Fast Response: Free for BIPOC and Other Underrepresented Writers (Up to 6K Words)

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 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 some code-switching/meshing 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• For this category, we review previously unpublished work only.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, which count as one submission), 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.
• Please double-space your submission and use Times New Roman 12. Email us if you need accommodations.
• Please send your submission as a Word doc. PDFs are acceptable, if necessary.
• Include a brief cover letter with your publication history and any relevant content warnings (if applicable).
• Unless you’ve already secured the necessary permissions, please do not include quoted song lyrics in your submitted work.
• Unless specifically requested, we do not accept AI-generated work.
• 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.