SUBMISSIONS


CutBank reads general submissions for print issues from September 15 through February 1.  


We accept submissions in poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, and visual art.  Please read the submission guidelines for your selected genre closely.  


If you are unfamiliar with CutBank, we strongly recommend that you read a few issues of the magazine before submitting.  You can purchase a sample issue or the most recent issue at cutbankonline.org/shop or by selecting it from the list below.


CutBank Contests, including the Patricia Goedicke Prize for Poetry, Montana Prize for Fiction, and Montana Prize for Creative Nonfiction, are open December 1 through February 1.  There is a $20 reading fee for each prize, and one winner from each genre will be awarded $500 as well as publication in our summer/fall issue.  Again, please read submission guidelines closely.  We also have an annual Big Sky, Small Prose contest that seeks out fiction or creative nonfiction entries of 750 words or less. The winner of this contest will be awarded $500 as well as publication in our winter/spring issue. We typically also select at least two runner-ups for publication as well. Each contest is assisted by a guest judge from the wider writing community. 


The annual CutBank Chapbook Competition will be open January 1 through May 31.  Contest entry is $20 and one winner will be awarded $1000 and publication of the chapbook. We also select two runner-ups and award them $250 each (as well as publication). Please read submission guidelines carefully.


Thank you for your interest in CutBank and for supporting the magazine.  We look forward to reading your work!







Thank you for sharing your work with CutBank! Visual art should be uploaded as JPEG or TIFF files of at least 300 dpi. CutBank welcomes submissions of all types of visual art for publication in our upcoming print editions. Painters, encausticists, draughtswomen, draughtsmen, sculptors, printmakers, photographers, collagists, ceramicists, illustrators, comics-creators, metalsmiths, and Calderesque mobile constructors are welcome to submit. Conceptual and installation artists can join the party as well, as long as there is a way to exhibit your art in our journal. If your work is 3D, we recommend uploading multiple images to feature rotational perspective. 

Please submit no more than five high-quality files and include an artist biography. Artist statements are appreciated but not required. If your piece is accepted, it may be used in the print edition, online features, or as cover art, for which we pay $250 per piece. We will contact you with updates regarding selection and where we would like to display your work. Thank you for submitting! 

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$5.00

It's that time of year again! The CutBank editors can't wait to read your fiction submissions for this year, but please be sure to read the guidelines posted below before you submit. 

Fiction submissions should be double spaced. DO NOT include any contact info in the document, but do list that in the cover letter.  We are unable to read unsolicited submissions of more than 8,500 words and much of what we publish falls between 3,000 to 5,000 words.

Please only submit unpublished, original work. Include a cover letter with a brief biography and contact info including name, address, phone number and email address. We're always happy to accept simultaneous submissions but ask that you withdraw your work immediately if it is accepted elsewhere. 

We appreciate the opportunity to read your work, however please do not submit again until you hear back from us. Response time is typically 3 to 6 months. Thank you for submitting!

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$5.00

It's that time of year again! The CutBank editors can't wait to read your creative nonfiction submissions for this year, but please be sure to read the guidelines posted below before you submit. 

Nonfiction submissions should be double-spaced. DO NOT include contact info in the document, but be sure to list it in the cover letter. We are unable to read unsolicited submissions of more than 8,500 words.

Please only submit unpublished, original work. Please include a cover letter with a brief biography and contact info including name, address, phone number and email address. We're always happy to accept simultaneous submissions but ask that you withdraw your work immediately if it is accepted elsewhere. 

We appreciate the opportunity to read your work, however please do not submit again until you hear back from us. Response time is typically 3 to 6 months. Thank you for submitting!

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$5.00

It's that time of year again! The CutBank editors can't wait to read your poetry submissions for this year, but please be sure to read the guidelines posted below before you submit. 

Poetry submissions may include up to five poems. All poems should be uploaded as one file, with page breaks between poems. DO NOT include any contact information in the document, but be sure to include it in your cover letter.

Please only submit unpublished, original work. Please include a cover letter with a brief biography and contact info including name, address, phone number and email address. We're always happy to accept simultaneous submissions but ask that you withdraw your work immediately if it is accepted elsewhere. To withdraw your entire submission, use Submittable. To withdraw part of your submission, email us at editor.cutbank[at]gmail[dot]com.

We appreciate the opportunity to read your work; however, please do not submit again until you hear back from us. Response time is typically 3 to 6 months. Thank you for submitting!

$7.00

CutBank Literary Magazine is seeking interesting, compelling fiction and nonfiction prose in 750 words or fewer. Lyric essays, prose poems, short essays, vignettes — send us your best, most dazzling short form prose. 

This year's guest judge is Micah Fields, Iowa Nonfiction Writing Program alum and author of the recently published memoir, We Hold Our Breath: A Journey to Texas Between Storms. (https://www.micahfields.com/)

Contest Submission Guidelines:

  • Submissions will be accepted through the Submittable submission manager. Print or email submissions will not be considered. Please include a brief cover letter, biography and contact information in the form provided. Please do not include identifying information in the body of your submission.
  • Submissions must be previously unpublished.
  • Simultaneous submissions are certainly welcome, provided you withdraw your CutBank submission immediately via Submittable if it is accepted elsewhere.
  • Submissions should be double spaced, no more than 750 words.
  • Submission fee of $7 includes consideration for CutBank's $500 flash prose prize and publication in CutBank 100. Two runners-up will be awarded $50 and publication in CutBank 100. All other submissions will be considered with submissions for the print edition of CutBank Literary Magazine. 
  • We will accept submissions for Big Sky, Small Prose between September 15 and October 15, 2023.



Cutbank Literary Journal