The Gravity of the Thing

 Full details 

Short: tell us a story in 3,000 words or less; we are interested in fiction, creative nonfiction, self-contained excerpts, and genre-bending forms.

Flash: a fiction, creative nonfiction, or genre-bending story under 500 words.

Poetry: share one or more poems, prose poems, or multimedia works for a combined count of 500 words or less.

Six Words: a story in six words; you may share up to five stories per submission, but only one will be chosen.

Baring the Device: essays for our Baring the Device column; click here to learn more.

The Gravity of the Thing publishes work on a rolling basis throughout its quarterly reading periods. A majority of submissions are read during the months of February, May, August, and November, so you can expect to hear back from us then—for updates, please subscribe to our newsletter. We only accept previously unpublished work, and although simultaneous submissions are welcome you must notify us if your piece is accepted elsewhere. Please submit only once per reading period, and visit our Baring the Device column to learn about the kinds of submissions we accept. You can also click here to learn about our selection process, or click here for manuscript consultations from our editors.

To submit: email your creative work, either in the body of your email or as an attachment (.doc, .docx, .pdf), to submissions@thegravityofthething.com. The subject line of your email should read Submission Category, “The Title of Your Work.” For example:

Flash, “Childhood”

For your cover letter, please include a 2-3 sentence literary bio and, if necessary, specify whether you are submitting fiction, nonfiction, or a self-contained excerpt. If this will be your first publication, please don’t hesitate to let us know as we aim to promote emerging writers.

By submitting to The Gravity of the Thing you confirm that you hold full copyright on all work submitted. If your writing is accepted for publication, you grant The Gravity of the Thing first publication rights, and all rights to the piece(s) revert to the author upon publication. If your work is later republished, we kindly request you credit The Gravity of the Thing as the initial publisher. Note The Gravity of the Thing nominates its published works for consideration in national anthologies.