General Principles
Do we accept simultaneous submissions? | Yes. Please let us know immediately if your story is accepted elsewhere.
Do we accept previously published works? | No. This includes previously published works on Substack, Tumblr, or other blog platforms.
Multiple Submissions | No
Publication Rights | By submitting to Write or Die Magazine, you agree to grant us First North American Serial Rights, should your work be accepted. Upon publication, rights immediately revert back to the author. You’re free to republish your work elsewhere, but we ask that you credit Write or Die Magazine as the place of first publication.
Our response time | 6 months
Submission Window | We are always open for fiction, creative nonfiction, and author interview submissions!
We are excited to read your work! Thank you for submitting
We accept simultaneous submissions, but please let us know immediately if your story is accepted elsewhere. No previously published works.
Submission Fees
- Free Submission period: Every first week of the month (1st—7th)
- Regular Submission Period: $3 per submission (8th — end of month)
This fee helps us cover operational costs and allows us to pay writer and our editors.
Please use Times New Roman, 12 point font and double space your work. Send finished drafts of up to 4,000 words in an attached Word doc. The first page of your document should include:
- The title(s) of the piece(s) you are sending,
- Name
- Phone number
- Email address
- Your brief cover letter with third person bio
What We Are Looking For: Notes from our Editors
Tamar Mekredijian, Fiction Editor
Tamar is looking for character-driven stories with a strong central emotion. Don’t be afraid to break her heart. She is drawn to characters who make mistakes. She wants to read stories that make her look at life closely and see beauty in the shadows. She is looking for attention to details that are usually overlooked, and she isn’t afraid of surprises.
Suzanne Grove, Fiction Editor
Suzanne is most often drawn to character-driven fiction with a focus on interiority and a penchant for highlighting the surreal elements in everyday life. She most appreciates characters who are haunted in some way—by their pasts, by the hope and uncertainty of the future, by their own conflicting desires, and by the space between what they need and the achievement of those needs. Her favorite stories don’t necessarily adhere to traditional ideas about plot structure, but rather propel themselves forward via constant micro-tensions and questions raised on the page. She is looking for stories that allow us to step into the unknown while simultaneously holding up a mirror and pushing us to go deeper within ourselves. More than anything, she’s seeking stories driven by unique and diverse narrative voices and a strong sense of style at the line level.
Response time
We aim to get back to writers within 3-6 months. We appreciate your patience.
Accepted Work
Writers will receive $200 for published fiction pieces as well as a special interview feature with our fiction editor, Tamar. Published pieces will be accompanied by original artwork and a shared feature across our social media platforms.
Thank you for submitting to Write or Die! We look forward to reading your work!
Receive a response to your submission in 2 weeks!
This service is open year round, even when our general fiction submissions are closed.
All fees for expedited responses go to our editors.
*Please note that if your work is under serious consideration by our editorial staff, your expedited submission might take up to, but no longer than, an additional week.
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We accept simultaneous submissions, but please let us know immediately if your story is accepted elsewhere. No previously published works. No submission fee.
Please use Times New Roman, 12 point font and double space your work. Send finished drafts of up to 4,000 words in an attached Word doc. The first page of your document should include:
- The title(s) of the piece(s) you are sending,
- Name
- Phone number
- Email address
- Your brief cover letter with third person bio
Accepted Work
Writers will receive $200 for published fiction pieces as well as a special interview feature with our fiction editor, Tamar. Published pieces will be accompanied by original artwork, and writers will receive a media kit to display their work across social media.
What We Are Looking For: Notes from our Editors
Tamar Mekredijian, Fiction Editor
Tamar is looking for character-driven stories with a strong central emotion. Don’t be afraid to break her heart. She is drawn to characters who make mistakes. She wants to read stories that make her look at life closely and see beauty in the shadows. She is looking for attention to details that are usually overlooked, and she isn’t afraid of surprises.
Suzanne Grove, Fiction Editor
Suzanne is most often drawn to character-driven fiction with a focus on interiority and a penchant for highlighting the surreal elements in everyday life. She most appreciates characters who are haunted in some way—by their pasts, by the hope and uncertainty of the future, by their own conflicting desires, and by the space between what they need and the achievement of those needs. Her favorite stories don’t necessarily adhere to traditional ideas about plot structure, but rather propel themselves forward via constant micro-tensions and questions raised on the page. She is looking for stories that allow us to step into the unknown while simultaneously holding up a mirror and pushing us to go deeper within ourselves. More than anything, she’s seeking stories driven by unique and diverse narrative voices and a strong sense of style at the line level.
What We Are Looking For: Note from our Editor, Shelby Hinte
Essays: We are interested in essays that focus on the writing life and especially love work where the personal intersects with the critical. We love essays that examine how publishing, reading, teaching, spirituality, sexuality, identity, obsession, labor, and family shape writing. Unconventional book reviews, insights on niche literary topics, lyric essays on craft, and stories about writing that are also about something seemingly unrelated really excite us. More than anything, we like to be surprised, so if you think you have something that speaks to writing or literature in some way, send it to us!
Please use Times New Roman, 12 point font and double space your work. Send finished drafts of up to 3,000 words in an attached doc. The first page of your document should include:
- The title(s) of the piece(s) you are sending,
- Name
- Phone number
- Email address
- Your brief cover letter with third person bio
Submission Fees
- Free Submission period: Every first week of the month (1st—7th)
- Regular Submission Period: $3 per submission (8th — end of month)
This fee helps us cover operational costs and allows us to pay writer and our editors.
Response time
We aim to get back to writers within 3-6 months. We appreciate your patience.
Accepted Work
Writers will receive $50 for published essays.
Thank you for submitting to Write or Die! We look forward to reading your work!
What We Are Looking For: Notes from our Editors
We accept pitches from interviewers interested in covering authors with a forthcoming or recently published book. We are especially interested in featuring books by debut authors and/or books published by indie presses.
- Always open
- Pays 25 USD
- Editors: Shelby Hinte & Brittany Ackerman
We accept simultaneous submissions, but please let us know immediately if your story is accepted elsewhere. Submit one piece at a time. No previously published works. No submission fee.
Please use Times New Roman, 12 point font and double space your work. Send finished drafts in an attached Word doc. The first page of your document should include:
- The title(s) of the piece(s) you are sending,
- Name
- Phone number
- Email address
- Your brief cover letter with third person bio
Response time
We aim to get back to writers within 3-6 months. We appreciate your patience.
Accepted Work
Writers will receive $25 for published interviews.
Thank you for submitting to Write or Die! We look forward to reading your work!