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!
Open December 1 through February 1, the Montana Prize in Fiction seeks to highlight work that showcases an authentic voice, a boldness of form, and a rejection of functional fixedness. The winner will be featured in CutBank 101 and receive $500. All pieces will be considered for print publication.
, author of the novel , will judge the finalists and choose the winner for the 2024-25 contest. () We look forward to reading your work!
CONTEST GUIDELINES:
Submissions are accepted December 1 through February 1. Submissions are accepted through our online submission manager only. The $20 contest entry fee covers the reading of a single submission in a single genre. Please send only a single work of no greater than 35 pages. Writers are permitted to submit in multiple genres, but please submit only once per genre.
Please DO NOT include any biographical information in your manuscript, but do include a short cover letter in the space provided that mentions your address (where your subscription will be sent), phone number, and email address, as well as the title of your work. We apologize that CutBank is not able to send subscriptions to international addresses at this time.
Author names will be removed from the pool of submissions that goes before our contest judges. Current subscribers may submit for the same $20 fee and their subscriptions will be extended by one year. Simultaneous submissions are accepted, but please withdraw your submission via Submittable immediately should it be accepted elsewhere. We are unable to offer refunds.
Entrants will be notified of their submission status no later than June 1, 2025. One winner in each genre, as chosen by our guest judges, will receive a $500 award and publication in CutBank 103, our summer/fall 2025 issue. All rights to selected manuscripts revert to the author upon publication. The author grants their permission to have their work electronically archived as part of CutBank 103 in EBSCO International's subscription-based research database. Current University of Montana students and faculty and former CutBank staff are not eligible for the awards.
Open December 1 through February 1, the Montana Prize in Creative Nonfiction seeks to highlight work that showcases an authentic voice, a boldness of form, and a rejection of functional fixedness. The winner will be featured in CutBank 103 and receive $500. All pieces will be considered for print publication.
, author of , will review the finalists and choose the winner for the 2024-25 contest. We look forward to reading your work!
CONTEST GUIDELINES: Submissions are accepted December 1 through February 1. Submissions are accepted through our online submission manager only. The $20 contest entry fee covers the reading of a single submission in a single genre. Please send only a single work of no greater than 35 pages. Writers are permitted to submit in multiple genres, but please submit only once per genre.
Please DO NOT include any biographical information in your manuscript, but do include a short cover letter in the space provided that mentions your address (where your subscription will be sent), phone number, and email address, as well as the title of your work. We apologize that CutBank is not able to send subscriptions to international addresses at this time.
Author names will be removed from the pool of submissions that goes before our contest judges. Current subscribers may submit for the same $20 fee and their subscriptions will be extended by one year. Simultaneous submissions are accepted, but please withdraw your submission via Submittable immediately should it be accepted elsewhere. We are unable to offer refunds. Entrants will be notified of their submission status no later than June 1, 2025. One winner in each genre, as chosen by our guest judges, will receive a $500 award and publication in CutBank 103, our summer/fall 2025 issue.
All rights to selected manuscripts revert to the author upon publication. The author grants their permission to have their work electronically archived as part of CutBank 103 in EBSCO International's subscription-based research database. Current University of Montana students and faculty and former CutBank staff are not eligible for the awards.
Open December 1 through February 1, the Patricia Goedicke Prize in Poetry seeks to highlight work that showcases an authentic voice, a boldness of form, and a rejection of functional fixedness. The winner will be featured in CutBank 103 and receive $500. All pieces will be considered for print publication.
, author of the poetry collection , will judge the finalists and select the winner of the 2024-25 contest. () We look forward to reading your work!
CONTEST GUIDELINES: Submissions are accepted December 1 through February 1. Submissions are accepted through our online submission manager only. The $20 contest entry fee covers the reading of a single submission in a single genre. Please send only a single work of no greater than five poems or 35 pages. Writers are permitted to submit in multiple genres, but please submit only once per genre.
Please DO NOT include any biographical information in your manuscript, but do include a short cover letter in the space provided that mentions your address (where your subscription will be sent), phone number, and email address, as well as the title of your work. We apologize that CutBank is not able to send subscriptions to international addresses at this time.
Author names will be removed from the pool of submissions that goes before our contest judges. Current subscribers may submit for the same $20 fee and their subscriptions will be extended by one year. Simultaneous submissions are accepted, but please withdraw your submission via Submittable immediately should it be accepted elsewhere. We are unable to offer refunds.
Entrants will be notified of their submission status no later than June 1, 2025. One winner in each genre, as chosen by our guest judges, will receive a $500 award and publication in CutBank 103, our summer/fall 2025 issue. All rights to selected manuscripts revert to the author upon publication. The author grants their permission to have their work electronically archived as part of CutBank 103 in EBSCO International's subscription-based research database. Current University of Montana students and faculty and former CutBank staff are not eligible for the awards.
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!
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!
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!