Call for Submissions: Twelve Winters Journal

Twelve Winters Journal publishes narratives, broadly defined, with no aesthetic biases. All voices are welcome. All styles are welcome. Pieces should run between “flash” up to 12,000 words. (If a measurement in “words” doesn’t really fit your piece, we’re already intrigued.) We publish on a rolling basis and are planning regular paperback anthologies of a year’s “best” pieces. See guidelines for further details.

Twelve Winters Journal Fee: usd $3.00

Open for Submissions

Twelve Winters Journal publishes narratives, broadly defined, with no aesthetic biases. All voices are welcome. All styles are welcome. Pieces should run between “flash” up to 12,000 words. (If a measurement in “words” doesn’t really fit your piece, we’re already intrigued.) We publish on a rolling basis and are planning regular paperback anthologies of a year’s “best” pieces.

As stated above, we are interested in narrative: Tell us a great story. It may be in the form of a short story (most likely) or novel excerpt, but it could be creative nonfiction (including memoir), a piece intended for performance, or a form/medium that is graphic-based as opposed to strictly word-based. Experimentation and risk-taking are welcome. Meanwhile, fine writing in a more traditional mode is equally welcome.

As stated above, all voices are welcome; all styles are welcome. We recognize that there is a certain aesthetic rooted in so-called Western culture. MFA programs tend to produce writers who are well-versed in this quite specific aesthetic when it comes to how a story should be told and how it should sound. However, writers from “non-Western” cultures may very well have their own aesthetic when it comes to structure, voice, and the other apparatuses of narrative. To say again: all voices are welcome; all styles are welcome.

We are an English-language journal, but we are interested in translations from other languages. It is the translator’s responsibility to obtain the necessary permissions from the original writer and/or publisher, etc., and to provide such documentation. The documentation doesn’t need to be included with the submission; instead, note in the cover letter that the necessary documentation is available should the piece be selected.

Twelve Winters Journal is a component of Twelve Winters, a literary project, but be aware that we interpret literary expansively. Yes, we are interested in “literary fiction” (whatever that phrase may mean), but we believe that well-crafted “genre” writing is also worthy of the literary label. Moreover, work that crosses these blurry lines is of interest.

Please submit your work following these (common) guidelines:

Make sure your piece is easy to read, using a font like Times New Roman, 12 point, double spaced. (Of course, disregard if your piece is deliberately making use of nonstandard typographical features, etc.)

Include your name, contact information, and word count on the first page. We’re interested in pieces ranging from “flash” up to 12,000 words. If your piece is not word-based, strictly speaking, we are happy to assess it on its own terms.

Simultaneous submissions are fine, but please inform us as soon as possible if your piece is taken elsewhere. Email: 

xii.winters@gmail.com

Please send us only one piece at a time (that is, no multiple submissions), unless they are very short and are somehow linked (other than by authorship). Still, send as a single document/unit/file.

We acquire First Rights for publication with the rights reverting to the author for future reprints. We request acknowledgement of Twelve Winters Journal as the original publisher of the piece.

We require a $3 reading fee. It is a difficult time to be a publisher of quality writing, just as it is a difficult time to be a writer of quality. We believe the world needs great writing; and great writers need outlets for their work. That’s where Twelve Winters, a literary project, comes in.

In addition to online publication, we are planning a yearly paperback “best of” anthology. Unfortunately, we are not able to pay writers for their work (which includes, unfortunately, contributors’ copies). Sharing writers’ work with the world and promoting them vigorously are the best payments we can manage.

Submit via Duosuma.