Flatiron Foothills Publications, LLC, is bringing on slushie-pile readers Alternating Current Press.

We are NOT looking for readers who will work for a month, then bail on us. We’re looking for committed readers who want to be a part of our press and help shape the future of the press. If you do not have the time to commit to playing an active role in reading submissions, please do not apply. We are currently ONLY hiring for submission readers for Alternating Current Press; if that is not what you want to do, please do not apply.

We are a liberal press partnership that welcomes people of all ages, abilities, and cultural backgrounds, and we are a BIPOC+ and LGBTQUIA2+ safe space. We are not interested in bringing on readers whose content decisions are informed by religion.

Job Details:

• Readers work remotely.
• Hours are flexible around your schedule, and we will not micromanage time or scheduling provided that submissions are answered within each press’ stated timeframe for each category. We generally want submissions handled within a few weeks of being received.
• Readers read the first-round submissions for all contests as well as open-reading-period subs.
• Readers will read submissions and decide “yes” or “no” only, and then the submissions go to the editorial board. The editorial board will decline the “no” submissions immediately and read through the “yes” submissions in their entirety before deciding if the submission is a good fit for the press. A “yes” decision by any first-round slushie-pile submission reader doesn’t automatically equal an acceptance; all acceptances are vetted by an experienced editorial board that is familiar with each press’ focus, current needs, and past history of publication. Alternating Current Press only accepts about 1-3% of its submissions.
• Readers will not correspond with the authors directly.
• Readers are required to read through at least 30% of each submission. Submissions are read in order and shouldn’t be skipped, except for category or contest deadline necessities, or recusal for inability to be impartial.

Requirements:

• Familiarity with the backend of Submittable (the publisher/reader side, not just the submitter side).
• Familiarity with Submittable messages.
• A few hours to dedicate to reading submissions every week to stay on track.
• Ability to attend virtual group meetings via Zoom or Google Meet a couple times per month.
• Access to a computer or device where you can read submissions online.
• Ability to be paid via direct deposit through Stripe Connect (requires a bank/credit union account).
• A desirable applicant is someone who regularly reads books and online content in their selected categories to be familiar with the industry and publishing landscape.
• Attention to detail.
• Discretion about submissions in the public sphere. You will have privileges for reading submissions that are not yet published anywhere, and the authors’ privacy and copyrights should be respected in all public spaces.
• Readers should have thick skin and should not be prone to trigger/content warnings (although you should also be able to recognize when a piece may be problematic or require a content warning). A lot of literary material is controversial and heavy, and readers should be careful that their own experiences, traumas, and biases don’t overly inform decisions when work is high quality. We tell you this upfront because if material is too heavy for you, then you’ll quit reading, and that just wastes both of our time, so know in advance that some work is hard to handle.
• If you leave the position, we ask that you help with onboarding and training for the next person who replaces you.

Alternating Current Press is hiring for:

• Nonfiction (1 READER): literary, creative NF, essay collections, literary memoir, non-mainstream, non-commercial, NF chapbooks, quirky NF manuscripts, single essays in NF anthologies, NF translation manuscripts (Read our latest essay collection.)
• Fiction (2 READERS): literary, novels, novellas, short-story collections, flash-fiction collections, hybrid fic manuscripts, non-mainstream, non-commercial, fic chapbooks, quirky fic manuscripts, single fic pieces in fic anthologies, fic translation manuscripts, single fic stories for Luminaire. (Read our latest short-story collection.)
• Poetry (2 READERS): poetry collections, hybrid poetry manuscripts, poetry chapbooks, single poems in poetry anthologies, poetry translation manuscripts, single poems for Luminaire. (Read our latest poetry collections: Fish Love and Watermark.)

Press payment is $2 per submission read, plus a $20 finder’s fee for any full-length fic/NF manuscript the editorial board accepts for publication, or a $10 finder’s fee for any chapbook or full-length poetry manuscript the editorial board accepts for publication, paid out via direct deposit every 3 months through Stripe Connect if a minimum of $30 for a payout has been reached.

Flatiron Foothills Publications, LLC, Code of Conduct: FFP expects its authors and staff to be kind literary citizens within the industry and to conduct themselves with decency in the public sphere, which includes social-media profiles. We reserve the right to sever ties and contracts with authors or staff who target or harass others; use racist, homophobic, xenophobic, ableist, or otherwise derogatory remarks toward others in public media; publish external material that is harmful to others; or otherwise conduct themselves in a way that would reflect poorly on our imprints. Literary citizenship is important to us, and the literary community is small and tight-knit. We all need one another, and we rise by lifting others.

This is a book-publication contest of Alternating Current Press. Please know what it is before submitting.

We’re seeking book-length translations on important social justice topics and themes that impact the world around us. We especially want to hear from marginalized and underrepresented people and languages, and we are an LGBTQUIA2+ safe-space.

Winner receives $1,000, our Spark Translation Prize digital medallion, a certificate, and book publication on Alternating Current Press, which includes distribution through Ingram, Asterism, and all major online retailers. Runners-up may also be offered book publication.

Submissions open: April 1, 2025

Submissions close: September 30, 2025

Winner announced: November 2025

Publication: 2026/2027

• Translations can be from any language but must be translated into English. Dual-language and side-by-side language translations are considered, as long as one of the languages is English.
• Manuscripts must be geared toward an adult readership. We are not interested in translations for children.
• The translation must be carefully and professionally done by someone with a grasp of both presented languages. Please provide any credentials or background that you may have in translating between the languages in question. All work must be the authors’ own. Single work by multiple authors considered. If the translated author is still living or if the original work is not in the public domain in the United States (first publication in or before 1928, or if copyright has expired), then permission to publish the translation must be given by the original author, family of the author, press, or copyright holder. We do not consider A.I.-generated works or any digitally translated material.
• Translations may be of any length in any genre, including poetry, fiction, nonfiction, plays, or hybrid styles.
• Manuscripts are read incognito. DO NOT PUT YOUR NAME OR ANY IDENTIFYING MARKS INSIDE THE FILE, including headers, footers, cover pages, acknowledgments, and file names. If you do leave your identifying marks inside the file, the submission will be read as-is, but the reader may disqualify the submission if he knows you on any personal level. The person being translated doesn't have to be anonymous, only the translator submitting the work.
• If you need to adjust a submission, please use the Request to Edit option through Submittable. Please don’t request to edit for minor flaws, however—all accepted work will go through an editing process and will have the chance to be updated before publication, and your work will not be disqualified for a missing comma.
• All authors (including translated authors, unless their work is in the public domain) must be at least 18 to submit.
• Simultaneous submissions allowed. Please withdraw your manuscript through Submittable if it is accepted elsewhere.
• ACP and The Coil staff may submit work, but they are ineligible for prizes while on our staff (including volunteers).
• Collections that contain previously published pieces are considered. Don’t include acknowledgments in the file.
• Submit via Submittable only. We do not accept email submissions.
• Straight or scholarly nonfiction should have citations.
• There is a $19 fee for each manuscript submitted. You may submit as many manuscripts as you’d like, but each one must be submitted separately with a separate fee. The fee helps us with needed administration and book production costs, and we pay our readers for their time and effort, but it’s not meant to be too inhibitive. If you are unable to pay, please email us for an alternative submission method.
• Each paid submission comes with a digital copy of our latest published anthology, Best Small Fictions 2024 ($9.99 value). There is an additional option to purchase the winning Spark Translation Prize print book (publishing in 2026/2027) as an add-on for a deep discount ($6.99 off the final cover price, U.S. shipping only). If there is no winner selected for a chosen year, advance book purchases will roll over to the next year. If you purchase this option, please make sure to keep your Submittable mailing address current in your profile.
• We will send a response to every submission and post an announcement of the winner by the end of November. Form response only, unless we are interested in publishing your book. We are regretfully unable to provide feedback. We reserve the right not to choose a winning manuscript if there are no contestants that meet our high judging standards.

If you like our press, please consider signing up on our email mailing list.

This is a book-publication contest of Alternating Current Press. Please know what it is before submitting.

We’re seeking book-length debut manuscripts of literary fiction, short stories, poetry, plays, novels, long novellas, creative nonfiction, literary memoir, essay collections, or hybrid written by a debut author who has not yet published a full-length book in the submitted genre. We especially want to hear from marginalized and underrepresented writers, and we are an LGBTQUIA2+ safe-space.

Winner receives $1,000, our Futurist Debut Book Award digital medallion, a certificate, and book publication on Alternating Current Press, which includes distribution through Ingram, Asterism, and all major online retailers. Runners-up may also be offered book publication.

Submissions open: June 1, 2025

Submissions close: November 30, 2025

Winner announced: February 2026

Publication: 2027/2028
 

• Manuscripts must be written by an author who has not yet published a full-length book in the submitted genre. Previously published chapbooks do not count against you. Previously published books in other genres do not count against you. (Example: If you are submitting a debut poetry book, then it is fine to have had a previously published debut novel and/or a previously published debut chapbook, as long as you don’t have a previously published full-length poetry book.)
• Manuscripts may be of any length in any genre or style. Manuscripts can be fiction, nonfiction, poetry, plays, or hybrid. Choose the category of best fit.
• Manuscripts must be geared toward an adult readership. We are not interested in books for children.
• All work must be in English and must be the author’s own. Single work by multiple authors considered. At least one of the authors must be a debut author in the submitted genre. We do not consider A.I.-generated work.
• Manuscripts are read incognito. DO NOT PUT YOUR NAME OR ANY IDENTIFYING MARKS INSIDE THE FILE, including headers, footers, cover pages, acknowledgments, and file names. If you do leave your identifying marks inside the file, the submission will be read as-is, but the reader may disqualify the submission if he knows you on any personal level.
• If you need to adjust a submission, please use the Request to Edit option through Submittable. Please don’t request to edit for minor flaws, however—all accepted work will go through an editing process and will have the chance to be updated before publication, and your work will not be disqualified for a missing comma.
• All authors must be at least 18 to submit.
• Simultaneous submissions allowed. Please withdraw your manuscript through Submittable if it is accepted elsewhere.
• If another of your books submitted to a different press gets picked up and would conflict with this book being your debut book in the submitted genre, then you are no longer eligible for this prize. Your book can still be considered for publication on our press, however, so if you lose eligibility for the prize but still wish to be considered for standard publication, you do not have to withdraw your work, but please send us a message through Submittable to let us know that your eligibility has changed. If any winning work is later deemed ineligible, the author does not win the prize. There are no refunds given for ineligibility.
• ACP and The Coil staff may submit work for publication consideration, but they are ineligible to win prizes while on our staff (including volunteers).
• Collections that contain previously published pieces are considered. Don’t include acknowledgments in the file.
• Submit via Submittable only. We do not accept email submissions.
• Straight or scholarly nonfiction should have citations.
• There is a $19 fee for each manuscript submitted. You may submit as many manuscripts as you’d like, but each one must be submitted separately with a separate fee. The fee helps us with needed administration and book production costs, and we pay our readers for their time and effort, but it’s not meant to be too inhibitive. If you are unable to pay, please email us for an alternative submission method.
• Each paid submission comes with a digital copy of our latest Futurist Debut Book Award winner. Since this is a new award, the digital copy is our latest published debut, Fish Love, a collection of poems about the macabre side of womanhood by Bryanna Licciardi ($7.99 value). There is an additional option to purchase the winning Futurist Debut Book Award print book (publishing in 2027/2028) as an add-on for a deep discount ($6.99 off the final cover price, U.S. shipping only). If there is no winner selected for a chosen year, advance book purchases will roll over to the next year. If you purchase this option, please make sure to keep your Submittable mailing address current in your profile.
• We will send a response to every submission and post an announcement of the winner by the end of February. Form response only, unless we are interested in publishing your book. We are regretfully unable to provide feedback. We reserve the right not to choose a winning manuscript if there are no contestants that meet our high judging standards.

   If you like our press, please consider signing up on our email mailing list.

This is a book-publication contest of Alternating Current Press. Please know what it is before submitting.

We’re seeking book-length manuscripts of literary fiction, short stories, poetry, plays, novels, long novellas, creative nonfiction, literary memoir, essay collections, or hybrid. We especially want to hear from marginalized and underrepresented authors, and we are an LGBTQUIA2+ safe-space.

Winner receives $1,000, our Electric Book Award digital medallion, a certificate, and book publication on Alternating Current Press, which includes distribution through Ingram, Asterism, and all major online retailers. Runners-up may also be offered book publication.

Submissions open: January 1, 2025

Submissions close: May 31, 2025 June 30, 2025 (extended because portals were not opened on time)

Winner announced: September 2025

Publication: 2026/2027

• Manuscripts may be of any length in any genre or style. Manuscripts can be fiction, nonfiction, poetry, plays, or hybrid. Choose the category of best fit.
• Manuscripts must be geared toward an adult readership. We are not interested in books for children.
• All work must be in English and must be the author’s own. Single work by multiple authors considered. We do not consider A.I.-generated work.
• Manuscripts are read incognito. DO NOT PUT YOUR NAME OR ANY IDENTIFYING MARKS INSIDE THE FILE, including headers, footers, cover pages, acknowledgments, and file names. If you do leave your identifying marks inside the file, the submission will be read as-is, but the reader may disqualify the submission if he knows you on any personal level.
• If you need to adjust a submission, please use the Request to Edit option through Submittable. Please don’t request to edit for minor flaws, however—all accepted work will go through an editing process and will have the chance to be updated before publication, and your work will not be disqualified for a missing comma.
• All authors must be at least 18 to submit.
• Simultaneous submissions allowed. Please withdraw your manuscript through Submittable if it is accepted elsewhere.
• ACP and The Coil staff may submit work for publication consideration, but they are ineligible to win prizes while on our staff (including volunteers).
• Collections that contain previously published pieces are considered. Don’t include acknowledgments in the file.
• Submit via Submittable only. We do not accept email submissions.
• Straight or scholarly nonfiction should have citations.
• There is a $19 fee for each manuscript submitted. You may submit as many manuscripts as you’d like, but each one must be submitted separately with a separate fee. The fee helps us with needed administration and book production costs, and we pay our readers for their time and effort, but it’s not meant to be too inhibitive. If you are unable to pay, please email us for an alternative submission method.
• Each paid submission comes with a digital copy of our latest Electric Book Award winner, River Weather, a collection of dark Appalachian stories by Cameron MacKenzie ($7.99 value). There is an additional option to purchase the winning Electric Book Award print book (publishing in 2026/2027) as an add-on for a deep discount ($6.99 off the final cover price, shipped free worldwide). If there is no winner selected for a chosen year, advance book purchases will roll over to the next year. If you purchase this option, please make sure to keep your Submittable mailing address current in your profile.
• We will send a response to every submission and post an announcement of the winner by the end of September. Form response only, unless we are interested in publishing your book. We are regretfully unable to provide feedback. We reserve the right not to choose a winning manuscript if there are no contestants that meet our high judging standards.

  If you like our press, please consider signing up on our email mailing list.

This is a journal publication and contest of Alternating Current Press. Please know what it is before submitting.

We’re seeking individual pieces of historical writing in poetry, fiction, nonfiction, or hybrid that give an author’s intimate or emotional take on historical places, people, events, or ideas. Pieces must noticeably fit a historical theme. We especially want to hear from marginalized and underrepresented writers, and we are an LGBTQUIA2+ safe-space.

Winner of the Charter Oak Award receives $100, our Charter Oak Award digital medallion, a certificate, and publication in our annual journal Footnote: A Literary Journal of History and online at The Coil. All accepted pieces, semifinalists, and finalists receive publication in Footnote, as well, among other prizes. See website for details.

Submissions open (issue #12): February 1, 2025

Submissions close (issue #12): January 31, 2026

Winner announced: March 2026

Publication (issue #12): July 2026


 

• This category is only for INDIVIDUAL pieces (not book-length manuscripts) with themes of history. Submissions can be poetry, fiction, hybrid, creative nonfiction, or straight nonfiction, but must noticeably fit a historical theme. Other than the blanket term “history,” there is no set theme per issue.
• All genres, styles, and subjects within the theme considered. A soft upper limit of 10,000 words is suggested, and preference may be given to shorter works.
• You may submit up to 5 pieces in a single document file.
• Submissions are read incognito. DO NOT PUT YOUR NAME OR ANY IDENTIFYING MARKS INSIDE THE FILE, including headers, footers, cover pages, acknowledgments, and file names. If you do leave your identifying marks inside the file, the submission will be read as-is, but the reader may disqualify the submission if he knows you on any personal level.
• All work must be in English and must be the author’s own. Single work by multiple authors considered. We will also consider reliable side-by-side (English and a second language) translations for this category. We do not consider A.I.-generated works.
• If you need to adjust a submission, please use the Request to Edit option through Submittable. Please don’t request to edit for minor flaws, however—all accepted work will go through an editing process and will have the chance to be updated before publication, and your work will not be disqualified for a missing comma.
• All authors must be at least 18 to submit.
• Simultaneous submissions allowed. You do not have to withdraw a piece that is accepted elsewhere, as long as you still own the reprint rights after first publication.
• Previously published pieces are considered, as long as you still own the reprint rights. Don’t include acknowledgments in the file.
• ACP and The Coil staff may submit work for publication consideration, but they are ineligible to win prizes while on our staff (including volunteers).
• Submit via Submittable only. We do not accept email submissions.
• Straight or scholarly nonfiction should have citations.
• There is a $5.99 fee for each submission (up to 5 pieces in a submission). You may submit as many times as you’d like, but each submission must be made separately with a separate fee. The fee helps us with needed administration and journal production costs, but it’s not meant to be too inhibitive. If you are unable to pay, please submit during the free months or email us for an alternative submission method.
• Each paid submission comes with a digital copy of our latest issue of Footnote, currently #5 ($7.99 value).
• It is highly recommended that you read our past Charter Oak finalists and winners.
• We will send a response and notification of the winners to every submission by the end of March 2026. Form response only, unless we are interested in publishing your work. We are regretfully unable to provide feedback.
• Historical pieces can be submitted for free during Black History Month (February), Women’s History Month (March), and Native American Heritage Month (November). We close our free submissions when we reach our monthly Submittable submissions cap, so submit early in the month, and please only submit to free categories once per month, to give everyone a chance to submit before submissions are capped. When free submissions are open, the portal link will be active here.
• We accept approximately 40 pieces per issue. We do not give out complimentary print editions, except to the first-, second-, and third-place winners of the Charter Oak Award whose work is therein contained.
• We acknowledge that we are headquartered on what should be Arapaho land on a street that is instead named for a dead white male president who owned enslaved people and severed Native American Nations apart irrevocably. To honor the reparations that this entire country needs to make, Black writers and Native American Indigenous (United States and Canada) writers may submit for free to this journal. See website for details.

This is a book-length open-reading period of Alternating Current Press. Please know what it is before submitting.

We’re seeking book-length manuscripts of literary fiction, short stories, plays, novels, long novellas, flash collections, or prose hybrid. We especially want to hear from marginalized and underrepresented authors, and we are an LGBTQUIA2+ safe-space.

Selected manuscripts receive book publication on Alternating Current Press, which includes distribution through Ingram, Asterism, and all major online retailers.

Submissions open: June 1, 2025

Submissions close: June 30, 2025 July 31, 2025 (extended because we were late getting the portal open due to maintenance)

Selections made: Within 4 months

Publication: 2026/2027

• Manuscripts may be in any genre or style. Choose the category of best fit.
• Manuscripts must be geared toward an adult readership. We are not interested in books for children.
• All work must be in English and must be the author’s own. Single work by multiple authors considered. We do not consider A.I.-generated work.
• These manuscripts are not read incognito. It doesn’t matter if your identifying information is (or isn’t) inside your submission file, as long as your Submittable contact information is correct.
• If you need to adjust a submission, please use the Request to Edit option through Submittable. Please don’t request to edit for minor flaws, however—all accepted work will go through an editing process and will have the chance to be updated before publication, and your work will not be disqualified for a missing comma.
• All authors must be at least 18 to submit.
• Simultaneous submissions allowed. Please withdraw your manuscript through Submittable if it is accepted elsewhere.
• Collections that contain previously published pieces are considered.
• Submit via Submittable only. We do not accept email submissions.
• There is a $7.99 fee for each manuscript submitted. You may submit as many manuscripts as you’d like, but each one must be submitted separately with a separate fee. The fee helps us with needed administration and book production costs, and we pay our readers for their time and effort, but it’s not meant to be too inhibitive. If you are unable to pay, please email us for an alternative submission method.
• Each paid submission comes with a digital copy of our latest fiction book, currently Winter Dance Party, a collection of Buddy Holly’s plane crash in flash, by Brett Biebel ($7.99 value).
• We will send a response to every submission within 4 months. Form response only, unless we are interested in publishing your book. We are regretfully unable to provide feedback. If you have not heard back after 4 months, please feel free to follow up (kindly), but more than likely, we’re just running behind, so thank you for your patience.
• We acknowledge that we are headquartered on what should be Arapaho land with a warehouse on a street that is instead named for a dead white male president who owned enslaved people and severed Native American Nations apart irrevocably and an office on a street named after the very People whose land was stolen. To honor the reparations that this entire country needs to make, Black writers and Native American Indigenous (United States and Canada) writers may submit appropriate manuscripts for free to this open-reading period (please note that if the portal is not open, then we have reached our free-submission monthly cap until the beginning of the next open-reading period).

If you like our press, please consider signing up on our email mailing list.

This is a book-length open-reading period of Alternating Current Press. Please know what it is before submitting.

We’re seeking book-length manuscripts of creative nonfiction, literary memoir, essay collections, or hybrid. We especially want to hear from marginalized and underrepresented authors, and we are an LGBTQUIA2+ safe-space.

Selected manuscripts receive book publication on Alternating Current Press, which includes distribution through Ingram, Asterism, and all major online retailers.

Submissions open: May 1, 2025

Submissions close: May 31, 2025 June 30, 2025 (extended because we were late opening in May)

Selections made: Within 4 months

Publication: 2026/2027

• Manuscripts may be in any genre or style. Choose the category of best fit.
• Manuscripts must be geared toward an adult readership. We are not interested in books for children.
• All work must be in English and must be the author’s own. Single work by multiple authors considered. We do not consider A.I.-generated work.
• These manuscripts are not read incognito. It doesn’t matter if your identifying information is (or isn’t) inside your submission file, as long as your Submittable contact information is correct.
• If you need to adjust a submission, please use the Request to Edit option through Submittable. Please don’t request to edit for minor flaws, however—all accepted work will go through an editing process and will have the chance to be updated before publication, and your work will not be disqualified for a missing comma.
• All authors must be at least 18 to submit.
• Simultaneous submissions allowed. Please withdraw your manuscript through Submittable if it is accepted elsewhere.
• Collections that contain previously published pieces are considered.
• Submit via Submittable only. We do not accept email submissions.
• Straight or scholarly nonfiction should have proper citations.
• There is a $7.99 fee for each manuscript submitted. You may submit as many manuscripts as you’d like, but each one must be submitted separately with a separate fee. The fee helps us with needed administration and book production costs, and we pay our readers for their time and effort, but it’s not meant to be too inhibitive. If you are unable to pay, please email us for an alternative submission method.
• Each paid submission comes with a digital copy of our latest nonfiction book, currently The Uncertainty Principle: Essays on Infertility, Conception, Birth, and Quantum Mechanics by Joel Wachman ($7.99 value).
• We will send a response to every submission within 4 months. Form response only, unless we are interested in publishing your book. We are regretfully unable to provide feedback. If you have not heard back after 4 months, please feel free to follow up (kindly), but more than likely, we’re just running behind, so thank you for your patience.
• We acknowledge that we are headquartered on what should be Arapaho land with a warehouse on a street that is instead named for a dead white male president who owned enslaved people and severed Native American Nations apart irrevocably and an office on a street named after the very People whose land was stolen. To honor the reparations that this entire country needs to make, Black writers and Native American Indigenous (United States and Canada) writers may submit appropriate manuscripts for free to this open-reading period (please note that if the portal is not open, then we have reached our free-submission monthly cap until the beginning of the next open-reading period).

If you like our press, please consider signing up on our email mailing list.

This is an Alternating Current Press open-reading period for pieces of short fiction published on The Coil. Please know what it is before submitting.

We’re seeking individual stories/pieces of fiction (NOT chapbooks or book-length manuscripts). Experimental, flash, short novelettes, long stories, short plays, and hybrid prose considered. We especially want to hear from marginalized and underrepresented authors, and we are an LGBTQUIA2+ safe-space. All accepted pieces receive $10 and publication on The Coil.

Submissions open: February 1, 2025

Submissions close: May 31, 2025 (extended because the portal opened late: July 31, 2025)

Selections made: Within 4 months

Publication: 2025/2026

• This category is only for INDIVIDUAL standalone fiction (not book-length manuscripts). Submissions can be experimental, flash, short novelettes, long stories, short plays, or hybrid prose. (Hybrid that most closely resembles poetry should be submitted to the poetry category or to the Luminaire Poetry Award. Historical fiction should be submitted to Footnote/Charter Oak Award. Nonfiction pieces (essays, articles, columns, reviews, memoir, journalism, interviews, booklists, literary trends) should be submitted to The Coil categories.)
• All genres, styles, and subjects considered. A soft upper limit of 5,000 words is suggested.
• You may submit up to 4 stories in a single document file.
• All work must be in English and must be the author’s own. Single work by multiple authors considered. We do not consider A.I.-generated works.
• These submissions are not read incognito. It doesn’t matter if your identifying information is or isn’t inside your submission file.
• If you need to adjust a submission, please use the Request to Edit option through Submittable. Please don’t request to edit for minor flaws, however—all accepted work will go through an editing process and will have the chance to be updated before publication, and your work will not be disqualified for a missing comma.
• All authors must be at least 18 to submit.
• Simultaneous submissions allowed. You do not have to withdraw a piece that is accepted elsewhere, as long as you still own the reprint rights after first publication.
• Previously published pieces are considered, as long as you still own the reprint rights.
• Submit via Submittable only. We do not accept email submissions.
• There is a $4.99 fee for each submission (up to 4 pieces in a submission). You may submit as many times as you’d like, but each submission must be made separately with a separate fee. The fee helps us with needed administration and journal production costs, but it’s not meant to be too inhibitive. If you are unable to pay, please email us for an alternative submission method.
• Each paid submission comes with a digital copy of our latest short-story collection, Winter Dance Party by Brett Biebel ($7.99 value).
• It is highly recommended that you read our past published fiction.
• We will send a response and notification to every submission within 4 months. Form response only, unless we are interested in publishing your work. We are regretfully unable to provide feedback. If you have not heard back after 4 months, please feel free to follow up (kindly).
• Individual prose can be submitted for free during Short Story Month (May). We close our free submissions when we reach our monthly Submittable submissions cap, so submit early in the month, and please only submit to free categories once per month, to give everyone a chance to submit before submissions are capped. When free submissions are open, the portal link will be active here.
• We acknowledge that we are headquartered on what should be Arapaho land on a street that is instead named for a dead white male president who owned enslaved people and severed Native American Nations apart irrevocably. To honor the reparations that this entire country needs to make, Black writers and Native American Indigenous (United States and Canada) writers may submit appropriate submissions for free to this open-reading period (please note that if the portal is not open, then we have reached our free-submission monthly cap until the beginning of the next month or open-reading period).

This is an Alternating Current Press open-reading period for poems published on The Coil. Please know what it is before submitting.

We’re seeking individual poems (NOT chapbooks or book-length manuscripts) in any poetry format, including experimental, prose poems, and hybrid. We especially want to hear from marginalized and underrepresented authors, and we are an LGBTQUIA2+ safe-space. All accepted pieces receive $10 and publication on The Coil.

Submissions open: March 1, 2025

Submissions close: M̶a̶y̶ 3̶1̶, 2̶0̶2̶5̶ (extended because we were late opening the portal: June 30, 2025)

Selections made: Within 4 months

Publication: 2025/2026

• This category is only for INDIVIDUAL standalone poems (not book-length manuscripts). Submissions can be any type of poetry, small groups of linked poems, experimental, prose poems, or hybrid. (Hybrid that most closely resembles fiction or prose should be submitted to the fiction category or to the Luminaire Prose Award. Historical poems should be submitted to Footnote/Charter Oak Award.)
• All genres, styles, and subjects considered. A soft upper limit of 5,000 words is suggested.
• Our journal is hosted on the Medium platform, which is not the best place for poetry that is anything other than left-aligned. We are not the best home for single poems with fancy layouts.
• You may submit up to 5 poems in a single document file.
• All work must be in English and must be the author’s own. Single work by multiple authors considered. We do not consider A.I.-generated works.
• These submissions are not read incognito. It doesn’t matter if your identifying information is or isn’t inside your submission file.
• If you need to adjust a submission, please use the Request to Edit option through Submittable. Please don’t request to edit for minor flaws, however—all accepted work will go through an editing process and will have the chance to be updated before publication, and your work will not be disqualified for a missing comma.
• All authors must be at least 18 to submit.
• Simultaneous submissions allowed. You do not have to withdraw a piece that is accepted elsewhere, as long as you still own the reprint rights after first publication.
• Previously published pieces are considered, as long as you still own the reprint rights.
• Submit via Submittable only. We do not accept email submissions.
• There is a $4.99 fee for each submission (up to 5 pieces in a submission). You may submit as many times as you’d like, but each submission must be made separately with a separate fee. The fee helps us with needed administration and journal production costs, but it’s not meant to be too inhibitive. If you are unable to pay, please email us for an alternative submission method.
• Each paid submission comes with a digital copy of our latest poetry book, Fish Love by Bryanna Licciardi ($7.99 value).
• It is highly recommended that you read our past published poems.
• We will send a response and notification to every submission within 4 months. Form response only, unless we are interested in publishing your book. We are regretfully unable to provide feedback. If you have not heard back after 4 months, please feel free to follow up (kindly).
• Individual poems can be submitted for free during Poetry Month (April). We close our free submissions when we reach our monthly Submittable submissions cap, so submit early in the month, and please only submit to free categories once per month, to give everyone a chance to submit before submissions are capped. When free submissions are open, the portal link will be active here.
• We acknowledge that we are headquartered on what should be Arapaho land on a street that is instead named for a dead white male president who owned enslaved people and severed Native American Nations apart irrevocably. To honor the reparations that this entire country needs to make, Black writers and Native American Indigenous (United States and Canada) writers may submit appropriate submissions for free to this open-reading period (please note that if the portal is not open, then we have reached our free-submission monthly cap until the beginning of the next month or open-reading period).

This is the novel submission portal of Bench Press. Please know what it is before submitting.

• Sports Romance novels and standalone Sports Romance novellas only.
• Doesn't have to be fluffy, and you can think outside the box, but it should have a sport, a romance, and a happy ending.
• Open to all styles, themes, relationships, identities. Love is love.
• Any length over 30,000 words.
• Any sport, broad categorization.
• Must be 18 to submit.
• We pay 30% net proceeds for paperback and ebook sales.
• Submit a cover letter that briefly explains your book, pitches or hooks, audience, special marketing ideas or connections you have for sales, sport(s), style(s) (spicy, sweet, etc.), tropes used (grumpy/sunshine, meet-cute, enemies-to-lovers, etc.), romance-readers groups you're part of, expertise with the sport(s), or anything else you think we need to know about you or your book. You can either attach this cover letter as part of your submission or paste it into the cover letter field.
• Submit your entire manuscript. Once we start reading, we won't want to stop!
• There is a $12 reading fee to support our press and pay our readers. Reading submissions takes an incredible amount of time, and charging a small reading fee allows us to give your manuscript the care and attention it deserves. We thank you so much for your support. Each submission comes with an ebook of our latest title, currently Sharp Edges by Olivia North (hockey romance, book 1 in the Fresh Ice Series).

Do you like Bench Press or sports romance? Sign up on our mailing list!

This is a journal publication of Bench Press. Please know what it is before submitting.

• This journal is for individual SPORTS ROMANCE short stories, short fiction, flash, micro, hybrid, and novelettes only.
• Doesn't have to be fluffy, and you can think outside the box, but it should have a sport, a romance, and a happy ending.
• Open to all styles, themes, relationships, identities. Love is love.
• Up to 30,000 words per story.
• Any sport, broad categorization.
• Must be 18 to submit.
• We pay .08¢ per word (.008 x word count) up to $40 max, OR you can opt to receive one copy of the paperback issue instead. Payment will be on final word count after editing, so don't needlessly pad your word count; it will be edited. We also give one complimentary epub and PDF to authors included in the issue.
• Please identify your sport(s), style(s) (spicy, sweet, etc.), tropes used (grumpy/sunshine, meet-cute, enemies-to-lovers, etc.), expertise with the sport(s), or anything else you think we need to know about you or your story in the cover letter field or on the first page of your story attachment.
• Submit only one story per reading fee.
• There is a $5 reading fee to support our press and pay our readers. Reading submissions takes an incredible amount of time, and charging a small reading fee allows us to give your story the care and attention it deserves. We thank you so much for your support. Each submission comes with an ebook of our latest title, currently Sharp Edges by Olivia North (hockey romance, book 1 in the Fresh Ice Series).

Do you like Bench Press or sports romance? Sign up on our mailing list!

This is a promotional offering of the online journal The Coil. Please know what the journal and the book giveaways are before submitting.

We’re happy to host giveaways for books, ARCs, swag packs, and any kind of book-related merch on The Coil. Our audience of eager readers is always looking for something new, and everyone loves the chance to win freebies. Book giveaways are never put behind paywalls, so they are free for everyone to see and to participate in. Click here to see active book giveaways going on right now, and click here to see past giveaways that we’ve hosted. (Promoting a book? Book giveaways and homepage giveaway ad banners are part of our book blog tour packages.)

We host our book giveaways through Gleam. Each giveaway has a post on The Coil (looks like this) and an additional Gleam URL that you can insert into your own social media or posts elsewhere (looks like this).

We will make a header image from your book cover, unless you've got a separate image you want to include, such as a photo of a special prize pack. You can include up to 4 images.

You decide what you're giving away, including how many book copies and any additional goodies, if any, up to 5 individually listed items (a "prize pack" can be 1 item, or you can list 5 different items individually, or just give away up to 25 copies of your book, etc.). You will be responsible for shipping the products, so keep that in mind when you decide what the prizes are. If you can't afford shipping, then ebook giveaways are recommended instead of print. You decide if you're willing to ship internationally or only in certain domestic areas (such as "United States only").

You decide the duration and the dates of the giveaway. You decide how many winners there are (minimum 1, maximum 25). Winners are generated randomly via Gleam's automation.

You can decide if people earn additional entries by joining your platforms and the value of those additional entries (following you on Twitter is +5 entries, checking out your website is +1 entry, signing up for your mailing list is +10 entries, etc.).

We welcome diverse and underrepresented voices and are a liberal, fact-minded, non-religious journal that is a safe space for LGBTQUIA2+ and BIPOC+ authors, and writers of all ages, cultures, backgrounds, and abilities. Hate speech and harmful agendas are not welcome here. We reserve the right to refuse and refund any material that doesn’t align with the principles of our journal.

This is a portal for essays submitted to the online journal The Coil. Please know what the journal is before submitting.

We look for completed personal essays, memoir, creative nonfiction, hybrid essays, journalism, articles, columns, trends, and booklists on most any topic of general, universal, or literary interest. We are really geared toward a literary scene and are seeking works that reflect that atmosphere, but we are open to all universal pieces and ideas. We love pieces that incorporate current events, culture, rural landscapes, diverse voices, books, science, holidays, personal experiences, craft, literary trends, and history. We are big fans of research, digging beneath the top layer, and well-formed arguments. (Promoting a book? Essays and guest posts are part of our book blog tour packages.)

We welcome diverse and underrepresented voices and are a liberal, fact-minded, non-religious journal that is a safe space for LGBTQUIA2+ and BIPOC+ authors, and writers of all ages, cultures, backgrounds, and abilities. Hate speech and harmful agendas are not welcome here. We reserve the right to refuse any material that doesn’t align with the principles of our journal.
 

• Material should have a minimum of 800 words for essays and articles, and a minimum of 500 words and five books for booklists. No maximums.
• Quotes and stats should be referenced or cited.
• All work must be in English and must be the author’s own. We do not consider A.I.-generated works.
• If you need to adjust a submission, please use the Request to Edit option through Submittable. Please don’t request to edit for minor flaws, however—all accepted work will go through an editing process and will have the chance to be updated before publication, and your work will not be disqualified for a missing comma.
• All authors must be at least 18 to submit.
• Simultaneous submissions allowed. If your piece is picked up elsewhere, please withdraw your submission through Submittable.
• Previously published articles or essays are not considered.
• Submit via Submittable only. We do not accept email submissions.
• There is a $3.50 administrative fee that we have to charge for each submission to use the Submittable platform. You may submit as many times as you’d like, but each submission must be made separately with a separate fee. The fee helps us with needed administration costs, and we pay our readers for their time and effort, but it’s not meant to be too inhibitive. If you are unable to pay, please email us for an alternative submission method.
• We will send a response to every submission within two months. Form response only, unless we are interested in publishing your work. We are regretfully unable to provide feedback. If you have not heard back from us within two months, please feel free to contact us (kindly).
• Accepted or solicited pieces vetted through our editors and submissions portal will receive $10 after publication; there is no payment for promotional guest columns or automatic posts as part of a book tour package.
• We acknowledge that we are headquartered on what should be Arapaho land on a street that is instead named for a dead white male president who owned enslaved people and severed Native American Nations apart irrevocably. To honor the reparations that this entire country needs to make, Black writers and Native American Indigenous (United States and Canada) writers may submit essays for free. (please note that if the portal is not open, then we have reached our free-submission monthly cap until the beginning of the next month)

If you like our journal, please consider subscribing for less than a cup of coffee, or signing up on our free email mailing list.

This is the open-reading portal for pieces of short fiction published on The Coil online journal. Please know what the journal is before submitting.

We’re seeking individual stories/pieces of fiction (NOT chapbooks or book-length manuscripts). We want to read your microfiction, flash fiction, short stories, hybrid, experimental, one-act plays, and short novelettes.

We welcome diverse and underrepresented voices and are a liberal, fact-minded, non-religious journal that is a safe space for LGBTQUIA2+ and BIPOC+ authors, and writers of all ages, cultures, backgrounds, and abilities. Hate speech and harmful agendas are not welcome here. We reserve the right to refuse any material that doesn’t align with the principles of our journal.

• This category is only for INDIVIDUAL standalone fiction (not book-length manuscripts). Submissions can be experimental, flash, short novelettes, long stories, short plays, or hybrid prose. (Hybrid that most closely resembles poetry should be submitted to the Poetry category. Nonfiction pieces (essays, articles, columns, reviews, memoir, journalism, interviews, booklists, literary trends) should be submitted to their respective Nonfiction categories.)
• All genres, styles, and subjects considered. A soft upper limit of 5,000 words is suggested.
• You may submit up to 4 stories in a single document file.
• All work must be in English and must be the author’s own. Single work by multiple authors considered. We do not consider A.I.-generated works.
• If you need to adjust a submission, please use the Request to Edit option through Submittable. Please don’t request to edit for minor flaws, however—all accepted work will go through an editing process and will have the chance to be updated before publication, and your work will not be disqualified for a missing comma.
• All authors must be at least 18 to submit.
• Simultaneous submissions allowed. You do not have to withdraw a piece that is accepted elsewhere, as long as you still own the reprint rights after first publication.
• Previously published pieces are considered, as long as you still own the reprint rights.
• Submit via Submittable only. We do not accept email submissions.
• There is a $5.99 fee for each submission (up to 4 pieces in a submission). You may submit as many times as you’d like, but each submission (of up to 4 pieces) must be made separately with a separate fee. The fee helps us with needed administration and journal production costs, and we pay our submission readers for their time and effort, but it’s not meant to be too inhibitive. If you are unable to pay, please email us for an alternative submission method.
• It is highly recommended that you read our past published fiction.
• We will send a response and notification to every submission within 4 months. Form response only, unless we are interested in publishing your work. We are regretfully unable to provide feedback. If you have not heard back after 4 months, please feel free to follow up (kindly).
• Accepted or solicited pieces vetted through our editors and submissions portal will receive $10 after publication; there is no payment for promotional guest columns or automatic posts as part of a book tour package.
• We acknowledge that we are headquartered on what should be Arapaho land on a street that is instead named for a dead white male president who owned enslaved people and severed Native American Nations apart irrevocably. To honor the reparations that this entire country needs to make, Black writers and Native American Indigenous (United States and Canada) writers may submit appropriate submissions for free to this open-reading period (please note that if the portal is not open, then we have reached our free-submission monthly cap until the beginning of the next month).

If you like our journal, please consider subscribing for less than a cup of coffee, or signing up on our free email mailing list.