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Submission Guidelines

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december invites submissions of poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction (essays, memoirs, biography, literary journalism, social or cultural commentary or analysis), graphic works (poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction), and visual art (print or digital). Submissions received outside of our submission window will not be considered. See our contest page for contest guidelines and entry dates.


*Please note: We are currently closed to visual art submissions. Stay tuned for future opportunities.*

We are CLOSED for submissions.

Our next submission period begins in January 2025.

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december recognizes the publishing industry’s historic and continued under-representation of marginalized writers and artists and remains committed to publishing work that represents all perspectives, backgrounds, and experiences. For the month of January, we open fee-free submission portals exclusively for BIPOC writers.

Please read the following guidelines carefully to ensure that your submission will be considered by our team.

Compensation: We pay our print contributors $10 per page, regardless of genre, with a $40 minimum and $200 maximum. NB: At this time, we are unable to compensate artists for digital artwork. 

General Guidelines: 

  1. We accept exclusive submissions only, but we try to provide a response within six to eight weeks. If you have not received a response after 10 weeks, please query through Submittable.
  2. We accept anonymous submissions only. Please do not include your name or any identifying information in your uploaded document or in the file name. Entries that identify the submitter/author will be disqualified without review in order to uphold the integrity of our blind reading process. 
  3. We accept original, previously unpublished work only. Work must be solely produced by the author without any use whatsoever of AI (artificial intelligence), algorithmic, machine-learning, or computer-generated text of any sort. Self-publication and work that appears online are considered to have been published. 
  4. We accept submissions via Submittable. The submission fee for non-subscribers helps maintain the submission service and our website. The fee is waived for subscribers. Work from non-subscribers submitted through the subscriber portal will not be considered.
  5. We accept submissions via snail mail at december, P.O. Box 16130, St. Louis, MO 63105. Enclose a self-addressed, stamped envelope (SASE) with sufficient postage. Manuscripts must be postmarked within the submission window; manuscripts sent outside the submission window will not be considered. Paper submissions are usually responded to within 16-20 weeks. december assumes no responsibility for delayed, lost, or damaged manuscripts.
  6. We offer feedback on general submissions when requested. Please note that if you choose to receive feedback on your submission this will potentially increase our response time. Our normal response time for Submittable submissions is 6-8 weeks, feedback requests will add an additional two weeks to that time.
  7. Please do not email submissions directly to our editorial staff. 

Genre Guidelines: 

Poetry:

  1. Submit only anonymous, exclusive submissions. 
  2. Limit each submission to no more than five poems and combine all of your poems into one document. If you are submitting haiku, you may include up to 15.

Fiction:

  1. Submit only anonymous, exclusive submissions. 
  2. Limit each submission to one short story or three very short (each 1,000 words or fewer) stories.

Nonfiction:

  1. Submit only anonymous, exclusive submissions. 
  2. Limit each submission to one essay, memoir, or other work of creative nonfiction.

Graphic Works (poetry, fiction, nonfiction):

  1. Submit only anonymous, exclusive submissions. 
  2. Limit each submission to three graphic works or 15 pages max (exceptions will be made if submission is slightly over).
  3. Submit to the genre that most closely fits your work — i.e. poetry, fiction, or nonfiction

Visual Art – Digital:

We are looking for visual art for our website and social media accounts. Please send pdf, png, or jpeg images. Low-resolution is acceptable for submission purposes, but high-res images must be available upon acceptance. We do not accept images of visual art that have been previously published, either in print or online.

NB: At this time, we are unable to compensate artists for work that appears on our website or social media channels. 

Visual Art – Print:

Please send pdf or jpeg images. Low-resolution is acceptable for submission purposes, but high-res images must be available upon acceptance. We do not accept images of visual art that have been previously published, either in print or online.

Address postal submissions and correspondence to:
december
P.O. Box 16130
St. Louis, MO 63105

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