Submit To Third Coast
Our current reading period opens September 15, 2012 and closes March 31, 2013.
- Please create a submission only after reading the submission guidelines found below.
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Third Coast accepts submissions exclusively via our online Submission Manager, which can be found at:
Paper submissions will be returned unread. Submissions sent via e-mail attachment will be deleted.
Third Coast publishes poetry, fiction (including traditional and experimental fiction, shorts, and novel excerpts, but not genre fiction), creative nonfiction (including reportage, essay, and memoir), drama (including both performed and unperformed pieces) and translations. We encourage new as well as established writers. Payment is two contributor's copies and a one-year subscription. All rights revert to the author upon publication.
We recommend you look at a recent issue before submitting. You may order single issues (the current issue is $9; a back issue is $6) by sending a check made out to Third Coast, English Department, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI 49008. Write "Sample Current Issue" or "Sample Back Issue" on the envelope. We have also posted a few selections from our current and back issues on our website.
Once you have submitted work, please wait until you have heard back from us before submitting another manuscript. We do accept simultaneous submissions, but we ask that you withdraw the submission by way of our online Submission Manager if your piece is accepted elsewhere.
Submission Guidelines:
All submissions should be sent via the online Submission Manager. All attachments sent to our e-mail address will be deleted, and any submissions sent via regular mail will not be read.
For all submissions, we accept simultaneous submissions, but not multiple submissions. Please submit no more than one manuscript at a time. Also, we do not accept previously published works.
Fiction:
Submit manuscripts of up to 7,500 words (or up to 25 pages); authors wishing to submit longer manuscripts should query the editors at editors@thirdcoastmagazine.com.
For short shorts, we accept up to five at a time (please submit short shorts in one electronic document).
Under the current Fiction editors, the average length for accepted publications is 12-18 pages.
Fiction submissions should be typed, double-spaced, openly margined, and printed clearly.
The author's name, address, email address, and phone number should be included on the first page. Each subsequent page should have a page number and the author's name or title of the piece.
Nonfiction:
Submit manuscripts of up to 6,000 words.
The current Nonfiction editor encourages the submission of lyric essays, braided essays, and short essays in the range of 700 – 2,000 words.
Nonfiction submissions should be typed, double-spaced, openly margined, and printed clearly.
The author's name, address, email address, and phone number should be included on the first page. Each subsequent page should have a page number and the author's name or title of the piece.
Poetry:
Poetry should be typed and single-spaced, with the author's name and contact info on the first page.
Stanza breaks should be double-spaced.
Please send no more than five poems at a time (with a maximum of fifteen pages total per submission).
Please submit all poems in one electronic document.
Drama:
Please submit one-act plays of no more than 20 pages.
Third Coast strongly encourages the submission of 10-minute plays that have had readings or productions, but have not received publication.
Please submit in standard play format.
Book Reviews:
If you are interested in writing book reviews for Third Coast, please submit a writing sample via the online Submission Manager. Choose "Book Review" under genre.
Interviews:
If you are interested in interviewing an author for a future issue of Third Coast, please send a query to the editors: editors@thirdcoastmagazine.com.
Before submitting your work, please save it as a DOC or RTF file (most word processing programs, including Microsoft Word, allow you to save files in the .rtf format). If you are using a Mac, add the extension “.rtf”. Third Coast cannot currently process submissions in the DOCX format; submissions in this format will not be read.
Please remember to include the title of the work, your name, and contact info on the first page of your manuscript.
We do not accept submissions from April 1st through September 14th. Submissions received during the closed period will be deleted.
Submissions are typically accepted or declined within four months. However, due to the number of submissions received, response times may be longer.
Please do not inquire about the status of your submission until at least five (5) months have passed.
When inquiring about the status of a submission, please write "Submission Inquiry—Fiction," "Submission Inquiry—Poetry," "Submission Inquiry—Creative Nonfiction," or "Submission Inquiry—Drama" in the Subject line of your e-mail. E-mails should be sent to editors@thirdcoastmagazine.com.
We thank you for your interest in Third Coast, and we look forward to reading your work!