Offbeat and off-kilter, quip publishes stories that move to their own rhythm. We like fresh voices, weird worlds, and themes that stretch the fabric of traditional literary fiction. Most importantly, we’re looking for work that speaks to a generation of readers. Submissions aren’t required to be written by or about millennials, but we are very cognizant of generational experience when evaluating submissions
We accept literary fiction submissions twice per year for our biannual online publication. We’re currently accepting stories via Submittable and are generally open for submissions from April 1 to June 30 and October 1 to December 31. These dates are subject to change or extensions.
Please submit through our electronic submission system. We do not accept mailed or emailed manuscripts. At this time, we do not accept previously published work, translations, reviews, creative nonfiction, or poetry.
Submission Fee
Our submission fee is $3, paid through Submittable. We try as often as possible to run discounted or fee-free submission periods. If you are unable to pay the submission fee, we would still love to see your work. Send your story to the email on our contact us page, with the story in the body and SUBMISSION in the subject line. Unfortunately, if your email does not follow this format, we will not be able to read your submission.
Word Count
500 to 5,000 words, give or take.
Formatting
We prefer .doc or .docx, but we do accept pdfs. Manuscripts should be double-spaced and paginated, with a readable (that is, serif) font and one-inch margins. Include a word count at the top of the page. Don’t include wonky fonts.
Simultaneous Submissions
We absolutely accept simultaneous submissions. Let us know in your cover letter whether you’re submitting simultaneously, and please immediately withdraw your submission upon acceptance elsewhere.
Cover Letter
We believe in the K.I.S.S. format for cover letters: Keep It Simple, Stupid. You’re not stupid, but a 500-word cover letter detailing the moment you decided to become a writer is. Just say hello and give us a brief bio.
Response Time
We try to respond within 120 days. Please wait 90 days before querying.
Things We Like
- Stories that move—emotionally (rip our hearts out, please,) but also through plot. We can’t lie: we like a good plot. We’re not interested in reading stories about a man sitting in room alone, talking about a character who doesn’t appear on the page. Make sure that, whatever happens, something happens.
- Underrepresented voices.
- Funny characters, serious characters, strong characters, weak characters, ugly characters, honest characters, and, best of all, all-of-those-things characters.
Things We Don’t Like
- Racism, sexism, classism, ableism.
- This ties into the above, but we’ll say it anyway: We don’t like stories about characters who hate [insert person] because of [insert uncontrollable circumstance]. No, we don’t care if the character changes on the final page or if the piece is actually a commentary on the terrible world we live in.
- Stories that have been accepted by other journals that you forgot to withdraw.
- YA, children’s lit, genre-heavy fiction—unless it’s mind-blowingly good.
- Gratuitous or over-the-top descriptions of violence or sex.
- Stories formatted like poems because you’re secretly trying to submit a poem.
- Fonts that aren’t Times New Roman.
Rights Information
Online Rights: We retain first electronic rights which revert to the author upon publication, and non-exclusive archival rights. quip also reserves the right to remove previously published content for any reason, including but not limited to situations wherein we believe that doing so will protect the integrity of the publication.
Print Rights: We require non-exclusive print rights for potential annual anthologies and promotional materials. All other rights remain yours.
Payment
After publication, we pay contributors $25.00 (US) via PayPal or Venmo–whichever is the author’s preference.
FAQ
Does quip accept poetry/creative nonfiction/review/interview/translation/visual art submissions?
Not at this time. Please don’t send us anything other than short fiction.
May I submit a chapter or excerpt of a novel?
Only if it can stand alone as a complete short story (and that’s quite a feat, so if you’re really, really, really, really confident…)
May I submit multiple manuscripts?
Sure. We can’t guarantee that we would publish more than one per issue, however.
Do you edit the stories you accept?
We copyedit according to the Chicago Manual of Style and Merriam-Webster and we may make substantive editorial suggestions, working closely with contributors.
Is quip a print journal?
Not yet, but perhaps in the future.
Does quip pay its contributors?
Yes! Starting with Issue 4 in 2021, we can pay $25 per published story through PayPal or Venmo–whichever is your preferred application. This is the only way we can pay at this time, outside of praise, compliments, and social media follows (namely, our own.)
Ready to submit? Follow the link to our submittable page.
