We are looking for complex stories, poems, and essays. Our focus is literary work. We love unexpected poetic language and a bit of magic realism. We are seeking work that features well-rounded female characters. We welcome all authors and their words with one caveat — if you can sum up your female characters in one line (or worse yet: one word), our publication is probably not for you.
For quarterly publications, we are looking for work that is 1500 words or less. There is no minimum word count.
We are looking for previously unpublished work but have made exceptions. Please reach out to discuss if you have a previously published work that you think might be a good fit.
We are a small magazine with volunteer readers, yet we are committed to compensating writers for their work. We pay authors $15 per published piece in the quarterly journal. This in no way reflects the value of the author’s work but merely the amount we are able to pay from submission fees.
We Could Almost Touch It, aims to amplify the voices of women and delve into the state of women since the 2016 presidential election.
Looking for graphic short essays (1-2 pages) and original artwork for publication. These works will be considered for publication in our anthology, with an anticipated publication date of September 1, 2025.
We are actively seeking original work that narrates our journeys toward genuine equality while highlighting the impact of inequality on our lives and outlining our efforts to resist and combat it.
- Work must cover at least one of the themes: women's rights, losses since the 2016 election, and what will turn things around.
- Artwork should fit well on one trade publication page.
- We can accept previously published work as long as the rights have reverted back to the author. Please let us know where and how to credit the first publication.
- Artwork must be in JPEG, GIF or PNG digital format. and have a resolution of at least 300 dpi.
- All mediums will be considered. Wholly AI generated artwork is not accepted but artists may use AI to assist in the creation of their original work. The use of AI must be disclosed in the submission.
- Artwork must include name of artist, title of artwork, and medium of artwork in order to be eligible for consideration.
There is no fee for submission.
Do you need developmental feedback to bring your short prose to life?
Our editors will review your submission and provide feedback on your work. We assess the strengths of your work from several lenses, each with a different focus.
We read your work first as lovers of stories, getting a sense of how engaging the story is. We evaluate our emotional connection to the characters. We identify where we were fully sutured in and where we got confused or distracted. We experience the beauty and power of the voice of the piece.
In the next read-through, we begin to look at the technical aspects. In this read, we add comments, often in the form of questions, so that you have insights for your rework. Often, we provide resources and exercises that will help you refine your writing. Very occasionally, we will insert possible language to show you one approach you can use to strengthen a section.
We specialize in literary fiction and creative nonfiction.
This is intended for short prose up to 3000 words. If you have a longer work you would like us to review, please reach out to us at teresa@tangledlocksjournal.com