Simultaneous submissions are accepted. Let us know if your work is accepted elsewhere. Reprints are accepted if the author maintains rights to the work
Please submit only one piece of prose or up to five poems at a time. All poems may be submitted in a single document.
Fiction and creative nonfiction may be up to 2,000 words.
Include a third-person bio of up to 200 words.
Unleash Lit acquires the non-exclusive right to include your work online and in our archives. Upon publication, rights revert to the author. We are unable to pay for submissions currently, but we will actively support our writers and nominate select manuscripts for awards.
Beginning in 2023, we will nominate one published work (or series) a year for our annual prize of $150. Announcements will be made in December.
The Unleash Creatives team is offering editorial feedback on flash fiction/creative nonfiction. All manuscripts should be double-spaced and formatted in 12-point font. The writing must be in a .doc or .docx format. Our turnaround time is one week (7 days) for shorter work, 20 days for novella-length works, and 30 days for novels/collections. We do not currently provide editorial feedback on poetry.
All manuscripts get feedback from both editors, which includes in-depth developmental edits and feedback.
Flash fiction up to 1,000 words: $45 (3-day turnaround time: $75)
Short stories/essays up to 2,000 words: $100
Novellas/collections up to 30,000 words: $950
Novels/CNF/collections up to 60,000 words: $1650
About our editors:
After teaching creative writing for over a decade, Jen began to coach writers 1:1 and offer idea-to-publication services through Unleash Creatives, a holistic arts organization she founded and co-owns. Her own work can be found in over a hundred publications, and she is the author of three short story collections: After the Gazebo (Rain Mountain Press), The Glass City (Press Americana Prose Winner), and Resolutions (AUX Media). Her first novel, We Arrive Uninvited, won the Steel Toe Books Award for Prose and was one of the top-rated projects of all time on Coverfly's Red List in family stories. More about Jen's is here: jenknox.com
Residing in Mohkinstsis, Ashley Holloway teaches healthcare leadership at Bow Valley College in Calgary, AB. She is a nurse with a Master's in Public Health, and a graduate degree in Global Leadership, with further studies in intercultural communication and international development. Ashley’s work has appeared in the Calgary Public Library Short Story Dispenser, The Nashwaak Review, The Globe and Mail, Magna Publications, The Prairie Journal, Alberta's CARE Magazine, and Unleash Press, with regular contributions to Lead Read Today; forthcoming publications include Flash Fiction Magazine (Jan 2023). Her writing has recently been nominated for the Pushcart Prize.
We are looking for your thoughts on the writing life, how you keep momentum, address the inner critic, and refine your craft. Tell us your thoughts on technology and writing. Tell us your fears and joys.
We are looking for blogs by writers, for writers. Our blog launches this summer.
- Submissions will be accepted until May 31, 2023.
- All submissions must be in English.
- We accept simultaneous submissions, but please notify us immediately if the story is accepted elsewhere and you wish to withdraw it from consideration. There will be no refunds of the reading fees.
- No more than 400 words for prose submissions. Photo submissions must be B&W.
- Submissions will be judged by a panel blind. Please remove any identifying information from the submission.
- Submit as a .doc, .docx, .rtf, or PDF file format.
- No revisions will be accepted once the submission is uploaded.
$1,000 advance and standard contract from Unleash Press for one winning manuscript. Novels, poetry collections, short story collections, and creative nonfiction manuscripts are accepted.
Full-length, completed manuscripts only.
Guidelines:
- Submissions will be accepted until December 15, 2023.
- We accept simultaneous submissions, but please notify us immediately if the manuscript is accepted elsewhere and you wish to withdraw it from consideration.
- There are no refunds if you withdraw a submission.
- Please include a cover letter with a summary. Your name and contact information may appear in the cover letter area. Please leave all identifying information off of the manuscript as the first round of reading is blind.
- The minimum length of a manuscript is 30,000 words for prose or 70 pages for poetry.
- Genres accepted include fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, and experimental/hybrid.
Formatting:
- Please include page numbers.
- Please double-space and use a 12pt font.
- Submit as a .doc, .docx, .rtf, or PDF file format.