As of June 15, we are reading submissions for vol.2.3, forthcoming in late September. Vol.2.2 is newly launched and features the freshest fiction, poetry, nonfiction, drama, articles and reviews. Don't miss interviews with Terese Svoboda, Bob Sommer and Karen Rigby; reviews of the latest small press books and chapbooks; and articles on Broadsided Press and the recent Lake Charles Business of Art Summit.
If you are interested in being considered for publication in Prick of the Spindle, send us your poetry, your fiction, your nonfiction—send, even, your drama and your literary, poetic, journal and film reviews to pseditor@prickofthespindle.com. Poetry should be directed to cvera@prickofthespindle.com, and fiction to emcknight@prickofthespindle.com. Please indicate the category of work you are sending in the subject line of your e-mail, followed by your last name (Poetry Submission: Smith). Entries should be included as text in the body of the e-mail (please do not send attachments unless you receive advance permission or it is requested of you), along with a brief bio.
Please format your work so that it reads title first, name, then body. Please do not use text smaller than 12 point, as it may decrease your chances of being read sensibly. Fiction submissions should be double-spaced with only one space between sentences. There is no reading fee, and submissions are accepted year-round. We do send a courtesy e-mail notifying authors that we have received their submission; if you do not hear from us with the decision within three months of submitting, please feel free to send a query.
Prick of the Spindle is an online-only journal,
but, as one never knows, may some
day merge into print.
The journal will be open to forms in both traditional and experimental modes, with a special bent toward fresh and innovative voices. We are also seeking pieces which mix the traditional with the experimental.
Simultaneous submissions are fine on the condition that you notify us immediately if your work is accepted for publication elsewhere. No previously published pieces, please. You may submit up to five pieces per category. Upon acceptance of your work, Prick of the Spindle acquires first (electronic) serial publication rights, after which the copyright reverts to the author. When you submit, you do so with the understanding that your work will be archived on the site. If you have been published within our virtual pages, we ask that you wait a year before submitting again. However, if you submit and your work is rejected, you may continue submitting once per (quarterly) reading period.
There is no length requirement for fiction, and we are open to publishing novella- length pieces (traditionally defined as consisting of anywhere from 17,500 to 40,000 words) which upon acceptance, may either be published serially or in the entirety, depending on the editors' discretion. We are seeking reviews in the realms of academic literature, fiction, and poetry. Reviews can consist of works of literary criticism, book reviews, and academic analyses or essays.
We are looking for previously unpublished work by authors
both published and otherwise. We at Prick of the Spindle do not hold to a specific aesthetic,
but rather seek quality work
that tweaks the imagination,
makes us think,
or leaves us otherwise breathless. Please note:
submissions containing spelling and grammatical errors
will be dismissed as unfinished works, and will in all likelihood
not be accepted unless these nuances are directly tied to the
sensibility of the piece.
We do not publish children's or young adult fiction,
and we tend away from genre fiction (fantasy, science fiction, religious), unless it is especially
well-written with a particularly
contemporary flavor. With poetry, we
have an unpalatable
distaste for the over-alliterated and
contrived rhyming varieties.
Prick of the Spindle is a quarterly online publication.
Please feel free to e-mail us with further questions at
pseditor@prickofthespindle.com
To submit art, please see the Submission Guidelines at
AmateurArtwork.com.
Electronic submissions are encouraged, however
postal correspondence may be directed to:
Prick of the Spindle
P.O. Box 4087
Fort Polk, LA 71459-1087