Submission Guidelines

We are open for submissions through October 31st. We are overjoyed you want to share your work with us. Below you will find our overall submission guidelines as well as specific guidelines for each genre. Please read carefully.

  • Please send only one submission per genre during our reading period to lastsyllablelit@gmail.com with the subject line format of “Last Syllable_Genre Submission_LastName. For example, “Last Syllable_Fiction Submission_Smith.”

  • If you choose to submit work in multiple genres, please send them in separate emails.

  • We prefer previously unpublished work, but we are open to reprints, especially if your piece hasn't been published in its full form before.

  • We’re looking for exciting new stories; if you are submitting an excerpt of a longer work it should be an entire story that can stand on its own. Please inform us if the piece you are submitting is an excerpt.

  • We accept simultaneous submissions, but if your work gets accepted elsewhere, please email us right away.

  • Please do not include your name on the document you are submitting.

  • If you are submitting prose, please include the total word count in the body of your email.

  • Please include a maximum 50-word bio written in the third person within the body of your email, not on your submission document.

  • Please only submit using a Word Document. Include the genre you are submitting and Last Syllable in the title of your document. For example, Fiction.LastSyllable.

  • We value original work; do not plagiarize or submit AI-generated writing.

  • If you have been affiliated with PLNU within the last 5 years, you are not eligible for publication in our journal. We welcome you to return and submit to us once 5 years have passed. If you have questions about your eligibility, email us at lastsyllablelit@gmail.com

  • We pay contributors $20 upon publication. We ask for first publication rights and acknowledgement as the first place of publication upon future reprints. All rights remain with the author upon publication. The work will be archived on the Last Syllable website indefinitely.

We are currently closed for submissions at this time, but we invite you to read our past issues to get an idea of what we've published. Follow our socials or subscribe to stay informed on submission periods.

  • Please send only one submission per genre during our reading period.

  • We prefer previously unpublished work, but we are open to reprints, especially if your piece hasn't been published in its full form before.

  • We accept simultaneous submissions, but if your work gets accepted elsewhere, please email us right away.

  • We’re looking for exciting new stories; if you are submitting an excerpt of a longer work it should be an entire story that can stand on its own. Please inform us if the piece you are submitting is an excerpt.

  • Please do not have your name on the document you are submitting.

  • If you are submitting prose, please include the word-count in the body of your email.

  • Please include a maximum 50-word bio written in the third person within the body of your email, not on your submission document.

  • Please only submit using a Word Document. Include the genre you are submitting and LastSyllable in the title of your document. For example, Fiction.LastSyllable.

  • We value original work; do not plagiarize or submit AI-generated writing.

  • If you have been affiliated with PLNU within the last 5 years, you are not eligible for publication in our journal. We welcome you to return and submit to us once 5 years have passed. If you have questions about your eligibility, email us at lastsyllablelit@gmail.com

  • We pay contributors $20 upon publication. We ask for first publication rights and acknowledgement as the first place of publication upon future reprints. All rights remain with the author upon publication. The work will be archived on the Last Syllable website indefinitely.

General Guidelines

Fiction

  • Please use 1.5 spacing, font size 12 serif, and include page numbers.

  • Our sweet spot word count: 5,000-25,000.

  • We are open to all kinds of fiction!

Creative Nonfiction

  • Please use 1.5 spacing, font size 12 serif, and include page numbers.

  • Our sweet spot word count: 5,000-25,000.

  • We want your creative work. Please do not submit scientific reports or purely analytical pieces.

Poetry

  • Please use 1.5 spacing, font size 12 serif, and include page numbers.

  • We’re looking for linked poems and long poems. Send us your crown of sonnets, your slam winner, your numbered sections, your double sestina, etc.

  • Each poem or linked poems should be a minimum of 3 pages long.

  • Please submit a maximum of three long or linked poems at a time. One packet of poems is equivalent to one submission.

  • Start each poem on a new page with the title bolded. Linked poems may be separated by pages, but please write “Cont.” in the top left header. Please do not start a new page for each numbered section of a poem, should it contain them.

  • If you are concerned with the preservation of a poem because of a special shape or format, please provide a note in your submission email.

Open Genre

  • Does your work of text refuse to be defined by genre? Consider submitting it here!

  • We accept song lyrics, multimodal stories, comics, and other experimental forms. Have fun with it.

  • Open genre submissions should be sent in whatever format best showcases the work.

Email your submissions to lastsyllablelit@gmail.com

If you have been affiliated with PLNU within the last 5 years, you are not eligible for publication in our journal. We welcome you to return and submit to us once 5 years have passed. If you have questions about your eligibility, email us at lastsyllablelit@gmail.com

To stay up to date with our submission periods, our social media links are below where we post regular announcements: