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Submission Guidelines


Submissions to Dear Reader are open on a rolling basis. If submissions are closed it will be formally announced here, and on the Dear Reader social media channels.

Please note: We acknowledge that submission guidelines can be a tricky beast to tame. However, please do read the outlined suggestions carefully, as adhering to them can make the submission/response process that bit easier for everyone. Thank you.

If you have a question that hasn't been answered here, you may be able to find what you're looking for on our FAQ page. 

From September 1, 2021, Dear Reader now accepts submissions of flash fiction and prose poetry. Alongside this, we will also be accepting reviews of poetry chapbooks and collections. Below you will find guidelines that are suited to each genre, to help you through the submission process.

All submissions should be emailed to Charley and Talis at dearreadersubmissions@gmail.com.

General tips to submit:

  • Please include a short bio, no more than 75 words, that will be included alongside your work should it be accepted for publication.
  • Please ensure that your work is proofread and therefore clean of typos.
  • Please do not send simultaneous submissions.
  • If your work is published by us, all we ask is that you credit us should your work be published again, but beyond that we hold no claims or rights to your original work.
  • There is no set theme or style, nor are there any topics that are 'off limits', as such. However, we do ask that you be respectful to our / your readership and to avoid topics that would be classified as hate speech, or anything similar. Hate Speech, being: 'Expressions of hatred toward someone on account of that person's colour, race, disability, nationality (including citizenship), ethnic or national origin, religion, gender identity, or sexual orientation is forbidden.'
  • We don't mind swearing but it doesn't increase (or decrease) your chances of being published, so please make sure you're swearing for the right reasons.
Poetry and prose poetry:
  • Please send 1 - 3 unpublished poems
  • Please attach your work as a doc. 
  • Please submit work of a reasonable length, i.e. work that does not exceed two A4 pages
Flash fiction:
  • Please send 1 - 3 unpublished pieces of flash fiction
  • Please attach your work as a doc.
  • Please submit works between 300 and 500 words
Reviews:

We will accept reviews of up 1000 words. However, all reviews should be pitched, via email, to the editors ahead of a formal submission. This is to avoid any "double booking" on reviews, so we don't turn down work simply due to having accepted a review of a similar nature already. 

Dear Reader is currently a two-woman band but Charley and Talis will aim to respond to all submissions within six weeks of receipt. If for any reason you do not receive a response in that time-frame, please feel free to send a gentle nudge our way via email.


We look forward to reading your work!

 

 

 

Comments

  1. Unknown4 January 2019 at 12:30

    Just had the pleasure of submitting to you - now sat with fingers crossed! This will be a great and inspirational forum!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Timothy P Stavert28 February 2019 at 15:51

    Is there a closing date Charley?

    ReplyDelete

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