The Rumpus
  • My Account
  • Essays
  • Fiction
  • Poetry
  • Comics
  • Features
    • Interviews
    • The First Book
    • Reviews
    • Themed Months
    • What to Read When
  • Columns
    • Beyond the Page
    • Close Reads
    • Collaborative Criticism
    • ENOUGH
    • Funny Women
    • Parallel Practice
    • Voices on Addiction
    • We Are More
    • Conversations With Writers Braver Than Me
    • Dear Sugar
    • Roxane Gay
    • All Columns
  • Store
  • Prize
  • Rumpus Membership
  • Merch
  • Letters in the Mail
  • Bonfire Merch
  • My Account
Become a MemberDonate
Become a Member Donate
The Rumpus
The Rumpus The Rumpus
  • My Account
  • Essays
  • Fiction
  • Poetry
  • Comics
  • Features
    • Interviews
    • The First Book
    • Reviews
    • Themed Months
    • What to Read When
  • Columns
    • Beyond the Page
    • Close Reads
    • Collaborative Criticism
    • ENOUGH
    • Funny Women
    • Parallel Practice
    • Voices on Addiction
    • We Are More
    • Conversations With Writers Braver Than Me
    • Dear Sugar
    • Roxane Gay
    • All Columns
  • Store
  • Prize
0

Posts by tag

slush pile

9 posts
Read
  • Politics
  • Rumpus Original

Slush Piles in White

  • Marcos Santiago Gonsalez
  • December 5, 2017
The sensibilities of whiteness do not want us to work, do not want us to think, do not want us to imagine outside of its bounds.
Read
Read
  • Film
  • Media
  • Rumpus Original

The Great Film Festival Swindle

  • Stephen Elliott
  • May 31, 2016
"Never pay an entry fee. If they won’t give you a waiver they aren’t interested in the film."—Programmer for a major film festival
Read
  • Other

Neither Seen Nor Heard

  • Roxie Pell
  • May 19, 2015
When it comes to the slush pile, nobody wins: writers lose money submitting into a void while editors lose time skimming work that barely resembles their publication’s criteria. Lincoln Michael…
Read
  • Other

A Look Inside the Kenyon Review

  • P.E. Garcia
  • July 8, 2014
If you’re wondering just how exactly the Kenyon Review chooses what it’s going to publish, Managing Editor Abigail Wadsworth Serfass writes on the journal’s blog about one story’s journey from the…
Read
  • Other

Getting Out of the Slush Pile

  • Lauren O'Neal
  • September 30, 2013
Want to get out of the slush pile and onto the pages of your favorite publications? Rumpus contributor Melissa Chadburn has some seriously wise words for you over at her…
Read
  • Features & Reviews

“Writers are not the enemy”

  • Seth Fischer
  • July 21, 2010
“Here’s the thing though–whatever your experience with the slushpile, it is not the enemy. Writers are not the enemy. They can be frustrating but we should not be fighting them…
Read
  • Features & Reviews

I Have Written The Most Important Fictional Novel On Earth

  • Michael Berger
  • June 17, 2010
I feel bad for most writers who want to get published or make money from their writing, including myself. But I never feel that bad — after all, writing is…
Read
  • Features & Reviews

A Necessarily Incomplete But Hopefully Helpful List That Proves The Slush Pile Has a Pulse

  • Seth Fischer
  • January 31, 2010
A couple of weeks ago, I ranted against a Wall Street Journal article that proclaimed “The Slush Pile is Dead.” The slush pile, for those who are unfamiliar, is the…
Read
  • Features & Reviews

For The Love of God, People, The Slush Pile Isn’t Dead

  • Seth Fischer
  • January 17, 2010
On Friday, The Wall Street Journal published an article by Katherine Rosman lamenting the end of the slush pile. Choosing what to publish is now just as much about marketing,…
Read
Become a Member!

BECOME A MONTHLY OR ANNUAL RUMPUS MEMBER AND RECEIVE EXCLUSIVE CONTENT, EDITORIAL INSIGHTS, MERCH DISCOUNTS, AND MORE! OUR GOAL IS TO REACH AT LEAST 600 MEMBERS BY THE END OF 2025 TO COVER OUR BASIC OPERATING COSTS.

Join today!
COMMUNITY SUPPORT KEEPS THE MAGAZINE GOING!

Founded in 2009, The Rumpus is one of the longest-running online literary magazines around. We’ve been independent from the start, which means we’re not connected with any academic institution, wealthy benefactor, or part of a larger publishing company. The vast majority of the magazine’s funding comes from reader support.

In other words, we can’t survive without YOU!

Make a Tax-Deductible Donation
Letters in the mail (from authors)

Receive letters from some of our favorite authors written just for Rumpus readers and sent straight into your (snail) mailbox 2x a month!

sign up now!

Keep in Touch

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 all look deeper.

We believe that literature builds community—and if reading The Rumpus makes you feel more connected, please show your support! Get your Rumpus merch in our online store. Subscribe to receive Letters in the Mail from authors or join us by becoming a monthly or yearly Member.

We support independent bookstores! 10% of sales on any titles purchased through our Bookshop.org page or affiliate links benefits the magazine.

The Rumpus in your Inbox!
The Rumpus
  • Team
  • About & Writers’ Guidelines
  • Advertise
  • TOS and Privacy Policy
© 2025, The Rumpus.

Input your search keywords and press Enter.