Submission Guidelines

Cutleaf

Cutleaf publishes a new issue every other week. We welcome unsolicited original prose (both creative nonfiction and fiction) and poetry from established and emerging writers during our open submission windows.

We seek work that responds to our common experience and reflects our differences. We are interested in work by all writers, especially those historically underrepresented in literary publishing.

Cutleaf is now closed to submissions for the 2024 issues. Subscribe to our bi-monthly newsletter to receive an alert in your inbox when we open to submissions.

We consider simultaneous submissions with the understanding that you will quickly inform us if a piece is accepted by another publication. We ask writers to submit only once per reading period. Please refer to our Submittable page for further instructions and information.

We read and respond to manuscripts on a rolling basis and strive to respond to every submission in a timely manner. If you have not heard from us within three months, send us a query via email.

Work published online in Cutleaf may be chosen for inclusion in The Cutleaf Reader, our annual print anthology.

Fiction

Cutleaf is interested in fiction of all shapes and sizes, although we are generally interested in work less than 6,000 words. Longer work must be exceptionally compelling, and we may publish longer works in installments. Short excerpts from longer works are more likely to be accepted when they stand alone as a discrete work. We will read one long piece or up to three short pieces at a time per author. We are also interested in flash fiction with a limit of 1,000 words.

Cutleaf will pay from $100 to $400 for published fiction.

Essays

Cutleaf is interested in essays in both standard and hybrid forms. We welcome new approaches such as speculative nonfiction, essays based in metaphor, essays in verse, and other re-imaginings of the format. We welcome work about literature, travel, music, visual art, and film in multiple formats. We are less interested in journalistic approaches than in work that shows the larger and smaller truths about being human. We are generally interested in essays of less than 6,000 words. Longer work must be exceptionally compelling, and we may publish longer works in installments.

Cutleaf will pay from $100 to $400 for published nonfiction prose.

Poetry

Cutleaf is interested in poetry of many styles and formats. We will read up to seven poems at a time per author. Our format is designed to showcase a group of 3 to 5 poems from a single author in each issue. One of our considerations is how those poems work together as a suite.

Cutleaf will pay from $50 to $200 for published poetry.

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Cutleaf is a project of EastOver Press

EastOver Press publishes books by emerging and established writers. We focus on collections of short stories, essays, and poetry, though we are open to hybrid forms that might combine aspects of different genres. We seek to publish work in a format that honors both the writing and the writer. Learn more at eastoverpress.com.

Contact Us

If you’d like to get in touch unrelated to submissions, send us an email and we’ll get back to you as quickly as we can.