Short Tails Submissions

Short Tails submissions are currently closed.

Guidelines

Please paste your submission right inside the body of your email. Attachments terrify us unless we've requested them. Only previously unpublished work will be considered. Simultaneous submissions are cool, but if your piece is accepted elsewhere we ask that you please let us know right away.

Please allow us four weeks to consider your submission. If, for some strange reason, you have not heard from us after four weeks, please drop us a line to make sure we've received your submission. Inbox monsters can be quite evil.

What We're Looking For

We are looking for smart, thought-provoking, WELL WRITTEN short fiction (up to 7,500 words) with something unique. We tend to prefer work that might be literary if it weren't so genre, but we are happy to consider most work as long as you adhere to the guidelines on this page.

Here are a few things we particularly like:

1. Almost anything appealing to a Middle Grade or Young Adult audience.

2. Stories about courage and adventure, resilience, and creative solutions to everyday challenges.

3. Nerd stuff: math, music, science, code writing (ooooh baby) or …??

4. Illustrated work in which the writing is as good at the artwork and vice versa.

5. A really great, believable villain.

6. Anything a little bit spooky.

7. Anything a little bit comical (bonus points for both spooky AND comical).

Here are a few things we don't particularly like:

1. Stories with graphic love scenes or violence.

2. Stories with any sort of cruelty to animals.

3. Anything that incites hatred against another group.

What's In It For You?

If your story is accepted for publication, Common Deer Press will send you a contract. Once signed, we will pay you:

Flash Fiction (up to 1,000 words): $50 CAD

Short Story (up to 7,500 words): $100 CAD

Submit

Now, what are you waiting for? STOP READING THIS AND SEND US YOUR STUFF!!!

Please send your submission to submissions[at]commondeerpress[dot]com and include the words SHORT TAILS SUBMISSION in the subject line. We can't guarantee we will see your submission if you do not include those few words.

Also, please subscribe to our mailing list. By doing so, you will be among the first to READ OUR SHORT TAILS STORIES, which we will be publishing every Wednesday for your reading enjoyment!