SUBMIT
Guidelines for Submitting Work
You love writing. We love reading.
Send us your best work.
We are currently accepting submissions for our SUMMER & FALL 2024 issues — and beyond.
CURRENT NEEDS:
Fiction, Poetry, Nonfiction, Art, Reviews, Interviews, Comic Art and Experimental work.
We would like to see more poetry, long fiction, nonfiction, artwork, and interviews.
The Writing Disorder Staff:
Editors: C.E. Lukather and Paul Garson
Poetry Editor: Juliana Woodhead
Contributing Editor: Pamela Ramos Langley
Contributing Editor: Sarah Sarai
FICTION & NONFICTION:
We have no specific guidelines regarding subject matter. Please send us your best work, whether it’s traditional, experimental or something else altogether. We enjoy reading all kinds of work. And, as always, there is No Limit on word count. —C.E. Lukather, Editor
POETRY:
A new season, a new issue, a new crop of poetry. As your poetry editor it is my pleasure to offer this harvest. This harvest which is impossible without you. Impossible without your careful crafting, grafting, sowing of words. Without your words nestled like seeds on the paper, peas on a page. So send us your free verse, your experimental, your form. Send us the flowers, the fruit, and the hay. —Juliana Woodhead, Poetry Editor
ARTWORK:
We showcase artists and photographers as well. Features typically include 10-15 images (minimum 1200 pixels wide, 100 ppi, RGB, jpeg files) Include artist statement, bio, links to work, list of shows, and titles of art. We can also include video or audio clips.
MANUSCRIPTS:
We are currently accepting complete manuscripts of fiction, poetry and nonfiction for publication. For more information, please contact us at: info@thewritingdisorder.com
The Writing Disorder accepts Microsoft Word document (storytitle.doc or .docx) submissions by email. However, we can’t promise that it’s going to look exactly the way you had it (we are Mac users). Please attach it to your email.
NOTE: Please include your last name in the title of your Word document.
Submission Queries:
Please allow three to six months for a response to fiction and nonfiction submissions, and two to six months for a response to poetry and art submissions. If you haven’t heard back by then, send us an email at info@thewritingdisorder.com — be sure to write “update” in the subject heading. Include your city, state, the date you sent your manuscript, and what it was. NOTE: If you have not heard from us in six months, please contact us and we will let you know the status of your submission. Sometimes this method works best. Maximum word length: No limit
ACCEPTANCE with another publication: If your work is a simultaneous submission, and it is accepted by another publication – congratulations! Please let us know as soon as possible. Thank you. We appreciate your consideration.
Advertising:
If you would like to place a Banner AD on our website, you can view our specifications here: ADVERTISE
Website Queries:
If you have a question about our website, or if you’re having trouble viewing anything on our site, please email us at info@thewritingdisorder.com.
Our Submission Policy
The Writing Disorder is published four times a year:
new issues are posted at the beginning of Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter.
Needs:
We seek work of the highest quality, but do not have specific guidelines for style or subject matter. Check our website before submitting for any announcements. Although we look for short stories and poetry, we also publish personal essays and memoirs. Novel excerpts are acceptable, if self-contained. Reviews, nonfiction pieces, humor, comic art, and criticism are also welcome. And we love experimental work. For poetry, please submit THREE to EIGHT poems. Also, let us know what type of work you are submitting. Sometimes it’s difficult to tell whether a piece is fiction or nonfiction.
Format:
Submit one prose piece or three to eight poems. A notation of publications and awards, if any, is helpful. Poems should be individually typed either single- or double-spaced on one side of the page. Prose should be typed double-spaced on one side and can be as many pages as you need.
Deadline:
Our reading period is all year long. Submit your work at any time during this period; if a manuscript is not timely for one issue, it may be considered for another.
Submitting Your Work:
Send only one manuscript at a time online. Do not send duplicate or multiple submissions. There is a limit of four total submissions per writer per reading period (season), regardless of genre, whether it is by mail or online. Do not send a second submission until you’ve heard about the first. We cross-reference our database periodically, and if we find more than one active submission, or a fifth submission (or more) during the reading period, all submissions will be immediately rejected unread. Simultaneous submissions to other journals are amenable as long as they are indicated as such and we are notified immediately upon acceptance elsewhere. We occasionally reprint previously published work.
Submissions by Email:
Email one file to: submit@thewritingdisorder.com — containing one prose piece or five to eight poems. If you have a legitimate association with a staff editor you may address that editor by name in your email. You should also include a brief citation of publications and awards (less than 50 words), if any. A longer citation of credits or a cover letter may be included as the first page of your submission document. Submissions must be sent as a Word (.doc or .docx) file. Any files that don’t adhere to our guidelines will be withdrawn from consideration. In general, you will receive a faster response by email versus by regular mail.
Notifications and Queries:
Expect at least three months for a decision. Please be patient. Do not query us until three months have passed. If you write us, please include a current email address and indicate the date of your submission. You can also send us an e-mail. We must be notified of changes in address or email. We cannot be responsible for delay, loss, or damage.
Thank you for submitting your work.
We appreciate your talent, time and patience.
