Submitting Your Stories To Glimmer Train

READY TO GO? MAKE YOUR SUBMISSION HERE.

Things You Should Know:

We genuinely welcome new writers, and are happy to consider any original short story (no novels, poetry, or stories written for children, please) that has not appeared in a print publication. One of our greatest pleasures is being the first to publish a great story by an emerging voice.

We pay writers generously for accepted stories and publish them in a highly regarded physical publication where great short stories persist in the real world and beyond the next post. Reader/Writer Comments

Every online submission in every category is read by us (12 pt font is appreciated), and we don't stop reading for a competition just because we've found a good story. (The Slush Pile)

We will always maintain three Standard (no-fee) reading months a year, so no one is prevented from submitting their work for lack of funds.

If you read Glimmer Train, you know that we go to some lengths to honor and support our contributors and their writing.

Submission Categories

We have five submission categories from which to choose, including our standard category (no reading fees and payment for accepted pieces is $700), and four contests (reading fees allow for 1st place prizes from $1,500 to $2,500). Contests vs. standards. Click on the names of the categories for details.

NOTE: There is always a one-week grace period after the deadline.

Very Short Fiction (1st place - $1,500): Submissions are welcome in January and July.

Short Story Award for New Writers (1st place - $1,500): Welcome in February, May, August, November.

Fiction Open (1st place - $2,500): Welcome in March, June, September, December (closes January 2).

Family Matters (1st place - $1,500): Welcome in April and October.

Standard Category ($700): Welcome in January, May, September.

Other Significant Particulars:

Please submit your story at Glimmer Train's submission site if you can, but if for any reason online submissions won't work for you, your snail mail submissions are welcome! Snail Mail Instructions

If you have some experience uploading files, you can pretty much dive in at the submission site, but in case you'd like it, here's a good overview.

Formatting/presentation: 10 or 12 pt, double-spaced. Name, contact information, and word count are all optional when your story is submitted online. (Please be sure to include your contact info on your story if you use snail mail.)

It's fine to submit a previously submitted story (revised or not) to any category for which it qualifies.

Simultaneous submissions are okay; please advise immediately if a story has been accepted elsewhere.

Regarding previous online publication: It's okay if your submission has been previously submitted on a blog, an online magazine, or in Kindle (or other self-published form), as long as you have sold fewer than 50 copies.

All contest submissions are additionally considered for the standard category, so if you are planning to submit a story to a contest, there is no need to make a separate standard submission.

When a story is accepted for publication, we are buying first-publication rights. Once we've published your story, you are free to, for instance, include it in your own collection. (Book publishers are always happy when subsets of a book they are considering have previously been published by reputable literary journals.)

Thank you for letting us read your stories!