Fiction
Short stories and novellas in the literary realist tradition, including work with the faintest paranormal or speculative seasoning. We are partial to interior, character-driven prose with patient sentence-making.
Currently Closed
Submissions & Contests
Silver Current Press is not accepting manuscripts, contest entries, or queries at this time. Future reading periods will be announced here.
Important Notice
Submissions & the Silver Current Prize Are Closed
Silver Current Press is NOT accepting manuscripts, contest entries, or queries at this time. Please do not send work for review. The pages below describe our standards and the next reading period will be announced here — please check back.
Closed for Submissions · Closed for Contest
What We Read
Three Doors — One Standard
We consider work in three genres. In each, we look for careful sentences, purposeful lines, and pages that invite continued reading.
Poetry
Free verse and received forms alike. We read for image, music, and the particular pressure of a finished line — work that rewards a second and third reading.
Nonfiction
Personal essay, literary criticism, and craft writing. We are especially interested in essays that treat reading itself as a moral and intellectual practice.
Annual Contest
The Silver Current Prize
Our annual prize for an unpublished short story, poem, or essay. Open to writers of any nationality, writing in English, at any stage of career — when the contest is open.
- Prize
- $500plus publication
- Entry Fee
- $15per submission
- Reading Period
- Sept — Decopen annually
- Judge
- James Mulhernfounding editor
The winning piece appears in the Silver Current Press annual anthology. Two finalists receive honorable mention and publication consideration. All entries are read blindly by the founding editor.
The Practical
Submission Guidelines
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Length
Fiction and nonfiction: up to 7,500 words. Poetry: up to five poems per submission. Send your strongest, not your longest.
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Format
Double-spaced for prose. Single-spaced for poetry. 12-point serif. Number your pages. Your name should appear on the first page only; we read blind beyond it.
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Originality
Unpublished work only. Simultaneous submissions are welcome — please notify us promptly if the work is accepted elsewhere.
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Response Time
Eight to twelve weeks. If you have not heard from us after twelve weeks, you are welcome to query at the address below.
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Rights
First serial rights for the print edition; first electronic rights for any digital edition. All other rights revert to the author on publication.
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Where to Send
Use the form below, or write directly to [email protected] with your manuscript attached as a single Word or PDF document.
By the Form
Send Us Your Work
Use the form below to begin. We will follow up by email with a link for the manuscript file if your initial details are accepted into our reading queue.
An Honor Code
We read every submission within the editorial process and will not share your work outside it. We will respond, even if briefly. If your work is not right for us, we will say so kindly — and we hope to read you again.