Ember Journal Is Accepting Submissions/ How To Submit (¢2 per word)

Ember Journal is a journal of poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction for all age groups.

Submissions for and by readers aged 10 to 18 are strongly encouraged. Please ensure you correctly state your age on the submission form so they can keep an accurate track of the submissions by young writers.

 

Submission Guidelines For Ember Journal

• Writers may submit up to 1 piece of prose and 3 pieces of poetry at a time. Each piece of writing must be submitted separately.
• If there are multiple poems in a submission, they will withdraw the piece.
• Please ensure your writing is typed in a readable font for comprehension purposes. If a piece is handwritten and ineligible, they will also withdraw the submission.
• They will not consider any work generated by AI. Ignoring this rule will result in your current submission and any future submissions being automatically declined.
• They are proud to offer feedback from their readers on all submitted pieces. If you do not wish to receive feedback, please click the “No Feedback” option when submitting your writing on Submittable.
• Please do not email them requesting updates on the status of your submission until after that wait period.
• They ask that writers refrain from re-submitting a revised version of their piece until 6 months after an initial decision is made on their part.
• This is to ensure that their feedback is digested and work is critically re-evaluated and revised, rather than hastily edited.
• Simultaneous submissions are accepted. However if your piece is accepted elsewhere, they ask that you withdraw your submission.
• They do not accept previously published pieces.
• They consider writing published on blogs, social media, and/ or other literary magazines as previously published.
• Usually they accept around 3% of all submissions received.
• Submissions are managed through their Submission Manager, powered by Submittable. If you submit by e-mail, they will direct you to use their Submission Manager instead.

Formats

Poetry

• Most forms are considered, both metered and unmetered, traditional and experimental. Poems from 3 to 100 lines have the best chance of acceptance.
• You may submit up to three poems at a time, but a separate submission form must be completed for each poem.

Short Stories

• Short Stories up to 12,000 words will be considered. You must include the word count in your file. However, more important than word count is the quality of your work: they are looking for excellent, polished writing that pulls us into an engaging story.
• Please be aware that they do not publish chapters of larger pieces or picture books.

Flash Fiction

• The ideal length for Flash Fiction submissions is about 500 to 750 words, but pieces up to 1500 words may be submitted in this category.
• Remember that Flash Fiction is not the same as “vignette;” even very short works should still present an interesting and compelling story.

Creative Non-fiction

Creative Non-fiction is the beautiful union of exposition and literature. Tell them a true story, and tell it well.

Word count limits are the same as for Short Stories. Please be aware they do not publish essays.

Content Tips & Suggestions

• As an all-ages publication, their refusal to print profanity/vulgarity is based on an understanding of their audience, not on censorship.
• Submissions with graphic and/or explicit descriptions of sex or violence will be rejected without comment.
• Ember Journal is looking for great writing that tells a compelling story, regardless of length. Even very short pieces, like flash fiction, should tell a story, though there will certainly be fewer dramatic elements developed than we’d see in a longer piece or novel.
• For poetry, they also look for a story, but the story may be implied. Of course, there is a lot more flexibility for poetry, and some styles tend to emphasize descriptive language over storytelling.
• They have also seen some poetry submissions which go too far, focusing so much on story that they are little more than prose stories with poem-style line breaks.
• Submissions with the best chance of acceptance will be meaningful on some level to both older and younger readers without being condescending.
• They also consider works which require some maturity for full comprehension, so long as the content is not inappropriate for younger readers who might choose to explore the more advanced pieces.

Author Rights

You retain all other rights (including other languages, audio, and reprint rights), but they ask that you not reprint the work in another publication for six months after it first appears in Ember. 

 

Payment

They pay 2 cents per word or $20 per work, whichever is more, for worldwide first publication rights in English.

Deadline For Submissions

Their submission window will close on December 1st. Please note that submissions automatically close at midnight (U.S. Eastern Time) on December 1st—the beginning of the day.