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Literary Journal

After Happy Hour

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About the magazine

After Happy Hour is an independent literary and arts review founded in 2013 by a collective of writers and artists in Pittsburgh. Taking its name from the liminal space between social obligation and private reflection, the journal publishes poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, and visual art that favors the unvarnished and the formally restless. Its core mission is to provide a platform for work that might otherwise be overlooked by mainstream literary venues—work that is honest, strange, and unafraid of its own edges. The review operates with a volunteer editorial board and maintains a commitment to accessibility, both in its reading periods and in its resistance to academic or commercial gatekeeping.

Editorial focus

After Happy Hour ’s tastes are broad and lean toward the weird. They consider fiction in any and all genres and blurs/blends thereof, and prefer poetry with strong emotion and/or a sense of narrative over straight plays with language. For CNF they publish personal essays and similar narrative nonfiction (no scholarly, critical, or academic essays).

PoetryFictionCreative Nonfiction

Submitting your work

Reading periodMar 1 to Apr 30
Reading feeNo
PaymentCash
Response timeLess than 3 months
Simultaneous submissionsYes
Unsolicited submissionsYes

Before submitting, read at least one full issue to understand the journal's aesthetic range—it favors work that is emotionally direct, formally adventurous, and free of workshop clichés. Submit only during open reading periods, which are announced on the website and social media. Follow genre guidelines precisely: simultaneous submissions are generally accepted with immediate notification of acceptance elsewhere, but previously published work is not. Include a brief cover letter with your submission, but avoid lengthy bios or publication lists; the editors care most about the work itself. Expect response times of several months, as the staff is volunteer-run. If rejected, wait at least six months before submitting again, and consider that a rejection often reflects fit rather than quality.

The editorial crew is a weird bunch: a conlang-writing cryptid geek, an essayist / cemetery worker, a poet who carves words into food, and the author of a cannibal comedy. We would love to publish more genre, genre-bending, and experimental work but get less than we’d like. Send us some, and you’ll make our little oddball hearts happy.

Read official guidelines

Submission calls

1 listed
OpenDeadline · 2027-03-01

After Happy Hour — Submissions

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Explore the publication through its past issues and volumes.

Past Issue

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