The Rumpus publishes original fiction, poetry, literary humor writing, comics, essays, book reviews, and interviews with authors and artists of all kinds. Our mostly volunteer-run magazine strives to be a platform for risk-taking voices and writing that might not find a home elsewhere. We lift up new voices alongside those of more established writers our readers may already know and love. We want to bring new perspectives into the conversation that will make us look deeper.
The Rumpus launched in San Francisco in 2009 and now has editors all over the US. In January 2017, The Rumpus was purchased by Marisa Siegel, who had previously served as Managing Editor from 2014–2017. In January 2022, Alyson Sinclair became the new owner and publisher and Marisa Siegel continues at The Rumpus as an editor-at-large.
We believe that literature is community—and if reading The Rumpus makes you want more, we’ve got more! Sign up to participate in the Rumpus Poetry Book Club, Letters in the Mail from authors, and join us as a Rumpus Member—each of these programs helps to keep The Rumpus in existence.
In 2022, we made two big changes in order to work toward financial stability. We launched monthly and yearly Membership programs with exclusive content and perks for Members. And as of of September 2022, The Rumpus is a sponsored project of Fractured Atlas, a non-profit arts service organization. This sponsorship makes us eligible to apply for some grants for the 1st time and allows our readers to support us through tax-deductible donations. Please note: contributions for the charitable purposes of The Rumpus must be made through magazine’s page on Fractured Atlas. Unlike contributing through The Rumpus store, donations received via Fractured Atlas are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law. If you prefer to send us a check, please contact Alyson at [email protected]. Checks must be made out to “Fractured Atlas” in order to be tax-deductible and sent to our P.O. Box in NC.
Writers: contribute to The Rumpus by submitting your writing (check our Writer’s Guidelines) to keep our pages filled with goodness.
You can find our TOS and privacy page here.
FAQ
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Writer’s Guidelines
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Who Are We
Where did you get the name The Rumpus?
Legend has it that it was Katie Crouch’s idea. Rumpus is the name of the dog in her novel Men and Dogs. After launching The Rumpus, our founders were informed there is also a humor magazine at Yale called Rumpus Magazine. You can check them out here.
Do you run original fiction and poetry?
We do run original fiction and poetry, and you can find our reading periods for both here. Please note that we do not accept unsolicited fiction and poetry outside of those reading periods.
How do I submit my work?
We accept submissions through our submissions manager powered by Submittable. Please read our Writer’s Guidelines before sending us your work.
Does The Rumpus pay for writing?
The Rumpus is a lean organization with only one paid part-time employee. But being able to pay writers is one of our most important goals. Beginning May 2016, we began to pay feature writers and book reviewers. Each month, we set aside $400. All eligible contributors are able to opt in for payment at the end of the month, and the money is divided between those writers who opt in. Payments average $20-40 per writer each month. We know that this amount is not enough, and we are working toward being able to pay a standard industry rate to all feature contributors and book reviewers. We also hope to be able to pay our columnists, illustrators, and volunteer editorial staff one day. If you’re able to help us get closer to reaching these goals, please consider becoming a Member or making a tax-deductible donation.
Where do I buy Rumpus merch?
We’ve got your swag right here!
Beginning May 2016, we began to pay feature writers and book reviewers. Each month, we set aside $400. All eligible contributors are able to opt in for payment at the end of the month, and the money is divided between those writers who opt in. We know that this amount is not enough, and we are always working toward being able to pay a standard industry rate to all feature contributors and book reviewers.
Submissions must be directed to our submission manager powered by Submittable. Please submit to the appropriate category. Please note the draft you submit is considered final, excepting suggested changes by our editorial staff. Submittable only displays categories that are open for submission. If you do not see a category, please reference the below reading periods for information on when you can submit.
Please do not submit the same piece to multiple categories at the same time. All work must be previously unpublished. This includes personal blogs and social media. Please only send one submission to a given section at a time; when we’ve responded with a decision, you are welcome to submit to that section again.
Response time can vary from a few days to a few months. Please allow three months before sending submission status queries for essays, reviews, and ENOUGH, and eight months before sending queries for fiction, poetry, and our Funny Women column. Your patience is appreciated.
We are often overwhelmed by the breadth and quality of our submissions. To allow our volunteer editorial staff better handle the workload and respond to your work in a more timely fashion, we’ve instituted reading periods for certain sections of The Rumpus.
Agents and publicists: we strongly prefer that writers submit their own work to us. The Rumpus has an exceptional an diverse editorial team; bypassing Submittable results in fewer readers and editors looking at your work.
Essays
Our reading periods are January 1 through February 28, June 1 through July 31, and September 1 through October 31.
Rumpus Original Fiction
Our reading periods are February 15 through March 15 and August 15 through September 15.
Rumpus Original Poetry
Our open reading period is July 1-14 (or until we reach 500 submissions).
Want to submit your essays, fiction, and poetry all year round? Consider becoming a Rumpus Member. It’s a win-win.
Book Reviews
These are accepted year-round; please note that reviews of poetry collections are categorized separately from prose titles in Submittable.
Interview pitches and finished interview submissions are also accepted year-round and should be sent directly to our Interviews team ([email protected]). We are no longer using Submittable for interviews.
The ENOUGH series will be open for new submissions in February 1-29.
GUIDELINES FOR PUBLISHERS
If you would like The Rumpus to consider a forthcoming or recently published book for possible review, you may query us with a full description of the book at either [email protected] for fiction and nonfiction titles or [email protected] for poetry collections.
For customer service issues, please contact Eric at [email protected].
For advertising inquires, please contact Monica [email protected].
For all other inquires, contact [email protected].