Ploughshares
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From the Editor
Ploughshares has published quality literature since 1971. Our award-winning literary journal is published four times a year; our lively literary blog publishes new writing daily. Since 1989, we have been based at Emerson College in downtown Boston. Ploughshares welcomes unsolicited submissions of fiction, poetry, and nonfiction during our regular reading period, which runs from June 1 to January 15. The literary journal is published four times a year: mixed issues of poetry and prose in the Spring and Winter, a prose issue in the Summer, and a longform prose issue in the Fall. Our Spring and Summer issues are guest-edited by different writers of prominence. Guest editors are invited to solicit up to half of their issues, with the other half selected from manuscripts submitted to the journal and screened for them by staff editors. This guest-editor policy, which we have used since our founding in 1971, is designed to introduce readers to different literary circles and tastes, and to offer a fuller representation of the range and diversity of contemporary letters than would be possible with a single editorship. We expect every issue to reflect our overall standards of literary excellence.
Submissions
Submissions to Ploughshares Fall Longform Issue should be longer works of original prose—either fiction or nonfiction. 7,500 to 20,000 words. Novel and memoir excerpts are acceptable if self-contained. The Fall Issue is edited by Ladette Randolph, Editor-in-chief. Before submitting, we strongly suggest that you examine recent editions of the Fall Issue. Reading Period Submissions to the Fall Issue open on June 1st at noon EST and close on January 15 at noon EST. All submissions mailed from January 16 through May are recycled or returned (if a SASE is provided) unread. Simultaneous vs. Multiple Submissions We do not consider multiple submissions, so please send only one manuscript at a time, either by mail or online. Do not send a second submission until you have heard about the first. Simultaneous submissions to other journals are fine as long as they are identified as such and we are notified immediately upon acceptance elsewhere. Manuscript Guidelines Submissions shorter than 7,500 words should be submitted to the journal at large. Typed, double-spaced pages. Numbered pages. If in hard copy, submit with text on one side of the page. Restrictions Previous Fall Issue Ploughshares Solos authors are not eligible to submit longform again, but are welcome to submit to other journal categories. We do not accept work published before the publication date of the issue for which your work is accepted. If your submission is part of a forthcoming book, let us know in your cover letter and the expected publication date. We cannot accommodate revisions, changes of return address, or forgotten SASEs. We cannot be responsible for delay, loss, or damage. We cannot print work written by individuals currently affiliated with Ploughshares or Emerson College as a volunteer screener, intern, student, staff member, or faculty member.
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Editors Name Ladette Randolph
Print publication? Yes
Circulation
Do you take online submissions? Yes
Submission Guidelines URL https://www.pshares.org/submit/longform/guidelines
Approx. Response Time?
How often do you publish? Four times a year.
Year Founded? 1971
Do you pay? Yes
Twitter @pshares
Mailing Address:
Email marketing@pshares.org