They publish an average of 40 new books a year, and they have a back list of around 500 books across the subjects they specialize in: archaeology, linguistics, popular music and religious studies.

They have good distribution internationally.

There is two types of books you can propose/submit. One is a title that will fit in within a series that they already publish. The other is a book that exists outside of their current series options, but is still about one of the subjects they specialize in.

Submit a proposal with sample chapters or draft manuscripts. These are peer reviewed. They sometimes offer contracts just on proposals.

They pay royalties annually, but don’t offer much more details than that. They offer some marketing support, but expect authors to play a role.

To learn more about work they’ve previously published, go here.

As always, only submit if you feel like your work is a good fit for them. Follow all of their submission guidelines.

To learn more, please visit their website here.

Emily Harstone is the author of many popular books, including The Authors Publish Guide to Manuscript Submissions, Submit, Publish, Repeat, and The 2020 Guide to Manuscript Publishers.

She regularly teaches three acclaimed courses on writing and publishing at The Writer’s Workshop at Authors Publish.You can follow her on Facebook here.

Spartan has been published quarterly online since 2012. From their home base in Seattle, they also produce short-run print editions occasionally. Each spartan edition contains just a few pieces to savor.

Authors may submit to Spartan during four open reading periods: October through November, January through February, April through May, and July through August. Submitting authors can expect a response within one month.

Authors may submit one piece of short prose 1,500 words or fewer. Alternatively, authors may submit a series of linked micro fictions, 2,000 words or fewer, or up to five prose poems or micro flashes. Spartan pays authors $20 per published piece.

Spartan accepts submissions via email, not online or by post. They accept simultaneous submissions but ask that authors withdraw work published elsewhere. They do not accept previously published work, and they do not accept work that doesn’t adhere to these guidelines. Please read their guidelines in full before submitting.

If you would like to learn more or submit to Spartan, please visit their website here.

Bio: Ella Peary is the pen name for an author, editor, creative writing mentor, and submission consultant. Over the past five years, she’s written hundreds of articles for Authors Publish, and she’s also served as a copywriter and copy editor for a wide range of organizations and individuals. She is the author of The Quick Start Guide to Flash Fiction. She occasionally teaches a course on flash fiction. You can contact her at ellapeary@gmail.com.

These bios are tricky to write. It is hard to describe one’s life using 50 words or less. And frankly, you are better off not doing it. The editor of the journal does not care if you have been twice divorced, and neither does the reading public.

My personal ideal for a good bio is to mention one interesting personal fact. And then focus the rest of the bio on the area where writing and life intersect.

But they might be interested in knowing that you’ve moved 15 times in the last year, own a cat named John Irving. In short it is good to include information that’s intriguing but not too personal.

I am all for including one or occasionally two personal details, but I prefer that they relate indirectly to your writing. For example when I was submitting a lot of geographically themed poems I included the line “Emily Harstone just moved for the 18th time”.

Another fact worth considering including in your bio is what you actually do for a living. Most writers don’t write for a living. They do something else to pay the bills. Mentioning what that is can easily add complexity to your bio. Although it might affect the way your submission is considered. For example, mentioning that you are a lawyer in the bio would have a different effect than mentioning that you are a chef, or a private detective and add a layer of interest either way.

Most writers focus the bulk of their (very short) bio on writing. This is often a good thing. Although that can be tricky too. The biggest pitfall is just mentioning the same things as every other writer. For example I once scanned through a literary journal and every single contributor’s bio included the fact that they had an MFA (a Masters of Fine Arts degree).  The schools they attended varied, but that single fact repeated over and over again got to me. Right after reading all of those bios, I removed the fact that I have an MFA from my bio.

The other issue is mentioning too many literary journals that you have been published in. When you are first starting out this seems like a good problem to have. And once your work has been published, you should include some of the most recent or prestigious journals in your biographical statement.

However, you should not include all of them, that would just be overwhelming and also boring. As a general rule of thumb I never include the names of more than five literary journals. Usually I limit it to three.

Some authors don’t bother mentioning the names of all the literary journals they have been published in. Their bios instead they say something like this “Their work has been published in over a hundred literary journals.”  If you are just starting out, that sounds impressive, but quality is much more important than quantity when it comes to literary journals. It would be much better to name the three best literary journals you have been published in than to refer to all one hundred (or more).

Below are two examples of biographical statements of less than 50 words, one contains journal names, one does not.

Sample Bio 1:

Maria Smith resides in the rural Pacific Northwest. Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in numerous places, including: Tin House, The Liner, and Echolocation, and the anthology Tidelines. Her second chapbook Pancakes for Dinner is forthcoming in 2020 from Hawthorne Press.

Sample Bio 2:

Joshua Thomas is a poet, editor, and recovering New Yorker who now lives in Idaho. Joshua once wrote a sonnet every hour for twenty-four hours straight. He loves to hike, cook, and read.

I always include a link to my website as part of my bio. That way readers who like my writing can learn more about me (and possibly purchase a book or two).

Once I write a bio I am happy with, I use it for about a year. I submit the same bio with most of my submissions. After a year has passed, I write a new one.

Remember, it is important to keep in mind who is seeing the bio. First the editor sees it (if they do blind submissions the editor might not see the bio till right before the issue published), and then the readers of the literary journals.

In a larger journal the bio is usually read after the poem. It is generally not a deciding factor in terms of whether or not your work will be published, but it sometimes can factor in, subconsciously or consciously.

You want your bio to be short, professional, and to appeal to both the editors and the readers. I know that might seem like a tough task, but it gets a lot easier with time and practice.

Emily Harstone is the author of many popular books, including The Authors Publish Guide to Manuscript Submissions, Submit, Publish, Repeat, and The 2020 Guide to Manuscript Publishers.

She regularly teaches three acclaimed courses on writing and publishing at The Writer’s Workshop at Authors Publish.You can follow her on Facebook here.

In September 2020, we started a new fund for literary journals. You can learn all about this fund here.

We selected the recipient of the fund using a random number generator.

We are happy to announce that ARTmosterrific is the sixth recipient of our fund and will receive 150 (US) dollars.

ARTmosterrific is “an online platform and community by and for African undergraduates.”

They are currently closed to submissions. Please read their guidelines carefully before submitting, when they open for submissions again.

Thank you to everyone who has applied.

Journals who have already submitted themselves for consideration will be considered in future draws as well. There is no need to resubmit.

There are currently eleven literary journals on the list, so if you run a journal that needs funding, don’t hesitate to apply. If you know of a journal that needs funding, please encourage the editor(s) to apply for the funding.

We will select our seventh recipient in March.

Emily Harstone is the author of many popular books, including The Authors Publish Guide to Manuscript Submissions, Submit, Publish, Repeat, and The 2020 Guide to Manuscript Publishers.

She regularly teaches three acclaimed courses on writing and publishing at The Writer’s Workshop at Authors Publish. You can follow her on Facebook here.