PFN – Stonecoast Review Issue #22 Call for Submissions. Theme: Safety

What do you think of when you hear the word “safety”? What does it mean to feel safe? What does it mean to be safe?

The word connotes different definitions and bears different weights for each of us. It manifests itself in unexpected ways and settings, and remains absent or silenced in so many others. For all its idiosyncrasies, a universal acknowledgement exists within this concept. Or does it?

We want to read literature and take in media that explore, provoke, challenge, reconsider, evoke, or explode that concept for you.

Submission Guidelines

• Send submissions via Submittable only.
• Please include a short cover letter and bio (50- and 100-word max., respectively).
• We accept one prose submission, one poetry submission (of up to three poems), or five pieces of visual art per author, per submission cycle. Submissions that do not abide by these rules will not be considered for publication.
• Your work must be previously unpublished. (Stonecoast alumni may submit already published work for consideration as reprints.)
• We encourage simultaneous submissions. However, please withdraw your submission immediately if it’s accepted elsewhere. If you submit multiple poems and one is accepted at another publication, please attach a note on Submittable identifying which poem is no longer available.
• Please adhere to standard manuscript format: Double spaced, 12 pt., Times New Roman font. Poetry may be single spaced. (If you tell us that diverging from these rules is integral to your piece, we will consider it.)
• While we love to represent stories with raw, emotional truth, we ask that you refrain from submitting pieces featuring excessive sex, violence, assaults, or suicide.
• We will reject pieces determined to be written by the use of AI software.

Fiction. In accordance with the theme of safety, the fiction editors are looking for stories that invite the reader to think about what it means to be safe, how it feels when that safety is taken from us, and what it means to write bravely rather than safely. We are looking for stories that push the boundaries of traditional fiction with regard to form and content. For consideration for Hybrid Publication: limit submissions to 2,500 words or fewer. For consideration for General Publication: limit submissions to 5,000 words or fewer. One submission per author, per submission cycle.

Popular/Genre Fiction. We are open to work that will make us rethink what “safety” means. We would love to see a piece of fantasy, sci-fi, speculative fiction, decolonial science fiction by POC (Afrofuturism, as one example), or other genres that is fun, but invites us to question our set beliefs. For consideration for Hybrid Publication: limit submissions to 2,500 words or fewer. For consideration for General Publication: limit submissions to 5,000 words or fewer. One submission per author, per submission cycle.

Creative Nonfiction. We are looking for a diverse array of Creative Nonfiction works that engage with our mission and challenge the boundaries of conventional storytelling. We are interested in how writers explore safety across spaces and transformations, as well as pieces that engage with narratives and worldviews outside of (or examining) mainstream discourses. We encourage experimentation with hybrid forms of essay and memoir and are particularly interested in works that are both relevant and personal. For consideration for Hybrid Publication: limit submissions to 2,500 words or fewer. For consideration for General Publication: limit submissions to 5,000 words or fewer. One submission per author, per submission cycle.

Poetry. The staff values attentiveness to language, form, and craft. We want poems that make us gasp and wonder and take us beyond ourselves. Send us your best work. Limit submissions to 3 poems, with no more than 50 lines each. One submission per author, per submission cycle, of up to three poems.