Current Theme: Place
(closed)
We’re inviting young, old, novice, and veteran writers to send their best short stories, poetry, and nonfiction that possess a powerful sense of place. We want writing steeped in its environment. Whether that environment is rural or urban, constructed or wild, historical or contemporary makes little difference to us. We want tension. We want imagination. Mostly, we want to feel like you’re leading us someplace we’ve never been before. We want to stay for awhile. We want to to rent that second bedroom. We want to never return.
When ready to submit, please use our online submission system.
What We Publish:
Fiction: Submissions should generally not exceed twelve thousand* (12,000) words.
Creative Nonfiction: Submissions should generally not exceed ten thousand* (12,000) words. All genres of nonfiction (articles, reviews, memoirs, personal essay, cross-genre, etc.) are acceptable, though we rarely publish scholarly essays or literary criticism.
Poetry: We like our poetry short. Submissions should be no more than thirty-five* (35) lines. Maximum four (4) poems per submission.
*Length guidelines are just that: guidelines. Pieces exceeding these limits will be considered but generally have a harder time being published. If your work is outstanding, we’ll make room for it.
A Note on Themed Submissions:
Themed submissions are considered alongside our general submission pool. Themed submissions are not contests resulting in a predetermined minimum or maximum number of publications (we hate turning good writing away for the sake of contest rules). Any piece which is a good fit will be published in Sequestrum and is subject to standard rights and payment as outlined on our submission guidelines. Selected pieces are not published as a batch or part of a “themed” issue but are instead proudly displayed right alongside every other Sequestrum publication. Multiple and simultaneous submissions allowed. Our standard reading fee and fee-free subscriber submission rules apply.
We’re trying to keep things simple. Themed submissions are a call for the sort of writing we want to read. As our tastes change, so will our themes. We’re hoping to be surprised. We’re hoping to find exactly the stories and poems we’re looking for. We’re hoping to fall in love with writing we never knew we needed until. Send away. We’re eager to read your best.
