Established in 2017 as a literary magazine for fiction, CRAFT expanded in 2020 to publish creative nonfiction as well. We explore how writing works, reading pieces with a focus on the elements of craft, on the art of prose. We feature previously unpublished creative work, with occasional reprints, as well as critical pieces including craft essays and interviews. All published creative pieces include an author’s note and an editorial introduction that both discuss stylistics in the work.
We do not charge fees for our fiction or creative nonfiction submissions, or for our craft categories, and we are a paying market. Our general submissions are open year-round with no capacity limits. We value accessibility—keeping CRAFT free to read and free to submit to is our priority. We work with all writers, established as well as emerging. All creative work published in CRAFT comes through submission; we do not solicit fiction or creative nonfiction.
We offer editorial feedback on short prose, as well as fast-response categories whenever possible.
So that our notifications to you are not filtered as spam/junk, please whitelist/add to contacts: notifications@email.submittable.com.
By submitting to CRAFT, submitters agree to receive correspondence about future published works and submission opportunities from CRAFT. You can unsubscribe at any time.
**If you haven't already, please verify your email address with Submittable for more consistent communication.**
Unless specifically requested, we do not accept AI-generated work.
CRAFT 2023 Flash Prose Prize | $3,600 Awarded
Flash prose is a versatile, dynamic form of storytelling with an energy all its own. At CRAFT, we love the way flash prose can entertain and inspire, engage and provoke. For the 2023 Flash Prose Prize, we're seeking your best flash work, whether fiction or nonfiction. Guest Judge Kathy Fish is known the world over for her incredible facility with flash, and here's what she'd like to see from you:
I am so excited and honored to judge this contest! My favorite flash are the ones that are emotionally evocative and boldly, interestingly executed. I love a bit of innovation and experimentation if they serve and enhance the storytelling. Is this a story or essay that feels urgent? Does it need telling right now? Does it assert its urgency from the first sentence? Almost always, I will choose a piece that moves me deeply over a clever one that impresses, but lacks a beating heart at its center. Let your work reflect your true and authentic voice. Make me lean in and hang on your every word. There! I don’t ask for much, do I!
Submissions are open September 1 to October 31, 2023. Three winners will receive $1,000 each with publication. Three additional editors' choices will receive $200 each with publication. Please review our guidelines below—we're so eager to read your flash prose!
GUIDELINES:
- Submissions are open to all writers, emerging and experienced.
- International submissions are allowed.
- Please submit prose work primarily written in English, but conceptually or stylistically necessary code-switching is warmly welcomed.
- Please submit flash prose ONLY!
- Please adhere to the 1,000 word count maximum per piece (up to two prose pieces per submission).
- We review literary work but are open to a variety of genres and styles.
- Previously unpublished work only—we do NOT review reprints for contests (previously published includes any form of self-publishing, blogs, personal websites, social media, etc.). Reprints will be automatically disqualified.
- We allow simultaneous submissions—writers, please notify us immediately and withdraw your entry if your work is accepted to be published elsewhere.
- The $20 reading fee per entry allows up to two 1,000-word prose pieces—if submitting two works, please send them in a SINGLE document.
- We allow multiple submissions—please submit each piece (or set of two pieces) as a separate submission accompanied by a separate entry fee.
- All entries will be considered for publication in CRAFT.
- Please double-space your submission and use Times New Roman 12.
- Please include a brief cover letter with your publication history and any content warnings, if applicable.
- We do not require anonymous submissions, but Kathy Fish will review the shortlist anonymously.
- Writers from historically marginalized groups may submit here, for free, until we reach 50 free submissions.
- We do not discriminate on the basis of age, ancestry, disability, family status, gender identity or expression, national origin, race, religion, sex or sexual orientation, or for any other reason.
- Additionally, we do not tolerate discrimination in the writing we consider for publication: work we find discriminatory on any of the bases stated here will be declined without complete review.
- AI-generated submissions will be automatically disqualified.
AWARDS:
The writers of the three winning pieces will each receive:
- $1,000 award and a bundle of the Rose Metal Press Field Guides.
- Publication in CRAFT, with an introduction by Kathy Fish as well as an author’s note (short craft essay) to accompany the piece.
Editors' choices:
- $200 each and publication to three pieces we just can’t let go.
FINE PRINT:
- Friends, family, and associates of the judge are not eligible for consideration for the award.
- Our collaboration with editorial professionals in the judging and awarding of our contests does not imply an endorsement or recognition from their agencies, houses, presses, universities, etc.
- As we only consider unpublished writing for contests, and will publish the winning pieces in April 2024, anything under contract to publish prior to July 2024, should not be entered.
OPTIONAL EDITORIAL FEEDBACK:
You may choose to receive editorial feedback on your submission. In the feedback letter, we will provide line-level editorial notes, as well as a two-page global letter discussing the strengths of the writing and the recommended focus for revision. While editorial feedback is inherently subjective, our criticism is always actionable and encouraging. We aim to have feedback completed within six weeks after the final status update of the contest entry. Work that we critique is not eligible for future CRAFT contests.
OUR JUDGE:
KATHY FISH’s stories have been widely published in journals, anthologies, and textbooks. Her work has been published or is forthcoming in Ploughshares, Copper Nickel, The Best American Nonrequired Reading, swamp pink, The Norton Reader, and Norton’s Flash Fiction America (2023). Honors include the Copper Nickel Editors’ Prize and a Ragdale Foundation Fellowship. The author of five short fiction collections, Fish teaches a variety of creative writing workshops online. She also publishes a popular monthly craft newsletter, The Art of Flash Fiction. Find Kathy on Twitter @kathyfish.
OUR PARTNER:
Founded in 2006, ROSE METAL PRESS is a not-for-profit publisher specializing in the publication of literary work in hybrid genres, including flash fiction and nonfiction; prose poetry; novels-in-verse or book-length linked narrative poems; novellas-in-flash; lyric essays; text and image works; and other literary works that move beyond the traditional genres of poetry, fiction, and essay to find new forms of expression.
CRAFT 2023 Fall Salon
Please join us for an hour of readings by award-winning authors!
Thursday, October 5, 2023, at 4 p.m. PDT / 7 p.m. EDT on Zoom
Featured Reader: Kathy Fish
Author of Wild Life: Collected Works
Guest Judge for the CRAFT 2023 Flash Prose Prize
Additional virtual salon readers will include recent contributors:
Sudha Balagopal,
introduced by Jacqueline Doyle, Creative Nonfiction Section Editor
Paul Rousseau,
introduced by Jahzerah Brooks, Flash Fiction Section Coeditor
Naomi Melati Bishop,
introduced by Rowena Leong Singer, Short Fiction Section Editorial Assistant
Editor in Chief Courtney Harler will moderate the event.
Additional details provided upon registration.
Our Featured Reader:
KATHY FISH’s stories have been widely published in journals, anthologies, and textbooks. Her work has been published or is forthcoming in Ploughshares, Copper Nickel, The Best American Nonrequired Reading, swamp pink, The Norton Reader, and Norton’s Flash Fiction America (2023). Honors include the Copper Nickel Editors’ Prize and a Ragdale Foundation Fellowship. The author of five short fiction collections, Fish teaches a variety of creative writing workshops online. She also publishes a popular monthly craft newsletter, The Art of Flash Fiction. Find Kathy on Twitter @kathyfish.
Editorial Feedback Event
September 1 – 29, 2023
We know life is busy, but we hope you had the chance to write this summer—whether at a faraway conference or retreat, or even in your own backyard. If so, you might be ready to share new (or newly revised) work with an experienced editor. We warmly invite you to submit your writing to the CRAFT 2023 Fall Editorial Feedback Event!
Why request feedback? Maybe you're stuck on a scene, or can't quite find a home for a particular story or essay. New eyes on your work can make all the difference in your revision process. As we all know, writing successful prose is a lifelong endeavor that takes time, perseverance, and patience. As writers, we can continue to thrive through a strong sense of community by sharing our work with others eager to give feedback.
CRAFT offers editorial feedback on creative prose up to 6,000 words. We've carefully chosen a team of qualified editors to provide thoughtful critique. For each piece sent, you'll receive line-level marginal notes, as well as a two-page global letter discussing the strengths of the writing and the recommended focus for revision. While editorial feedback is inherently subjective, our suggestions will always be actionable and encouraging. Please allow up to twelve weeks to receive your feedback materials.
For your convenience and savings, we offer two options—single letters and triple letter packages. Rates are detailed below. Triple letter packages offer an 8% discount. This form is for single letters, but you can find the triple-letter option here, if desired.
All work sent through this event will also be considered for publication in CRAFT. Should we accept your work, no feedback will be offered and the fee will be refunded.
If you have questions about submissions, please send an email to: contact (at) craftliterary (dot) com
Testimonials from Previous Recipients of CRAFT Editorial Feedback:
Wow! I'm absolutely floored by the feedback experience at CRAFT. My editor was Katelyn [Keating], and she did a stellar job. I received incredibly thorough feedback, and have a much better idea, now, about how to move forward in strengthening and revising my essay, which is one of the most emotionally difficult pieces I've ever written. This piece is really important to me, and I'm moving forward with confidence and vision, thanks to Katelyn and CRAFT. I couldn't recommend your services more highly. Thank you, Katelyn! —Kelli S. B.
I thank my editor, Joanna Acevedo, for reviewing my work and providing valuable feedback. I greatly appreciate her insights, kind words of encouragement, support, and recommendations. She took the time to understand and engage with my character, showing commitment and dedication to her work as an editor. Thank you for believing in my character! —Teodora G.
Thank you so much [to Val Mathews] for your revelatory comments! Reading them was an amazing experience. It was so incredible to have someone speak from inside my own interiority. I just finished reading your feedback...and it was amazing to see how your comments expanded and deepened my story. I have never figured out how to approach revising. I think I thought of it like the game Jenga, but that adding as well as pulling parts out could make the whole thing fall apart. You showed me a way to do it that is so specific to this story. I learned so much! —Amy C.
Rates:
- Flash fiction / flash creative nonfiction up to 1,000 words (one flash piece or up to three micro* pieces totaling fewer than 1,000 words): $59 for one letter OR $149 for three letters
- Short story / creative nonfiction essay from 1,000 to 3,500 words (one piece): $79 for one letter OR $199 for three letters
- Short story / creative nonfiction essay from 3,500 to 6,000 words (one piece): $99 for one letter OR $249 for three letters
*For our purposes, micros should be about 333 words maximum apiece, please. Include all three micros in ONE document.
How you can help us when sending work for our review:
- Please send only .doc or .docx files, so that we can use MS Word's Track Changes for our marginal notes.
- Kindly double-space and use Times New Roman 12.
Guidelines:
- CRAFT Editorial Feedback is open to all prose writers.
- Please send fiction or creative nonfiction only.
- International submissions are welcome.
- Please submit work primarily written in English, but conceptually or stylistically necessary codeswitching is warmly welcomed.
- Please adhere to the 6,000 word count maximum.
- If sending up to three micros, include all pieces in ONE document.
- Work that has received editorial feedback is not eligible for submission to CRAFT contests.
- We strongly discourage simultaneous submissions in conjunction with editorial feedback. If your piece is already under review by our team and you withdraw it, we will not be able to offer a refund. If you withdraw your piece before we have begun feedback, we will be happy to let you substitute another piece of equal length.
- We do not discriminate on the basis of age, ancestry, disability, family status, gender identity or expression, national origin, race, religion, sex or sexual orientation, or for any other reason.
- Additionally, we do not tolerate discrimination in the writing we consider for publication. Work we find discriminatory on any of the bases stated here will be declined without complete review.
- Unless specifically requested, we do not accept, consider, or review AI-generated work.
Editorial Feedback Event
September 1 – 29, 2023
We know life is busy, but we hope you had the chance to write this summer—whether at a faraway conference or retreat, or even in your own backyard. If so, you might be ready to share new (or newly revised) work with an experienced editor. We warmly invite you to submit your writing to the CRAFT 2023 Fall Editorial Feedback Event!
Why request feedback? Maybe you're stuck on a scene, or can't quite find a home for a particular story or essay. New eyes on your work can make all the difference in your revision process. As we all know, writing successful prose is a lifelong endeavor that takes time, perseverance, and patience. As writers, we can continue to thrive through a strong sense of community by sharing our work with others eager to give feedback.
CRAFT offers editorial feedback on creative prose up to 6,000 words. We've carefully chosen a team of qualified editors to provide thoughtful critique. For each piece sent, you'll receive line-level marginal notes, as well as a two-page global letter discussing the strengths of the writing and the recommended focus for revision. While editorial feedback is inherently subjective, our suggestions will always be actionable and encouraging. Please allow up to twelve weeks to receive your feedback materials.
For your convenience and savings, we offer two options—single letters and triple letter packages. Rates are detailed below. Triple letter packages offer an 8% discount. This form is for the discounted triple letter package.
All work sent through this event will also be considered for publication in CRAFT. Should we accept your work, no feedback will be offered and the fee will be refunded.
If you have questions about submissions, please send an email to: contact (at) craftliterary (dot) com
Testimonials from Previous Recipients of CRAFT Editorial Feedback:
Wow! I'm absolutely floored by the feedback experience at CRAFT. My editor was Katelyn [Keating], and she did a stellar job. I received incredibly thorough feedback, and have a much better idea, now, about how to move forward in strengthening and revising my essay, which is one of the most emotionally difficult pieces I've ever written. This piece is really important to me, and I'm moving forward with confidence and vision, thanks to Katelyn and CRAFT. I couldn't recommend your services more highly. Thank you, Katelyn! —Kelli S. B.
I thank my editor, Joanna Acevedo, for reviewing my work and providing valuable feedback. I greatly appreciate her insights, kind words of encouragement, support, and recommendations. She took the time to understand and engage with my character, showing commitment and dedication to her work as an editor. Thank you for believing in my character! —Teodora G.
Thank you so much [to Val Mathews] for your revelatory comments! Reading them was an amazing experience. It was so incredible to have someone speak from inside my own interiority. I just finished reading your feedback...and it was amazing to see how your comments expanded and deepened my story. I have never figured out how to approach revising. I think I thought of it like the game Jenga, but that adding as well as pulling parts out could make the whole thing fall apart. You showed me a way to do it that is so specific to this story. I learned so much! —Amy C.
Rates:
- Flash fiction / flash creative nonfiction up to 1,000 words (one flash piece or up to three micro* pieces totaling fewer than 1,000 words): $59 for one letter OR $149 for three letters
- Short story / creative nonfiction essay from 1,000 to 3,500 words (one piece): $79 for one letter OR $199 for three letters
- Short story / creative nonfiction essay from 3,500 to 6,000 words (one piece): $99 for one letter OR $249 for three letters
*For our purposes, micros should be about 333 words maximum apiece, please. Include all three micros in ONE document.
How you can help us when sending work for our review:
- Please send only .doc or .docx files, so that we can use MS Word's Track Changes for our marginal notes.
- Kindly double-space and use Times New Roman 12.
Guidelines:
- CRAFT Editorial Feedback is open to all prose writers.
- Please send fiction or creative nonfiction only.
- International submissions are welcome.
- Please submit work primarily written in English, but conceptually or stylistically necessary codeswitching is warmly welcomed.
- Please adhere to the 6,000 word count maximum.
- If sending up to three micros, include all pieces in ONE document.
- Work that has received editorial feedback is not eligible for submission to CRAFT contests.
- We strongly discourage simultaneous submissions in conjunction with editorial feedback. If your piece is already under review by our team and you withdraw it, we will not be able to offer a refund. If you withdraw your piece before we have begun feedback, we will be happy to let you substitute another piece of equal length.
- We do not discriminate on the basis of age, ancestry, disability, family status, gender identity or expression, national origin, race, religion, sex or sexual orientation, or for any other reason.
- Additionally, we do not tolerate discrimination in the writing we consider for publication. Work we find discriminatory on any of the bases stated here will be declined without complete review.
- Unless specifically requested, we do not accept, consider, or review AI-generated work.
Welcome to CRAFT.
Submissions for CRAFT Creative Nonfiction are open year-round and offer payment of $200 for accepted original work. This category is for essays and standalone excerpts between 1,000 and 6,000 words. See our Flash Creative Nonfiction category for essays of fewer than 1,000 words.
As we have always done with our fiction as well, each published work of creative nonfiction will include an author’s note and an editorial introduction that both focus on the craft of the piece. We review literary nonfiction, but are open to a variety of styles—our only requirement is that you show excellence in your craft.
If you have questions about submissions, please send an email to: contact (at) craftliterary (dot) com
GUIDELINES:
- CRAFT Creative Nonfiction submissions are open to all writers.
- We accept longform creative nonfiction only in this category; please, no academic work (we have a separate category for Critical Writing & Interviews).
- International submissions are allowed.
- Please submit work primarily written in English, but conceptually or stylistically necessary codeswitching is warmly welcomed.
- We adhere to a 6,000 word count maximum (for essays of fewer than 1,000 words, please choose the more appropriate Flash Creative Nonfiction category).
- We review literary nonfiction, but are open to a variety of genres and styles including memoir, lyric essays, personal essays, narrative nonfiction, speculative creative nonfiction, and experimental prose—our only requirement is that you show excellence in your craft.
- We do consider reprints, though we are unable to pay for these pieces.
- We allow simultaneous submissions—writers please notify us and withdraw your piece if your work is selected for publication elsewhere. If you withdraw your work, you may submit another piece in the same genre.
- We no longer allow multiple submissions—please send only one piece of longform creative nonfiction at a time, until you've heard back from us.
- If your work is declined, we ask that you wait three months before submitting again to the same genre, unless an editor requests more work from you.
- Please, please, double-space your submission and use Times New Roman 12.
- Please send your piece as a Word doc.
- Please include a brief cover letter with your publication history (if applicable).
- We do not discriminate on the basis of age, ancestry, disability, family status, gender identity or expression, national origin, race, religion, sex or sexual orientation, or for any other reason.
- Additionally, we do not tolerate discrimination in the writing we consider for publication. Work we find discriminatory on any of the bases stated here will be declined without complete review.
Welcome to CRAFT.
Submissions for CRAFT Flash Creative Nonfiction are open year-round and offer payment of $100 for accepted original work. This category is for essays and standalone excerpts fewer than 1,000 words. See our Creative Nonfiction category for essays between 1,000 and 6,000 words.
As we have always done with our fiction, each published work of creative nonfiction will include an author’s note and an editorial introduction that both focus on the craft of the piece. We review literary nonfiction, but are open to a variety of styles—our only requirement is that you show excellence in your craft.
If you have questions about submissions, please send an email to: contact (at) craftliterary (dot) com
GUIDELINES:
- CRAFT Creative Nonfiction submissions are open to all writers.
- We accept flash creative nonfiction only in this category; please, no academic work (we have a separate category for Critical Writing & Interviews).
- International submissions are allowed.
- Please submit work primarily written in English, but conceptually or stylistically necessary codeswitching is warmly welcomed.
- We adhere to a 1,000 word count maximum (for essays between 1,000 and 6,000 words, please choose the Creative Nonfiction 1–6K category)—please send only ONE flash creative nonfiction piece between 401 and 1,000 words.
- OR, up to three micros (400 words or fewer each / fewer than 1,000 words total) may be submitted in a single document—this file counts as ONE submission.
- We review literary nonfiction, but are open to a variety of genres and styles including memoir, lyric essays, personal essays, narrative nonfiction, speculative creative nonfiction, and experimental prose—our only requirement is that you show excellence in your craft.
- We do consider reprints, though we are unable to pay for these pieces.
- We allow simultaneous submissions—writers please notify us and withdraw your piece if your work is selected for publication elsewhere. If you withdraw your work, you may submit another piece in the same genre.
- We no longer allow multiple submissions—please send only one piece of flash creative nonfiction at a time (unless you're sending three micros, of course), until you've heard back from us.
- If your work is declined, we ask that you wait three months before submitting again to the same genre, unless an editor requests more work from you.
- Please, please, double-space your submission and use Times New Roman 12.
- Please send your piece as a Word doc.
- Please include a brief cover letter with your publication history (if applicable).
- We do not discriminate on the basis of age, ancestry, disability, family status, gender identity or expression, national origin, race, religion, sex or sexual orientation, or for any other reason.
- Additionally, we do not tolerate discrimination in the writing we consider for publication. Work we find discriminatory on any of the bases stated here will be declined without complete review.
Welcome to CRAFT.
Submissions for CRAFT fiction are open year-round and offer payment of $200 for accepted original work. This category is for short stories and standalone fiction excerpts between 1,000 and 6,000 words. See our Flash Fiction category for stories of fewer than 1,000 words.
We are thrilled to be able to pay for published stories, but subsequently must be highly selective in our choices.
To serve our aim of exploring the art of fiction, each published story includes an editor’s introduction as well as a craft essay (author’s note) by the writer. This essay will be requested upon acceptance.
If you have questions about submissions, please send an email to:
contact (at) craftliterary (dot) com
GUIDELINES:
- CRAFT fiction submissions are open to all writers.
- We accept short fiction and standalone excerpts only in this category.
- International submissions are welcome.
- Please submit work primarily written in English, but conceptually or stylistically necessary codeswitching is warmly welcomed.
- We adhere to a 6,000 word count maximum (for stories of fewer than 1,000 words, please choose the more appropriate Flash Fiction category).
- We review literary fiction, but are open to a variety of genres and styles—our only requirement is that you show excellence in your craft.
- We do consider reprints, though we are unable to pay for these stories.
- We allow simultaneous submissions—writers please notify us and withdraw your piece if your work is selected for publication elsewhere. If you withdraw your work, you may submit another piece in the same genre.
- We no longer allow multiple submissions—please send only one piece of short fiction at a time, until you've heard back from us.
- If your work is declined, we ask that you wait three months before submitting again to the same genre, unless an editor requests more work from you.
- Please, please, double-space your submission and use Times New Roman 12.
- Please send your story as a Word doc.
- Please include a brief cover letter with your publication history (if applicable).
- We do not discriminate on the basis of age, ancestry, disability, family status, gender identity or expression, national origin, race, religion, sex or sexual orientation, or for any other reason.
- Additionally, we do not tolerate discrimination in the writing we consider for publication. Work we find discriminatory on any of the bases stated here will be declined without complete review.
Welcome to CRAFT.
Submissions for CRAFT Flash Fiction are open year-round and offer payment of $100 for original work. This category is for flash fiction up to 1,000 words. See our short fiction category for stories between 1,000 and 6,000 words.
We are thrilled to be able to pay for published stories, but subsequently must be highly selective in our choices.
To serve our aim of exploring the art of fiction, each published story includes an editor’s introduction as well as a craft essay (author’s note) by the writer. This essay will be requested upon acceptance.
If you have questions about submissions, please send an email to: contact (at) craftliterary (dot) com
GUIDELINES:
- CRAFT Flash Fiction submissions are open to all writers.
- We accept flash fiction only in this category.
- International submissions are allowed.
- Please submit work primarily written in English, but conceptually or stylistically necessary codeswitching is warmly welcomed.
- We adhere to a 1,000 word count maximum (for stories from 1,000 to 6,000 words, please choose the more appropriate short fiction category)—please send only ONE flash fiction piece between 401 and 1,000 words.
- OR, up to three micros (400 words or fewer each / fewer than 1,000 words total) may be submitted in a single document—this file counts as ONE submission.
- We review literary fiction, but are open to a variety of genres and styles—our only requirement is that you show excellence in your craft.
- We do consider reprints, though we are unable to pay for these stories.
- We allow simultaneous submissions—writers please notify us and withdraw your piece if your work is selected for publication elsewhere. If you withdraw your work, you may submit another piece in the same genre.
- We no longer allow multiple submissions—please send only one piece of flash fiction at a time (unless you're sending three micros, of course), until you've heard back from us.
- If your work is declined, we ask that you wait three months before submitting again to the same genre, unless an editor requests more work from you
- Please, please, double-space your submission and use Times New Roman 12.
- Please send your story as a Word doc.
- Please include a brief cover letter with your publication history (if applicable).
- We do not discriminate on the basis of age, ancestry, disability, family status, gender identity or expression, national origin, race, religion, sex or sexual orientation, or for any other reason.
- Additionally, we do not tolerate discrimination in the writing we consider for publication. Work we find discriminatory on any of the bases stated here will be declined without complete review.
This form is currently open ONLY to BIPOC and other mis- and underrepresented writers.
While our submissions for short and flash prose are always free and always open, we are currently offering a fast response option for free to BIPOC writers and other historically mis- and underrepresented writers.
This form is for both short fiction and longform creative nonfiction (short stories, standalone excerpts, and creative nonfiction essays) between 1,001 and 6,000 words, and for flash and micros (both fiction and creative nonfiction) up to 1,000 words.
We will respond to your piece within four weeks of submission.
We pay $200 for accepted short stories or longform creative nonfiction, and we pay $100 for accepted flash or micro pieces. To serve our aim of exploring the art of prose, each published piece includes an editor’s introduction as well as a craft essay (author’s note) by the writer. This essay will be requested upon acceptance.
If you have questions about submissions, please send an email to: contact (at) craftliterary (dot) com
GUIDELINES:
- This fast-response category is open only to BIPOC writers and other historically mis- and underrepresented writers.
- International submissions are allowed.
- Please submit work primarily written in English, but conceptually or stylistically necessary code-switching is warmly welcomed.
- For this category, we review previously unpublished work only.
- For short fiction and longform creative nonfiction, we adhere to a 6,000 word count maximum.
- For flash, we adhere to a 1,000 word count maximum—please send only ONE flash prose piece between 401 and 1,000 words.
- OR, up to three micros (400 words or fewer each / fewer than 1,000 words total) may be submitted in a single document—this file counts as ONE submission.
- We review literary prose, but are open to a variety of genres and styles—our only requirement is that you show excellence in your craft.
- We allow simultaneous submissions—writers please notify us and withdraw your piece if your work is selected for publication elsewhere. If you withdraw your work, you may submit another piece in the same genre.
- We no longer allow multiple submissions—please send only one piece at a time (unless you're sending three micros, of course), until you've heard back from us.
- If your story is declined, we ask that you wait three months before submitting again to the same genre, unless an editor requests more work from you.
- Kindly double-space your submission and use Times New Roman 12.
- Please send your submission as a Word doc.
- Include a brief cover letter with your publication history and any relevant content warnings (if applicable).
- We do not discriminate on the basis of age, ancestry, disability, family status, gender identity or expression, national origin, race, religion, sex or sexual orientation, or for any other reason.
- Additionally, we do not tolerate discrimination in the writing we consider for publication. Work we find discriminatory on any of the bases stated here will be declined without complete review.
- Please do not submit work to this category if you do not identify as BIPOC or as a writer from another demographic who has been historically mis- or underrepresented in publishing.
Interested in writing critically for CRAFT? Please see the guidelines below and select the appropriate dropdown option when you submit your work. We do not consider previously published material (reprints) in this category.
We review essays on writing craft, critical literary analyses, and interviews. Please visit our Craft Section to see the type of content we publish.
All work in this section is concerned with fiction or creative nonfiction. Please do not send critical work about poetry, film, or any other genres. Those pieces aren't for us. Please do not send personal essays—send those to our creative nonfiction forms. We pay $50 for craft and critical essays, $50 for most standard interviews, and $100 for hybrid interviews (a critical essay paired with a Q&A).
Craft and critical essays range from 1,500 to 2,500 words concerning the craft of fiction or creative nonfiction. We recommend familiarizing yourself with our archive. Most essays we publish offer a careful examination of craft elements in fiction or creative nonfiction.
We welcome queries, pitches, and completed interviews with fiction or creative nonfiction writers. We will want to know if the interview is already approved as well as which elements of craft will be explored. We often schedule interviews well in advance—please contact us as soon as possible with your proposed interview.
We no longer allow multiple submissions—please send only one piece per genre at a time. If your craft/critical submission is declined, you may submit again to the genre immediately. Overall, you may have one piece of fiction (either short or flash), one piece of creative nonfiction (either flash or creative essay), and one craft piece under consideration at one time.
Details:
Craft and Critical Essays
Please send completed essays concerning the craft of fiction or creative nonfiction, and include in your cover letter what you're exploring and why it is a good fit for us. Submissions should be 1,500 to 2,500 words and should consist of a careful examination of craft. We only consider completed pieces.
Interviews & Hybrid Interviews
Typically our interviews run around 2,000 to 2,500 words and our hybrid interviews run 3,000 to 4,000 words, 1,000 to 1,500 of which comprise a critical essay about one or more of the interviewee's books. We consider both completed pieces and queries/pitches.