Fiction and Nonfiction Submission Guidelines

 

The Smoking Poet publishes flash fiction, up to 1,000 words, and short stories, up to 4,000 words, that ignite our imagination, inflame our passion, set the page to flame. We’ll also consider the occasional novel excerpt as well as nonfiction.

 

Submit to us your finest flash pieces; we are open to all genres, within good taste. All we ask is that you submit your best work.

 

Paste your submission into the body of your email—no attachments please—to the attention of Fiction Editor, and include a bio statement of no more than 100 words (please resist being cute and keep it professional). Subject line should read: Fiction: Title—Last Name.

 

For novel excerpts, we’ll consider one chapter, up to 2,000 words, or longer if it’s truly outstanding. Again, paste your submission into your email, to the attention of Fiction Editor. Subject line should read: Novel excerpt: Title—Last Name. See below for author interview or book review guidelines.

 

For nonfiction we seek compelling personal stories up to 2,500 words. We accept travel essays, personal essays, and memoirs that deal with the human condition or explore a universal theme. We’ll also consider scholarly discussions, political essays, or articles on the art of writing.

 

Simultaneous submissions are accepted, but please state as much in your cover letter and notify us immediately if your work has been accepted elsewhere. We do not accept work that has been previously published, even on your own website. TSP acquires first rights for publication. Rights revert to author/artist upon publication. We reserve the right to reprint the work in the event of a print-based anthology at a later date.

 

Multiple submissions are not accepted in the same genre. Please send only one submission per genre, per issue, and if your work has been previously accepted in TSP, please do not send another submission for the next two issues. If you have received a non-acceptance notice, please wait until the next issue to submit again. We want to give all good writers a chance!

 

 

Poetry Submission Guidelines

 

We read with interest and attention every poem submitted to The Smoking Poet and, quite simply, we publish those that seem to us to be the best of the best. Our interest is in the broadest possible range of work: traditional forms and free verse, the meditative lyric or the haunting haiku, the work of the famous and the work of the unknown. We are committed to the discovery of new poets.

 

Email a group of two to six unpublished poems in the body of your email—no attachments—to the attention of Poetry Editor, and include a bio statement of no more than 100 words (please resist being cute and keep it professional). Subject line should read: Poetry—Last Name.

 

Simultaneous submissions are accepted, but please state as much in your cover letter and notify us immediately if your poem(s) have been accepted elsewhere. We do not accept poems that have been previously published, even online on your own site. TSP acquires first rights for publication. Rights revert to author/artist upon publication (occasional exceptions are made at the editor's discretion). We reserve the right to reprint the work in the event of a print-based anthology at a later date.

 

We do not accept multiple submissions in the same genre. If your work has been accepted, please do not re-submit for the next two issues. If you have received a non-acceptance notice, please wait until the next issue to submit again.