Submissions
We accept submissions on a rolling basis. Scroll to the bottom to find specific instructions for how to submit your work.
NOTA BENE: Contributors must be 13 to 18 years of age and minors must have their parent’s full knowledge and permission to submit their work. We do not accept simultaneous submissions or work that has been published elsewhere.
Should I submit my work?
The Kingfisher Quarterly publishes work that is viscerally, compellingly true. That has a couple pieces to it, so we’ll dive into them one by one. First, true. We publish pieces that ring true to a redeemed ear.
Secondly, compelling. Something that is more than common in the world of Christian writers is to write something that’s beautifully true, but that, for one who does not know that truth to be true, is not inherently beautiful. The Kingfisher Quarterly aims to publish work that is compellingly true, that announces beautiful truth in a beautiful way. That leads us to our last point.
We publish work that is viscerally compelling. What we mean by that is that the key way to make writing compelling is to make it appeal to the senses of the reader, to be visceral. One of our very favorite examples of this in poetry is As Kingfisher Catch Fire by Gerard Manley Hopkins. Go check it out!
Things we don’t want to see in submissions:
We don’t publish work that deals too overtly with sensitive themes, or whose theme is overtly destructive, nor do we publish work that uses curse words or profane language. If you don’t know if your piece is on this line, send it anyway, and we’d love to discuss with you whether or not it’s appropriate!
We don’t want to see sermonizing or devotionals. Those things have their places, and they can be well written and serve their purposes well, but their place isn’t here.
We do not want to see anything written, even in part, by artificial intelligence. And believe me, we can tell the difference between real writing and AI writing.
In Poetry: Paragraphs of text. That’s prose, not poetry.
In Fiction: We’re usually not looking for straight allegory (though there may be some exceptions to this When in doubt, submit your work).
Should I submit my creative nonfiction?1
Here’s what we look for in creative nonfiction:
We publish nonfiction with a word count of (roughly) 350 to 3,000 words.
We want pieces that bring up striking thoughts and participate in the Great Conversation. We love paradox and looking at familiar things in a different light.
We look for pieces that communicate their point thoroughly and effectively.
We look for pieces written with excellent wordcraft.
Should I submit my poem?
Here’s what we look for in poetry:
Length: up to 2 pages in 11-point font
If poems are written in conventional meter and/or with a rhyme scheme, we want poems that do so artfully and with respect for the form in which they are written.
We look for strong imagery.
Should I submit my short fiction?
Here’s what we’re looking for in a short story:
Word count: 500 to 4,000 words
We look for stories that use strong imagery.
We look for stories with strong story arcs.
Should I submit my serial fiction?
Here’s what we’re looking for in serial fiction:
Word count: 5,000-40,000 words. Please have your serial fiction already finished before you send it to us, so that we can judge the work as a whole.
We look for stories that use strong imagery.
We want stories with strong, developed characters.
We want stories with strong arcs.
Help! I’m now so intimidated by your guidelines I don’t know if I want to submit anymore!
Don’t be intimidated! These guidelines are intended firstly to help you evaluate and edit your work before submitting, and secondly for us to evaluate your work to decide if it fits within what we want to publish. If in doubt, submit your work!
How to Submit
Address an email to thekingfisherquarterly@gmail.com.
If you’re 14 and under, you must carbon copy (CC) a parent on the email. If your parent is not copied, it will be assumed that your parent has no knowledge of your submission, and your work will not be considered for publication.
If you’re 15 and older, it is assumed that you have your parent’s full permission and knowledge of your submission. Please act accordingly and honorably.
Title the email according to your submission (i.e. Poetry Submission, Nonfic Submission, etc.)
In the body of the email, give us your name, age, and the title of your work, as well as a brief 3-5 sentence author blurb in 3rd person, which will be published along with your work should it be accepted. The blurb must not contain the name of the place where you live.
Attach (in order of the Kingfisher’s preference): a Google Doc, with the Kingfisher as a commenter, a Word Doc, or a PDF of your submission piece to the email. This should be in a readable font.
If you have questions about how to submit, please contact thekingfisherquarterly@gmail.com.
Submissions may take up to 1 month to be processed. When your submission has been reviewed, you’ll receive an email notifying you of our decision. Best of luck, and happy writing!
Creative nonfiction is nonfiction that utilizes fiction techniques, such as narrative arcs, description, and character development to achieve their end, rather than using a dryer, more formal essay technique.