories (of 100 words), though these are unpaid. The deadline is 31 December 2020. Details here.
— Solver Stories: The Tweet from NYTimes Wordplay says, “Submissions to our Solver Stories feature for the latter half of 2021 are now open. We’re looking for fresh voices and well-told stories about how puzzle-solving or games have had an impact on your life, or how they might have changed a relationship.” Their guidelines are extensive, and include this: “The most important thing is that the writing be emotionally honest and for the story to be freshly and compellingly told.” Essays have to be 800-1,300 words, and pay is $200. Details here (Tweet) and here (guidelines).

HeartWood
They want “writing that pushes into, dares to reveal, its own truth, that takes emotional risks, that gets to the heart of the matter.” For creative nonfiction (up to 3,000 words), they read many kinds of submissions including personal essay, memoir, lyric, literary journalism, or some blurring in between. They also accept fiction and poetry, and have an Appalachian Arts Interviews section. The deadline is 31 January 2021. Details here.

Deep Wild: Writing from the Backcountry
Their guidelines say, “We seek work that conjures the experiences, observations, and insights of backcountry journeys. By “backcountry,” we mean away from paved roads, preferably more than a day’s journey by foot, skis, snowshoes, kayak, canoe, horse, or any other non-motorized means of conveyance. … We are open to a wide spectrum of carefully-crafted work, from the personal to the political (however you construe that word).” Apart from creative nonfiction (up to 3,000 words; will consider longer), they also publish fiction and poetry. Payment is one copy of the journal. They will read one fee-free submission per writer, and they are open for submissions until 1 January 2021. Details here and here. (They are also open for an undergraduate fee-free poetry contest, with a later deadline.)

Adventures in Ideas: Movement and Stillness
This is an online literary journal that explores the intersection between travel and ideas. They are reading now for their first issue, on the ‘Movement and Stillness’ theme, broadly interpreted. Their guidelines say, “We are primarily interested in ideas-driven travel articles and essays. We also accept book excerpts for forthcoming titles and thematic reviews for the journal. We are keen to read experimental writing, photo essays, reported features, and the like. We do not publish listicles, commercial travel writing, or travelogues that do not engage with larger issues and ideas.” They pay $75, and the deadline is 31 December 2020. They don’t pay for book excerpts or blog posts. Details here.

Terrain.org
They publish place-based writing. Submit one essay, article, flash essay series, community case study, or other piece up to 6,000 words; creative nonfiction, personal essays, photo essays, articles, flash essays, case studies, and other essays need not follow any particular style. They also publish fiction, poetry, artwork, videos, and other contributions. They want “material that reaches deep into the earth’s fiery core, or humanity’s incalculable core, and brings forth new insights and wisdom.” They publish translations, as well. The deadline is 30 April 2021. Details here.

Bennington Review
This literary magazine aims to carve out a “distinctive space for innovative, intelligent, and moving fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, film writing and cross-genre work. In the spirit of poet Dean Young’s dictum that poets should be “making birds, not birdcages,” we are particularly taken with writing that is simultaneously graceful and reckless.” They publish fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and film writing essays – they will also consider pieces on television, video art, viral videos, Vines, or any of the other alternative forms that moving images might take. For fiction and nonfiction, they also accept self-contained excerpts from longer pieces. They also publish translations. Send up to 30 pages of prose. They pay $100-200 for prose, and $20/poem. The deadline is 8 May 2021. Details here.

Atlas and Alice
They are interested in intersections. Chief among them are the meetings-up of science and the arts, prose and poetry, and any piece that seems to do more than one thing at once. For creative nonfiction (up to 4,500 words) their guidelines say, “Honestly, we’re not in love with memoir. Personal essays, yes. We also love meditative and lyric essays — so, pieces that read a lot like poetry, but are technically nonfiction.” They also publish fiction and poetry. The deadline is 15 January 2021. Details here.

Motherwell
They publish personal essays and features/perspective pieces, some of them themed, as well as work in alternate formats, like graphic memoir, on the parenting experience. For personal essays, their guidelines say, “We are looking for evocative first-person narratives that have a unique focus, or take a novel angle, on a slice of the parenting experience. We are open to a range of styles and tones: the only requirement is that the essay works on its own terms—be it lyrical, humorous, research-oriented, etc—and conveys something fundamental about its writer. Up to 1,200 words. Completed essays only and please include word count.” Pay is unspecified, and some types of submissions are unpaid (see guidelines). Details here.

The Bare Life Review: The Latest
They only publish work foreign-born writers living in the United States, or by writers living abroad who currently hold refugee and/or asylum-seeker status. For their online forum, The Latest, they primarily publish memoir, criticism, and politics; generally, anything timely (i.e. reviews of new books, or work responding directly to current events) should be addressed to The Latest. They periodically open submissions for their print journal, which also publishes fiction and poetry. Send work of up to 3,000 words for the online forum; pay is $100. Details here.

The Roadrunner Review
This magazine only accepts work from students around the world, both graduates and undergraduates. They are reading now for issue 7. They accept submissions of prose – fiction and creative nonfiction (up to 1,000 words), poetry, and cover art. All submitted work will also be considered for a prize of $100. The deadline is 24 January 2021. Details here.

The Cincinnati Review
This literary magazine accepts literary nonfiction (up to 20 pages), fiction, poetry, poetry translations, and art. Query for drama submissions. They also have a weekly online Flash feature called miCRo (payment for this is a digital contributor copy). See guidelines for editors’ preferences. Pay is $25/page for prose in the journal, and $30/page for poetry. The deadline is 1 January 2021. Details here.

Border Crossing
They’re especially interested in writing that crosses boundaries in genre or geography, and voices that aren’t often heard in mainstream publications. For creative nonfiction (up to 5,000 words), they are interested in personal essays, memoir excerpts (when self-contained), flash creative nonfiction, works of creative nonfiction in experimental forms, and graphic nonfiction. They may close periodically when a monthly submission cap is reached during a reading period. They also publish fiction and poetry. The deadline is 1 February 2021. Details here.

The Offing
The Offing publishes nonfiction (personal essays), fiction, poetry, translations, and cross-genre work. Not all sections are open for submissions, but some are. Pay is $25-100, and they are not charging a submission fee this year. Details here.

Existere
This is a Canadian journal of arts and literature. They publish nonfiction (up to 3,500 words), poetry, fiction, and art from both local and international contributors. The deadline for submissions to be considered for Spring/Summer issues is December 31. They read work year-round. Pay is CAD50 per submission (up to CAD250). Details here.

AGNI
This respected literary journal accepts fiction, poetry, nonfiction, translations, and essays. All work will be considered for print and online publishing. There’s no word limit for prose. Pay is $10/page of prose, $20/page of poetry, up to $150. The deadline is 31 May 2021.
Details here.

Green Hills Literary Lantern
They publish creative nonfiction (essays, memoirs, travel-writing, excerpts from larger works, genre-blurring work, and all forms of prose that can be considered “creative nonfiction” – see guidelines for what kind of writing they like; send 15-18 pages, or 2-3 shorts). They also publish fiction and poetry. They read work year-round. Details here.

Bending Genres
They’re looking for “thrilling, fanciful, oddball, unusual, stunning” nonfiction, fiction, and poetry. For creative nonfiction (up to 1,500 words), they want writing that is “experimental, gut-wrenching, terrifying, honest, breakneck speed, whooshing out, fabulous and secretive. We like blending genres, mixed and hybrid writing, blurred and creative lines crossed”, according to guidelines. The deadline is 5 January 2020. Details here.

Bluestem
This is a thrice-yearly online literary magazine from Eastern Illinois University. They publish creative nonfiction, fiction, and poetry.
Length guidelines are 3,000-5,000 words for prose (shorter work is also ok). They pay $75 for prose, and $20 for poetry. The deadline is 1 January 2021. Details here.

Quarter After Eight
This is a journal of innovative writing. Apart from nonfiction, they also publish fiction and poetry. They celebrate work that directly challenges the conventions of language, style, voice, or idea in literary forms. The deadline is 15 April 2021. Details here.

Opossum
They publish nonfiction, as well as fiction and poetry, and the work must be connected to music. Their nonfiction guidelines say, “We seek nonfiction (personal essay, memoir, academic essay) animated by music, up to ~9,000 words. But truly, we don’t care about the man’s definition of art! If it grabs us, we won’t stop reading because of some stupid stupid’s rules. Just so we’re on the same page, please submit an accompanying artist’s statement explaining how your work engages the world of music. We encourage all submitters to peruse our archives to get a better feel for our scope and aesthetic.” They pay $8 per page with a cap of $200 for prose, and $25 per poem. They’re open now for submissions. Details here.

Midnight & Indigo
This is a new platform for Black women writers, and they publish fiction as well as narrative and personal essays (at least 1,200 words). They accept book reviews year round, though these are unpaid. Pay is $50 for essays, and $50-75 for fiction. The deadline is 10 January 2021. Details here.

We Were So Small
Their website says, “The small often gets lost. Dismissed. Drowned out in the great, the loud, the large. We Were So Small is a journal that believes small is important. We question the connection between scale and significance. We encourage celebration of the small, a focus on small moments, small feelings, small goals.” They accept nonfiction, fiction, poetry, hybrid, and open-form work, of up to 2,000 words. They will release their first issue in March 2021. They are accepting submissions now, on a rolling basis. Details here.

Catapult: Turning Points; Debut
They’re reading nonfiction submissions (up to 2,000 words) as well as pitches for two series.
— Turning Points: “This series features stories about those moments in our writing lives where everything suddenly seems to click, where we’re given new motivation to carry on with our work—or even where we need to take a well earned pause, to remember that the life of a writer, for better or for worse, is always about twists and turns”, according to guidelines. They anticipate essays that are a mix of memoir and craft writing.
— Debut: “This series features authors writing about their experiences writing, publishing, and promoting their first books—and often to broader topics that investigate what it means to write when the world is now watching”, according to guidelines. They anticipate essays that are a mix of memoir and cultural criticism.
The deadline for both series is 4 January 2021. Details here.

x x x

(Taken from the free online newsletter of, Authors Publish magazine. The links won't work so just google any site that interests you.)

glasses8

glasses8

22 Dec 2020

Morning, Spacers. In comparison to what our mountain girl is enduring, it's downright balmy out here in the desert. At the moment (8:00am) its 39f which, according to my iPhone, is about the same as that in Larry's neck of the woods.

And speaking of the old Survivor, here's hoping he remembers to bundle Vic up the right way before the 'Wonder Dog' leads him out on a brisk constitutional. ;).

The coffee pot has been rinsed out then filled with dark roast coffee and branch water, and is quickly turning those into a caffeinated elixir. The tea kettle is doing its thing so the tea and coco crowd don't need to worry.

Me, I'm gonna grab some of Sarah's snickerdoodle cookies then fill my mug and then go sit at the corner table near the heater and wait to find out what happens next.

Later, Inspirators. glasses8

glasses8

21 Dec 2020

Larry, best wishes and good vibes are heading your way. Please keep us posted.

Thoughtful of him to not put the coffee pot on so that when someone came in later they could enjoy fresh coffee. ;) The tea kettle is also doing its part for the tea and coco crowd. There are still some of Sarah's cookies just waiting to be ingested. BTW, has anybody heard from our mountain girl?

Later, Inspirators. glasses8

glasses8

20 Dec 2020

Ah, coffee and cookies, the true 'Breakfast of Champions'. Many thanks to Larry and Sarah for the treats.

And that reminds me -- has anyone heard fro our cold and sickly Sarah? Here thermostat was supposed to have been repaired on Friday. If so, here's hoping she's warmer now and recovering from whatever was ailing her.

Larry, best I recall, you will be going one-on-one with various medicos tomorrow. Be sure to give us a report on all those check-ups.

Oh yeah, and stratch Vic's ears for me while I obtain a mug full of coffee and a handful of Sarah's cookies and plant myself at the table nearest the heater.

Later, Inspirators. glasses8

glasses8

19 Dec 2020

Larry, here's hoping and praying you are right because anything worse would be both unthinkable and probably unendurable, at least for some of us. (sigh)

For me, since LSU finished its undefeated football season by winning the national championship January 13, dang near everything has been most regrettable.

Time for your coffee and Sarah's cookies. That combo is one of the few recent goodies.

Later, Inspirators. glasses8

glasses8

18 Dec 2020

Morning and welcome to Inspirations or as some might think, Lourdes of the Cyberverse. Best wishes to all the sick, afflicted, depressed and just plain worn out.

Coffee's on, the tea kettle is doing its thing, and sickly Sarah stopped by yesterday to restock the cookie supply. BTW, there better be some chocolate chip cookies left -- just saying. ;)

Larry, I checked out all the comments on Red Writer's story before giving it that, RR. Since all of them reflected your thoughts, the award seemed a no-brainer which is, of course, my specialty.

Later, Inspirators. glasses8

glasses8

17 Dec 2020

Morning to all who enter Inspirations looking for some or with a load of the stuff to share.

Coffee's on and the tea kettle is doing its thing. I'm a bit worried that Sarah has not made a recent appearance. With her thermostat out and her living on a mountain, you think maybe her computer froze? ;)

Gill, bless your heart and all other pertinent anatomical particularities. If you do feel up to reading a short story or two, let me suggest the new one by, Red Writer, 'The Runner'. It's already earned a much deserved RR. Check it out if you can.

Fortunately, Sarah has stockpiled a generous supply of Christmas cookies. I'll take only a gentlemanly number and then, along with my mug full of caffeinated bliss, I'll go sit next to the heater and read the newest story just posted by Mono.

Later, Inspirators glasses8

glasses8

s

16 Dec 2020

Morning on this momentous Hump Day. Just why it's momentous beats me. If any of y'all got any suggestions, pass them along.
EDIT #1: Today is momentous on account as how it's the birthday of, Jane Austen.

Prior to the onslaught of some serious cogitating, I'll grab a mug full of the coffee Vic's boon companion and ear warmer upper has prepared, snag a handful of Sarah's cookies and go sit in the meditation corner near the heater.
EDIT #2: Stop. Do not pass go but instead, direct your attention to Red Writer's new story, 'The Runner'. You can thank me later for this 'heads up'.

Later Inspirators. glasses8

glasses8

15 Dec 2020

Evening to all. Sarah, here's your hot chocolate topped with about a bushel of those mini-marshmallows you crave so much. Enjoy.

Happy Birthday to Xander and to my first-born. smile

smile

later, Inspirators. glasses8

glasses8