Ninth Letter Print Edition Submissions
Ninth Letter is published semi-annually in print at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. We are interested in prose and poetry that experiment with form, narrative, and nontraditional subject matter, as well as more traditional literary work.
We do not accept previously published work, including self-published work on websites, blogs, etc. Simultaneous submissions are welcome! Please send a message withdrawing your poem(s) or flash piece(s) immediately upon acceptance elsewhere. Please only send only one submission per genre at a time. We ask that previous contributors wait three years from your publication date before submitting again.
We accept electronic submissions via Submittable. We do not accept submissions by email attachment. Email submissions will not be read.
To see what we publish, you can purchase our current issue or a subscription via Submittable. All issues (including back issues) can be purchased here.
General Print Submission Guidelines
Submission Period:
Ninth Letter accepts submissions to our print issues between Sept. 1 - Feb. 28.
For poetry, please submit 3-5 poems (max. 8 pages) at a time.
For fiction and creative nonfiction, submit one story or essay up to 8,000 words at a time. For flash, you may submit up to 3 pieces with a total word count totaling no more than 4,000 words.
If you classify your work as "hybrid," please submit to the genre category you feel your submission most closely applies. You are welcome to leave a note in the cover letter field with any details you think our reading team would find helpful. We will make sure your submission gets to the right team and receives the attention and consideration it deserves.
Submission Fee:
We charge a $3 reading fee to pay for Submittable and to contribute to our author payments. Fees are waived from December 1-31 or until we hit our cap of 300 submissions per genre.
Fee Waivers:
A limited number of fee waivers are available for writers for whom the submission fee would present undue financial hardship. Please send a short email to ninthletter9@gmail.com to request a fee waiver. No proof of income or other sensitive information is required.
Publication Terms & Payment:
Ninth Letter pays $25 per poem and $100 for prose upon publication and two complementary copies of the issue in which the work appears. Contributors also receive an exclusive subscription discount offer at the time of acceptance. Ninth Letter acquires First North American Serial Rights (FNASR). We ask that you acknowledge Ninth Letter upon reprint of your work.
Response Time:
We strive to respond to your submission within six months. Please wait until that time has elapsed before querying about the status of your submission.
Web Edition Submissions
Ninth Letter will be accepting submissions of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry for our winter web issue to be published at ninthletter.com. Submissions will be open from September 1 to November 1.
Theme-"de/composition":
The theme for this issue is “de/composition.” A bit biased, no? To think of decomposition as the dead opposite of the thing that used to be—its breaking down, its decay, its withering. Decomposition as merely putrefaction, a lesser of the former, a corpse, a husk. Let’s question this, then.
Send us your work that sees, in decay, something new. Send us work that, in content, in form, in spirit, decomposes as a way to recompose. Let us see your flies gather, the ants lick the wet bones bare. Send us your compost heaps as new seeds crack inside. Send us your landfills where night dogs strafe like dreams through plastic. Send us your taxidermy studded with jewels. Send us your shards, rearranged into a face. Send us your dead, your ash mixed with glitter.
General Guidelines:
You may submit up to three poems, or one piece of short prose (fiction or nonfiction) of up to 3500 words; please also include a cover letter that briefly explains how you see your work connecting to the theme. Note: work submitted without this information may be withdrawn. Acceptable file formats are .doc, .docx, .rtf, and .pdf.
Submit your work for this special feature at ninthletteronline.submittable.com. Submissions sent via snail mail will not be considered for this issue. Email submissions are not accepted and will not be read.
Unless otherwise requested, please submit only once per reading period. We do not accept submissions of previously published work (including work published on personal blogs or social media sites). Please do not send multiple submissions within the same genre.
Publication Terms and Payment:
Authors whose work is selected for this special feature will be offered payment of $25 per poem or $75 per piece of prose, plus an exclusive discount for a one-year print subscription.
Response Time:
We strive to respond to your submission to our web issues within four months. Please wait until that time has elapsed before querying about the status of your submission.
Thank you for your interest in publishing with Ninth Letter. We look forward to reading your work!
Subscription includes 2 print issues per year. All subscriptions beginning with current issue unless otherwise requested. S&H is free for domestic mailing addresses. International subscriptions incur a S&H charge which is included in the purchase price. Email ninthletter9@gmail.com if you have questions.
Ninth Letter is published semi-annually (fall/winter, spring/summer) in print at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.
Individual issue purchases are $14.95 + $4.00 S&H.
Our current issue is Volume 21, Issue 01. You can see a preview on our website and read a few selected pieces from the issue.
You can preview back issues here. To purchase a back issue, please order through our traditional order form.
Ninth Letter Print Edition Submissions
Ninth Letter is published semi-annually in print at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. We are interested in prose and poetry that experiment with form, narrative, and nontraditional subject matter, as well as more traditional literary work.
We do not accept previously published work, including self-published work on websites, blogs, etc. Simultaneous submissions are welcome! Please send a message withdrawing your poem(s) or flash piece(s) immediately upon acceptance elsewhere. Please only send only one submission per genre at a time. We ask that previous contributors wait three years from your publication date before submitting again.
We accept electronic submissions via Submittable. We do not accept submissions by email attachment. Email submissions will not be read.
To see what we publish, you can purchase our current issue or a subscription via Submittable. All issues (including back issues) can be purchased here.
Print Submission Guidelines
Poetry Guidelines:
Please submit 3-5 poems (max. 8 pages) at a time.
If you classify your work as "hybrid," please submit to the genre category you feel your submission most closely applies. You are welcome to leave a note in the cover letter field with any details you think our reading team would find helpful. We will make sure your submission gets to the right team and receives the attention and consideration it deserves.
Submission Fee:
We charge a $3 reading fee to pay for Submittable and to contribute to our author payments. Fees are waived from December 1-31 or until we hit our cap of 300 submissions per genre.
Fee Waivers:
A limited number of fee waivers are available for writers for whom the submission fee would present undue financial hardship. Please send a short email to ninthletter9@gmail.com to request a fee waiver. No proof of income or other sensitive information is required.
Publication Terms & Payment:
Ninth Letter pays $25 per poem and $100 for prose upon publication and two complementary copies of the issue in which the work appears. Contributors also receive an exclusive subscription discount offer at the time of acceptance. Ninth Letter acquires First North American Serial Rights (FNASR). We ask that you acknowledge Ninth Letter upon reprint of your work.
Response Time:
We strive to respond to your submission within six months. Please wait until that time has elapsed before querying about the status of your submission.
Ninth Letter Print Edition Submissions
Ninth Letter is published semi-annually in print at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. We are interested in prose and poetry that experiment with form, narrative, and nontraditional subject matter, as well as more traditional literary work.
We do not accept previously published work, including self-published work on websites, blogs, etc. Simultaneous submissions are welcome! Please send a message withdrawing your poem(s) or flash piece(s) immediately upon acceptance elsewhere. Please only send only one submission per genre at a time. We ask that previous contributors wait three years from your publication date before submitting again.
We accept electronic submissions via Submittable. We do not accept submissions by email attachment. Email submissions will not be read.
To see what we publish, you can purchase our current issue or a subscription via Submittable. All issues (including back issues) can be purchased here.
Print Submission Guidelines
Creative Nonfiction Guidelines:
For creative nonfiction, submit one essay up to 8,000 words at a time. For flash, you may submit up to 3 pieces with a total word count totaling no more than 4,000 words.
If you classify your work as "hybrid," please submit to the genre category you feel your submission most closely applies. You are welcome to leave a note in the cover letter field with any details you think our reading team would find helpful. We will make sure your submission gets to the right team and receives the attention and consideration it deserves.
Submission Fee:
We charge a $3 reading fee to pay for Submittable and to contribute to our author payments. Fees are waived from December 1-31 or until we hit our cap of 300 submissions per genre.
Fee Waivers:
A limited number of fee waivers are available for writers for whom the submission fee would present undue financial hardship. Please send a short email to ninthletter9@gmail.com to request a fee waiver. No proof of income or other sensitive information is required.
Publication Terms & Payment:
Ninth Letter pays $25 per poem and $100 for prose upon publication and two complementary copies of the issue in which the work appears. Contributors also receive an exclusive subscription discount offer at the time of acceptance. Ninth Letter acquires First North American Serial Rights (FNASR). We ask that you acknowledge Ninth Letter upon reprint of your work.
Response Time:
We strive to respond to your submission within six months. Please wait until that time has elapsed before querying about the status of your submission.
Ninth Letter Print Edition Submissions
Ninth Letter is published semi-annually in print at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. We are interested in prose and poetry that experiment with form, narrative, and nontraditional subject matter, as well as more traditional literary work.
We do not accept previously published work, including self-published work on websites, blogs, etc. Simultaneous submissions are welcome! Please send a message withdrawing your poem(s) or flash piece(s) immediately upon acceptance elsewhere. Please only send only one submission per genre at a time. We ask that previous contributors wait three years from your publication date before submitting again.
We accept electronic submissions via Submittable. We do not accept submissions by email attachment. Email submissions will not be read.
To see what we publish, you can purchase our current issue or a subscription via Submittable. All issues (including back issues) can be purchased here.
Print Submission Guidelines
Fiction Guidelines:
For fiction, submit one story up to 8,000 words at a time. For flash, you may submit up to 3 pieces with a total word count totaling no more than 4,000 words.
If you classify your work as "hybrid," please submit to the genre category you feel your submission most closely applies. You are welcome to leave a note in the cover letter field with any details you think our reading team would find helpful. We will make sure your submission gets to the right team and receives the attention and consideration it deserves.
Submission Fee:
We charge a $3 reading fee to pay for Submittable and to contribute to our author payments. Fees are waived from December 1-31 or until we hit our cap of 300 submissions per genre.
Fee Waivers:
A limited number of fee waivers are available for writers for whom the submission fee would present undue financial hardship. Please send a short email to ninthletter9@gmail.com to request a fee waiver. No proof of income or other sensitive information is required.
Publication Terms & Payment:
Ninth Letter pays $25 per poem and $100 for prose upon publication and two complementary copies of the issue in which the work appears. Contributors also receive an exclusive subscription discount offer at the time of acceptance. Ninth Letter acquires First North American Serial Rights (FNASR). We ask that you acknowledge Ninth Letter upon reprint of your work.
Response Time:
We strive to respond to your submission within six months. Please wait until that time has elapsed before querying about the status of your submission.