CLOSED TO SUBMISSIONS
Submission Guidelines: We want the standard: word doc, docx or rtf attachment, double-spaced, one-inch margins, 12 point, and Times New Roman preferred font. Fiction under 4,000 words, though under 3,000 is better for online reading. Flash fiction under 1,000 words. (Getting rejected for not proofreading, formatting or following guidelines is just silly.) Short cover letter. “Dear Editors” is fine. We don’t need your bio until we accept a piece. MFAs, awards, publications in The New Yorker mean nothing to us. Just a good story. Name, e-mail, and address at top of the story, and word count on top left.
We love literary fiction where stuff actually happens. Characters go through things; events of interest occur. Sitting on a rustic porch with a dog or cat, not so much.
We love psychological horror (Twilight Zone, Outer Limits, Black Mirror), not slasher or oozing monster stuff.
We love crime fiction, especially pulp, noir, hard-boiled. Not cozies or true-life crime.
We love science fiction–with the human element involved (Ray Bradbury, Philip K. Dick), not hard science.
We love the surreal, the odd, magical realism (Italo Calvino, Tom Robbins, Kafka, David Lynch).
We love humor (Vonnegut, early TC Boyle, Christopher Moore, Zadie Smith).
Nonfiction essays should be charged, poetic and lyrical. Think Joan Didion, Hunter S. Thompson, Truman Capote, Tom Wolfe. No writing about being a writer, please.
Romance fiction is a hard sell, as is nature writing, unless you’re Edward Abbey.
We don’t want: your political or religious screeds—whether left or right, devout or atheistic. If a fictional character in a story has opinions, that is different.
No werewolf, vampire, zombie serial killer stuff, please.
No descriptions of gore, porn, or torture, and especially child abuse. If a character has done or endured such in the past, then a brief mention without example is enough.
Profanity is fine, but don’t use thirty F-bombs. That’s just lazy. Be as inventive with your swearing as you would with any other word choices.
Sex is cool as long as it is an element, not the point of your story. Stories about your genitalia should be saved for your loved ones, not us. Masturbation is important, but not to write about. Poetry is beautiful, but we will focus on storytelling in fiction, flash fiction, and essay.
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Please send one story/essay in a formatted doc, docx, rtf to triggerwarningsubs@gmail.com and we will respond within three months (probably sooner).
Simultaneous submissions are fine, but be polite and tell us if you got accepted elsewhere so we can congratulate you. Multiple submissions are not fine. Send us your one best thing and wait for a reply. We will delete any other subs after the first.
Submissions are free because we can’t afford to pay writers now. We will endeavor to make your writing look good and promote it though.