PERIOD OF OPEN SUBMISSIONS:
Currently closed to submissions.
Guidelines for short fiction submission
We publish literary fiction (read several of our stories before sending us your work).
Length
Per Contra accepts submissions of short fiction up to 4500 words. We publish both flash fiction and short stories.
Number of stories to submit
Submit only one work at a time (i.e., one flash or one short story). Do not submit another work until you have received a response from us on your previous submission.
Where to submit
Format of subject line
In the subject line write in caps:
FICTION: YOUR NAME: TITLE OF STORY
Format of story
Paste the story into the body of the email as well as sending it as an attachment in .doc, .rtf, or .txt format.
Please double space the story in the attachment.
On the attachment, make sure you include your name and your email address as well as the title of the story and the word count.
In the body of the email
Your Name
Your Email
Title of the Story
Number of Words
A brief bio (200 words or less)
Your Story
Original unpublished fiction in english
We publish only work that has not been published before, either online or in print.
Yes to Work on Password Protected Sites
Material work shopped and posted in password protected sites are not considered to have been published.
No to Work Previously Posted on Blogs
Works posted on your own blog or on someone else’s blog may not be submitted: we consider them to have been published.
About Translations
Although we publish translations, at this time we can accept only original fiction in English as submissions. Do not send translations or fan fiction.
Policy on simultaneous submissions
If this is a simultaneous submission, please let us know right away when/if it is accepted elsewhere. You do not have to identify it as a simultaneous submission, just let us know immediately if you have to remove it from consideration. When you let us know include in the subject line: FICTION WITHDRAWAL: YOUR NAME: TITLE OF STORY
Policy on editing
We may ask for some edits in stories we would like to publish.
We regret that we cannot comment on all stories.
Rights
We acquire first rights (that is, we do not accept previously published work), right to archive, right to broadcast and to reprint in an anthology. You retain copyright, and we ask that you acknowledge Per Contra if you reprint the work.
CLOSED TO SUBMISSIONS OF UNSOLICITED POETRY
At this time we are not accepting unsolicited poetry. We will post a notice here should this policy change.