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We’re accepting essays (750-4,000 words) by adoptees from 11/1 through 12/31 via Submittable. Publication will be in November 2023. Rumpus Essays Editor (and Book Club coordinator extraordinaire) Lauren J. Sharkey will be curating this series, and she’s elaborated on the types of stories (and whom) she is hoping to feature below. — Eds. *** When I was three-months-old, […]
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This May, during Mental Health Awareness Month, The Rumpus will be exploring this subject through the lens of the things that keep us going.
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Our nascent but well-established literary magazine is now open for submissions.
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Dinty W. Moore discusses his new essay collection, TO HELL WITH IT.
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This moment has come to its crisis. As you can see I really can’t be blamed.
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Sorry for my obtuseness! I wish you the best of luck elsewhere!
...moreLearn about our new creative nonfiction reading periods.
...moreThis October, The Rumpus is exploring the theme of “Hiding in Plain Sight” and we want all your essays about disguises!
...moreRaised in Texas, I was taught to hold my hand over my heart when the flag was raised, to thank everyone in uniform, and to organize my life in this order; God, Country, Family. Even now, tears spring to my eyes in some sort of Pavlovian response when I hear Lee Greenwood warble, “I’m proud to […]
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TORCH is a series devoted to showcasing personal essays, interviews, and art about immigrant and refugee experiences.
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Perhaps he thought he was doing me a favor by explaining this to me so I might not get into further trouble. I’m afraid I have continued to get myself into trouble instead.
...moreI am not trying to brag, humble or otherwise, but merely establishing that perhaps the only thing I’m actually qualified to talk about in this world is literary magazine publication. Does the world need another submitting guide? Personally, I’ve found that far too many of these columns are long on vague clichés and short on […]
...moreLiterary journals don’t always pay contributors. But unpaid contributions are less of a problem for writers than literary journals that conceal their pay rates. Allison Williams, over at The Review Review, takes a look at how some publications handle the issue. She points out that the issue of non-payment might be fine for some writers, but […]
...moreWhen 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 offers a few suggestions for improving the system.
...moreMissouri Review editor Michael Nye explains the importance of persistence when it comes to submitting to literary journals, saying that editors do begin to recognize the names and writing of long-time submitters. The argument might seem self-serving, however, given that Nye has long defended reading fees as essential to funding journals. Nevertheless, he explains that […]
...moreThe Review Review lists all the ways your submission strategy for your writing is just terrible (and how to make it better).
...moreHave you ever considered what it would be like to run a small press? J. David Osborne, who runs Broken River Books, explains just what happens in a typical day: I check my email. There’s someone who’s interested in submitting a piece to Broken River. They really dig what’s going on, and can I check […]
...moreWriters don’t always use their time efficiently when it comes to submitting to literary journals. Luanne Castle, writing at The Review Review, explores strategies for improving the submission process: I began to focus on quality rather than quantity. To find the quality journals that are right for my poetry, I had to do what I’d […]
...moreFor emerging writers, submitting pieces to literary magazines can be like hacking through a jungle of confusion with a guess-machete. This piece from The Review Review, titled “What Editors Want,” will clear a path straight through for you. A teaser: If you get a standard rejection with something addition written on it—“Sorry” or (better) “Try us […]
...moreThe Rumpus is teaming up with San Francisco nonprofit Quiet Lightning to present a live literary mix tape, and we want you to join us! Submit a piece less than eight minutes long by Wednesday, June 19 for the chance to read at the event, or just join us as a guest for an evening of […]
...moreFor whatever reason, this austere paper system works better for me than others, which says more about how my mind works than it does about Excel spreadsheets. Maybe I’m projecting, but no matter your system, if you’re a submitter, two things are essential: order and efficiency. For Tin House, Aaron Gilbreath reflects on how he keeps […]
...moreHTMLGiant has 22 bits of submission-based knowledge that you can learn from/identify with, etc. No matter what your relation to submitting and publishing is, this list needs to be forwarded to the universe. This list will assuage the stress of the unknown and makes you feel better about what you’ve already found out.
...moreA little while ago, I got sick of hearing that my generation—which for some God awful reason is called Generation Y—was spoiled, lazy and stupid, all while we were fighting wars (one of which, I seem to remember, we were lied to about) and getting laid off in record numbers. So I and some other editors […]
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