Ploughshares — Journal Open Reading Period
Before you apply
About this call
Ploughshares, a literary magazine with a broad curatorial remit, has opened a reading period across five categories: fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, translation, and longform. The call is global in scope, and the publication's guidelines indicate a commitment to serious literary work across genres, with a dedicated Fall Longform issue that accommodates extended word and page limits. The organization is not named in the materials provided beyond the Ploughshares title, so the editorial frame here rests on the submission terms themselves rather than on a stated mission statement. The terms of publication are stated plainly. Contributors receive an honorarium of $45 per printed page, with a minimum of $90 per title and a maximum of $450 per author. Each published contributor receives two copies of the issue, a discounted rate on additional copies, and a one-year print and digital subscription. The submission fee is $3.75 USD, and the call is listed as paid. Submissions are accepted as a single manuscript file in Word.docx or PDF, accompanied by a cover letter that includes an email address, a content warning where applicable, and notice of any forthcoming book with an expected publication date. Translations require documentation of translation permission. The curatorial vision, as far as the provided materials reveal it, is one of breadth and ambition: a venue that treats the sustained, the formally adventurous, and the cross-linguistic as equally central to its identity. Writers working at scale, or whose projects demand more room than a standard literary magazine allows, will find the longform category the most distinctive offer of this call.
Eligibility
No previously published work
One-year wait
Excluded affiliations
Human-authored only
Permission required
What to send
Required
Required
Required
Required
Required