HYPERTEXT SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
Regular Submissions & 2023 DORO BOEHME FICTION & NONFICTION CONTEST
If you'd like to learn why we charge a $5.00 submission fee, please read our Substack post on the subject.
Also, if you’ve been published by Hypertext in the last year, please wait at least one year to submit again. Since we only publish about 100 pieces each year, we want to spread the publishing love.
Hypertext pays $60 for each accepted piece or group of poems/flash. If you live in the United States, you will also receive a contributor copy. Sadly, the cost and hassle of sending physical journals out of the country has become prohibitive.
Hypertext Magazine has been an independent press since 2010. That means we are not funded by a larger institution and we fulfill our mission on less than $10,000-$12,000 (on a good year) annually. Even though we operate on a shoestring, we consistently publish two print journals, pay up to 100 working artists (give or take a dozen or so) annually, maintain an online presence, and teach free writing workshops to our nonprofit partners' clients. Our editors are not paid but our goal, for 2023, is to pay our editorial staff.
From Spring 2020 to Spring 2021, we waived submission fees but, because we have not been able to secure significant funding, we've been forced to add a submission fee. We resisted doing this but the reality is that funders, sadly, don't often take chances on small literary magazines. If you are so inclined, we've also added a TIP JAR. Leaving a tip will not increase your odds of being published in Hypertext but it will help us fulfill our mission. We read all submissions, tip or no tip, with the same care and consideration.
Please note:
Please do not email poetry submissions. At this time, we solicit all poetry.
Our submission plan allows 150 submissions per month (split between fiction and essays). That quota fills quickly. If you are unable to submit, please try again next month.
Before submitting, please read our magazine and become familiar with our content. We publish a wide range of voices—from emerging to established writers. We also publish a wide range of content. We are a small operation and we log in a ton of hours working on edits with writers, posting, and publishing.
We nominate writers for national awards including the Pushcart Prize and "Best American Short Stories" and "Best American Essays" series. Six writers published in Hypertext Review have been recognized by "Best American Essays" editors as Honorable Mentions.
If you buy our journal, your purchase will not only give you an idea of what we publish but it truly helps keep our doors open. Find our journals in our online store or at your local indie bookstore.
It has come to our attention that many of you are not receiving a decline notification email (from Submittable) when Hypertext declines your submission. If you visit your Submittable account to find that Hypertext has declined your piece without sending a decline email notification, please check your Submittable notifications settings and, if you don't find an issue there, notify Submittable about the problem. Sadly, we have no way to resolve this issue from our end.
Additional notes:
Submissions close from June 1 to September 1.
To earn a living, all of our editors work full-time jobs. Because of this, you will hear back from us in 3-4 months, but usually much sooner. Feel free to nudge us via email if you have not heard back in 4 months.
Submit below via the Submittable button.
FICTION GUIDELINES
We publish editions biannually in the spring/summer and fall/winter (in print at Hypertext Review and online at HypertextMag.com) and pay $40 total to each contributor. If you'd like to learn why we charge a $5.00 submission fee, please read our Substack post on the subject.
Fiction Submissions: We're looking for innovative, imaginative, and well-crafted stories in all genres and styles. We prefer short stories or novel excerpts that weigh in at about 3,000. That said, we're open to flash fiction and longer work, too.
Please familiarize yourself with our publications. Consider buying our literary journal Hypertext Review. Your purchase will not only give you an idea of what kinds of stories we publish but it truly helps us keep our doors open. You can purchase Hypertext Review below.
Include a brief cover letter (with a publishable bio), email/contact information, and word count on the first page of the manuscript.
NONFICTION SUBMISSIONS GUIDELINES
We publish editions biannually in the spring/summer and fall/winter (in print at Hypertext Review and online at HypertextMag.com) and pay $40 total to each contributor. If you'd like to learn why we charge a $5.00 submission fee, please read our Substack post on the subject.
General Essay Submissions: We're looking for innovative, imaginative, and well-crafted essays in all genres and style. We generally publish essays under 3,000 words but won't reject a piece if it's slightly longer. We're open to flash essays too.
Include a brief cover letter with a publishable bio, word count, and your email/contact information on the first page of the manuscript.
Please familiarize yourself with our publications. Consider buying our literary journal Hypertext Review. Your purchase will not only give you an idea of what kinds of stories we publish but it truly helps us keep our doors open.
FICTION GUIDELINES
We publish editions biannually in the spring/summer and fall/winter (in print at Hypertext Review and online at HypertextMag.com) and pay $40 total to each contributor. If you'd like to learn why we charge a $5.00 submission fee, please read our Substack post on the subject.
Fiction Submissions: We're looking for innovative, imaginative, and well-crafted stories in all genres and styles. We prefer short stories or novel excerpts that weigh in at about 3,000. That said, we're open to flash fiction and longer work, too.
Please familiarize yourself with our publications. Consider buying our literary journal Hypertext Review. Your purchase will not only give you an idea of what kinds of stories we publish but it truly helps us keep our doors open. You can purchase Hypertext Review below.
Include a brief cover letter (with a publishable bio), email/contact information, and word count on the first page of the manuscript.
NONFICTION SUBMISSIONS GUIDELINES
We publish editions biannually in the spring/summer and fall/winter (in print at Hypertext Review and online at HypertextMag.com) and pay $40 total to each contributor. If you'd like to learn why we charge a $5.00 submission fee, please read our Substack post on the subject.
General Essay Submissions: We're looking for innovative, imaginative, and well-crafted essays in all genres and style. We generally publish essays under 3,000 words but won't reject a piece if it's slightly longer. We're open to flash essays too.
Include a brief cover letter with a publishable bio, word count, and your email/contact information on the first page of the manuscript.
Please familiarize yourself with our publications. Consider buying our literary journal Hypertext Review. Your purchase will not only give you an idea of what kinds of stories we publish but it truly helps us keep our doors open.