Talking Writing solicits themed work for each issue.
Submit all work and queries at talkingwriting.submittable.com
Schedule of Upcoming Themes
TW's annual editorial calendar, updated every fall, appears below. Each issue has a theme, and we solicit related essays and other features on fixed deadlines. The schedule also lists our reading periods for fiction and poetry.
TW Essay Contest 2018: Place and Identity
How do places shape you? We want short essays (800 to 1,200 words) that combine a powerful sense of place with reflections on the meaning of particular landscapes, cities, or neighborhoods. Guest judge for the contest is biographer Julie Phillips. The winner receives $500 and publication in Talking Writing.
Submissions open from May 1 to October 15, 2018.
Spring 2018: Science and Society
TW's annual poetry issue will explore the impact of science on society—an increasingly high-stakes topic. Send us your techie poems, your poems about specific ecosystems, your poems about teaching science or math. Talk to us about artificial intelligence, Big Science, climate change, gender and racial inequalities in science careers. Hybrid work is fine, but no essays or stories, please.
Submissions closed.
General Fiction Reading Period:
January–February 2018
Talking Writing publishes short stories or flash fiction in some issues. For flash fiction, include no more than three stories, each no longer than 1,000 words, in one document. Length: Short stories up to 8,000 words; flash fiction up to 1,000 words.
Submissions closed.
General Poetry Reading Period: June 2018
In addition to the spring spotlight issue, Talking Writing publishes poetry in other issues. Featured poets generally publish more than one poem in a given issue. Submit three to five poems in one document, but no more than five pages in all.
Submissions open from June 1 to June 30, 2018.
Writing and Faith:
Essays, Art, and Hybrid Poetry
How do you tackle life's Big Questions? We've opened up submissions for multiple genres that engage with this popular TW theme. Writers and artists are welcome to explore a wide range of issues—mortality, belief, culture of origin, atheism—as part of a personal meditation about soul searching through words. No theological tracts, parables, or fiction, please.
Rolling submissions.
From June through August, TW is on hiatus. We accept submissions over the summer, but our response time will be slower.
Photo Credits
- "Faith" © Jenny Downing; Creative Commons license.
- “Nothing Short of Everything Will Really Do” © Cate Storymoon;
Creative Commons license. - "(Once upon a time...)" © David Jubert; Creative Commons license.
- "Silly Poetry..." © ohannakatherine; Creative Commons license.
Submit all work and queries at talkingwriting.submittable.com
