Be sure to Indicate target theme in cover letter or on first page of manuscript.
Short Stories: All types welcome―both traditional and experimental
Send to: Virginia Howard, editor, Box 8747, Metairie, LA 70011-8747
Outside the US: email to Virginia Howard at thema@cox.net
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What we like: a carefully constructed plot; good character delineation; clever plot twists
What we don’t like: bedroom/bathroom profanity. Why?
- It’s boring! Writers should be more creative than to depend on the same tired and dubious language crutches to express surprise, disdain, shock, bemusement, anger, sadness, and other emotions.
- Such profanity, used in excess, often serves as a camouflage for a weak plot. If the plot is good, the story can be told much more effectively in nonscatologic language even though a character in the story may be sleazy.
- Stories of lasting quality rarely need it.
Poetry: All types of poetic form welcome. Submit no more than three poems per theme, please. If more than three poems are submitted, we will read only the first three poems in the stack.
Send to: Gail Howard, poetry editor, Box 8747, Metairie, LA 70011-8747
Outside the US: email to Gail Howard at thema@cox.net
What we like: poems that are thoughtfully constructed and carefully distilled.
What we don’t like: sexually explicit wording. Subtlety is more creative.
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THEMA isn’t for everyone. To find out why, click here.
New to submitting manuscripts to journals?
Click here to download a PDF file of a few basic guidelines.
On acceptance for publication, we will pay the following amount: short story, $25; short-short piece (up to 1000 words), $10; poem.
