Most events are installed on their deadline date, unless there is a long submission window or unless it's a rolling submission.
P=Poetry, N=Nonfiction, F=Fiction
- This event has passed.
F – WestWord Journal Seeking Submissions on the Theme of Gold
Unearthing Treasure in Your Stories
But what if you’re stuck? What if you’ve been staring at that blank page, thinking about the precious metal but finding only fool’s good is making it onto the page? Here’s some ideas to help you dig deeper.
Gold isn’t just a precious metal. It’s the light that shines through darkness, illuminating our shared humanity. The warmth that brings us together when the world feels cold. The glow of beloved faces in firelight, a setting sun, candles on a table.
Finding new stories to tell
Sure, you could write about literal gold — treasure hunts, inheritance disputes, wedding rings — and those stories have their place, and if told with heart and nuance, I’m sure they’ll resonate with us. But gold is most powerful as a metaphor for the real truth of the story revealed slantways.
Gold is the moment of understanding between strangers. The thread of compassion running through difficult conversations. The quiet generosity that asks for nothing in return. It’s the ability to see yourself in others and find connection across divides, to recognise our common ground even in conflict.
We charge a small submission fee (£5) in order to pay writers and cover our production, design and admin costs. We understand that this will be unaffordable for some people so we have 4 free submissions available in each period. Contact us to get one. No need to provide any explanation or evidence, just ask. They are first come, first served so if you do need one, best to get in touch as soon as the submission period opens.
WORD COUNTS
- Short Stories: up to 3000 words
- Flash Fictions: up to 1000 words
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- All submissions must be sent through Submittable and we cannot accept email submissions. Anything sent via email will not be read.
- Please submit no more than one story per category in each submission period. If you are submitting to more than one category then each submission must be made separately and the submission fee paid each time.
- Please use a legible, easy-to-read font of at least 12pt or 14pt.
- All submissions must be previously unpublished (never published in print or online, including a personal blog) and in .doc, .docx, or .pdf format ONLY.
- Simultaneous submissions are fine but please withdraw your submission via Submittable if it is accepted elsewhere.
- Our submissions are open to all adult writers worldwide. All work must be written in English.Micro Fictions: up to 350 words
Submission Guidelines
Please do not submit stories which glorify murder, racism, sexism, homophobia, religious hatred or any other kind of bigotry and hate. Any sex must be relevant to the story. We won’t publish graphic stories of rape, incest, child abuse, bestiality, or excessive violence and we do not want to read them.
This doesn’t mean we won’t publish stories that are about difficult subjects, but they must be written with nuance, empathy, compassion and love for our shared humanity at the heart of them. 💙
Author Payment
For each edition, the writers we publish will share 50% of the submission fees received (after Submittable fees are deducted). All stories selected for an edition will receive the same payment no matter the length of the story.
We will also nominate stories for prizes (Best of the Net, Best Small Fictions, Best Microfictions, etc.).