We have no restrictions on subject matter or form. Quite simply, send us your highest-quality prose and poetry. Read through all of our submission instructions very carefully before sending out your work (manuscripts that are not properly submitted will be discarded unread). Almost every literary magazine already says this, but it bears repeating: look at a copy of our publication (and other publications as well) to get an idea of the kind of writing published. Do an honest (perhaps even ruthless) assessment of your work to see if it's indeed ready to be submitted.
Mail a copy of your manuscript with cover letter and (very important) a business-sized self-addressed stamped envelope (#10 SASE) for our response. Manuscripts without SASEs will be discarded unread. Copies of manuscripts will NOT be returned. If submitting both fiction and poetry, please use separate envelopes.
Simultaneous submissions are acceptable as long as you let us know in your cover letter that you are simultaneously submitting; also, if your work is accepted elsewhere, please let us know immediately.
Send submissions to the appropriate editor (see genre guidelines below) at:
Harpur Palate
English Department
Binghamton University
PO Box 6000
Binghamton, NY 13902-6000
READING PERIODS:
We now accept submissions all year round. Submissions received after October 15 will be considered for the summer issue, and submissions received after March 15 will be considered for the winter issue. Typical response time is 4-8 months, unless otherwise noted.
PROSE (fiction and creative nonfiction):
Length should be between 250 and 8,000 words; ONE submission per author please. Mail to Fiction Editors. See staff page for current editors.
POETRY:
Send 3-5 poems per issue submission period; no more than 10 page total per submission. Mail to Poetry Editors. See staff page for current editors.
ARTWORK:
Visual arts, for covers and inside portfolios, must be submitted as photographs or as electronic files on CD. Address submissions to the address above with attention to the Art Editor. Please include a cover letter and SASE with the work. As electronic files on CD, all standard image extensions are acceptable (.GIF, .JPG, .TIFF). File resolution need be no higher than 72 dpi for initial consideration. Should work be accepted for publication, we will request higher resolution files. Websites exhibiting work by a submitting artist may also be referenced in the cover letter.
PAYMENT:
2 contributor's copies per author/artist.
PLEASE NOTE: Due to the large number of submissions we receive, we cannot respond to questions about whether your work has been considered yet. Our response time is approximately 4 to 8 months.
We look forward to reading your work!
For general questions about submissions, please e-mail the appropriate editor(s) at hpfiction@gmail.com or harpur.palate.poetry@gmail.com
