We no longer accept submissions via email. Please use our new submissions platform:  Spilling Ink Review at Submittable.

General Submission Guidelines

Thanks for taking a moment to familiarize yourself with Spilling Ink Review’s general submission guidelines. You’ll find more category-specific information below but, for now, let’s tackle the basics.

Formatting

How is this for a start? None of the formatting guidelines are set in stone. If you prefer to use Garamond over Times New Roman, Arial over Corbel – that’s fine. We will never reject a brilliant piece of fiction because the paragraphs aren’t double-spaced. Varying document margins don’t offend our sensibilities. BUT, unless you’re submitting a wildly experimental example of concrete prose in which the typographical arrangement is vitally important to the meaning of the work, it does make our job easier if you don’t stray too far from standard formatting rules. ((Just thinking about it, we strongly discourage you from submitting concrete prose typed in the shape of a pony – or similar.))

Make sure your submissions are well edited. Grammar, punctuation, spelling… the basics count.

What are we looking for?

We are looking for excellence. All genres and styles are welcome but we’re interested in only your very best. We want: believable, dimensional characters; a strong sense of place; muscular prose that doesn’t over-use adverbs; agile prose that resists the status quo. We are looking for writing that makes us think without falling victim to an over-simplified, moralising plot. Go for broke, why don’t you? Spin this writing game on its head and grab us with your own unique style.

All submissions must be previously unpublished. If the submission appears on your personal blog or in a private writers’ forum, that’s OK. It is eligible for consideration. Submissions must be written in English.

What are we NOT looking for?

Here are a few things that make us wince. The list is not exhaustive but it’s a start.

• Misogynistic, bigoted, racially offensive, graphically violent stories won’t be considered.
• Animal cruelty, no.
• Simplistic twist-in-the-tale stories, not so much. For instance, don’t expect us to be happy if we read a 3,000 word story only to find out in the last paragraph that the narrator is a cat.
• To successfully pull off second-person or present tense you must be near-genius. We’ll leave it at that.
• If your story is set in a bar or is about a disenchanted housewife reflecting on her disintegrating marriage or dissects a protagonist’s first awkward homosexual fumblings or if anywhere in the story you describe a person, place or thing as ‘smelling of piss’… the story better be superior because we read a lot of these types of submissions.
• Please do not ever use phrases like: she cried triumphantly.
• Be careful what you do with your characters’ eyes. We get a lot of eyes darting and scurrying around rooms.
• Be mindful of sentence structure and unintentional meaning. Although we get a good laugh out of some examples, it can ruin a story. For instance, there’s a big difference between your character putting his hands in his pockets… and him putting his hands in his pants.
• Avoid cliché! Avoid trite endings!

Response Time:

10 minutes up to 6 weeks. If you haven’t heard from us in 8 weeks feel free to send a polite query. Abusing editors via email is rarely a good idea.

Multiple / Simultaneous Submissions:

Simultaneous submissions are fine but please let us know as soon as possible if your work has been accepted elsewhere. Multiple submissions, no. Please, one submission per category at a time.

Now that you know a little more about us, let us hear from you. Send your best fiction, flash fiction, nonfiction, interviews, reviews, comics, art and photography. We can’t wait to read your work! See below for more category-specific details.

Category Specific Information

FICTION

Fiction submissions should be double-spaced, 12pt standard font (such as Times New Roman, Garamond or similar), with numbered pages. The first page should include the title of the work, word count, author’s name and contact details (email, address, phone). We have a strict privacy policy and will not share your information. Indicate whether or not the story is a simultaneous submission and notify us as soon as possible if the story is accepted elsewhere.

Please, only one submission per category at a time.

Fiction submissions should generally not exceed 3,000 words. We aren’t fanatical about this maximum word count when it comes to general submissions. If you have a longer work that you wish us to consider, that’s fine. Be aware, however, that longer pieces may be serialized. (how to submit fiction…)

FLASH FICTION

Flash Fiction submissions should be double-spaced, 12pt standard font (such as Times New Roman, Garamond or similar), with numbered pages. The first page should include the title of the work, word count, author’s name and contact details (email, address, phone). We have a strict privacy policy and will not share your information. Indicate whether or not the story is a simultaneous submission and notify us as soon as possible if the story is accepted elsewhere.

Please, only one submission per category at a time.

Flash Fiction submissions should generally not exceed 1,000 words. We aren’t fanatical about this maximum word count when it comes to general submissions. If you have a longer work that you wish us to consider, that’s fine, but if it is much longer you might wish to submit under the ‘Fiction’ category. (how to submit flash fiction…)

NONFICTION

Nonfiction submissions should be double-spaced, 12pt standard font (such as Times New Roman, Garamond or similar), with numbered pages. The first page should include the title of the work, word count, author’s name and contact details (email, address, phone). We have a strict privacy policy and will not share your information. Indicate whether or not the story is a simultaneous submission and notify us as soon as possible if the work is accepted elsewhere.

Please, only one submission per category at a time.

Nonfiction submissions should generally not exceed 3,000 words. We aren’t fanatical about this maximum word count when it comes to general submissions. If you have a longer work that you wish us to consider, that’s fine. Be aware, however, that longer pieces may be serialized.

We’re open to all types of nonfiction and creative nonfiction, from academic essays to travel writing. While we understand that there is great debate over the category of ‘creative nonfiction’ we see this more as a stylistic choice rather than a deviation from the nonfiction category. Creative nonfiction should still be factual but ‘read’ like a short story or novel as compared to a more stringently technical piece. (how to submit nonfiction…)

REVIEWS

Reviews should be double-spaced, 12pt standard font (such as Times New Roman, Garamond or similar), with numbered pages. The first page should include the title of the work, word count, author’s name and contact details (email, address, phone). We have a strict privacy policy and will not share your information. Indicate whether or not the story is a simultaneous submission and notify us as soon as possible if the work is accepted elsewhere.

Please, only one submission per category at a time.

Reviews should generally not exceed 1,000 words. We aren’t fanatical about this maximum word count when it comes to general submissions. If you have a longer work that you wish us to consider, that’s fine.

Keep in mind that Spilling Ink Review is a quarterly publication and all reviews should be written with this in mind. We’re happy to accept reviews in a variety of categories from books to events to websites to film, old and new. (how to submit reviews…)

COMIC / GRAPHIC ART

More Information Soon…

(how to submit comic / graphic art…)

COVER ART / ILLUSTRATION / PHOTOGRAPHY

More Information Soon…

(how to submit cover art / illustration / photography…)