Literary Journal

pioneertown.

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Journals & literary magazines1 open opportunity listed

About the magazine

Pioneertown is a literary journal and small press rooted in the high desert of Southern California, taking its name from the historic western town in the Morongo Basin. Founded with an ethos of rugged independence and communal resourcefulness, it publishes poetry, fiction, and hybrid work that favors spare, image-driven writing over ornamentation. The journal operates with a DIY sensibility, often producing hand-bound editions and hosting readings in unconventional spaces, while maintaining a clear editorial vision: writing that is unafraid of silence, landscape, and the stark emotional registers of the American West.

Editorial focus

pioneertown is an online literary journal publishing both traditional and genre-bending work. Named after an old western movie town in the southern California desert, pioneertown aims to establish a collection of work new and needed on the literary scene.

PoetryFictionCreative Nonfiction

Submitting your work

Reading periodJan 1 to Dec 31

Reading feeYes

PaymentCash

Response time3 to 6 months

Simultaneous submissionsYes

Unsolicited submissionsYes

Before submitting, read at least one full issue to understand the journal's preference for concise, image-rich work that trusts the reader. Send no more than 3-5 poems or one short story/flash piece under 2,000 words. Simultaneous submissions are accepted, but notify immediately upon acceptance elsewhere. Include a brief cover letter with your connection to place or landscape, if any. Response times vary from 4-12 weeks; do not query before 12 weeks. Mail submissions are welcome but require SASE for return. The editors value craft over credentials, so polish your work and avoid overly conceptual or heavily theoretical pieces.

Read the Journal. Read the submission guidelines. Make us feel things.

Read official guidelines