General Guidelines
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
CutBank reads submissions from October 1 through February 15. We welcome original, unpublished work from established and upcoming writers alike. We're looking first and foremost for excellent writing. We love to read, and are always excited to find a piece that startles us, engaging us emotionally and challenging us intellectually.
Please only submit unpublished, original work. We're always happy to accept simultaneous submissions but ask that you withdraw your work immediately if it is accepted elsewhere. Please include a cover letter with a brief biography. We encourage you to read CutBank before submitting. Sample issues are available for $7; one-year subscriptions for $12.
Every piece will be read first by an editor, and then by an enthusiastic, trained pool of readers. Reading your work is the most exciting part of our jobs, and we're happy to say we form the majority of our content for CutBank from unsolicited submissions. We're all writers here, and we appreciate the opportunity to read your work. Response time is typically 2 to 4 months. Keep writing and we'll see you on the flip side!
Fiction
(pdf, doc, docx, rtf)
Size limit: 10,000 words
FICTION should be double-spaced and paginated with your name, address, phone number, and e-mail address on at least the first page. We are unable to read unsolicited submissions of more than 10,000 words.Please only submit unpublished, original work. We're always happy to accept simultaneous submissions but ask that you withdraw your work immediately if it is accepted elsewhere. Please include a cover letter with a brief biography.
We appreciate the opportunity to read your work. Response time is typically 2 to 4 months. Thank you for submitting!
Poetry
(pdf, doc, docx, rtf)
Size limit: 5 poems
POEMS (up to five per submissions) should include your name, address, phone number, and e-mail address on the first page of each poem. All poems should be uploaded as one file, with page breaks between poems.Please only submit unpublished, original work. Include a cover letter with a brief biography. 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 Submishmash. To withdrawn part of your submission, email us at cutbank[at]umontana.edu.
We appreciate the opportunity to read your work. Response time is typically 2 to 4 months. Thank you for submitting!
Nonfiction
(pdf, doc, docx, rtf)
Size limit: 10,000 words
NONFICTION should be double-spaced and paginated with your name, address, phone number, and e-mail address on at least the first page. We are unable to read unsolicited submissions of more than 10,000 words.Please only submit unpublished, original work. We're always happy to accept simultaneous submissions but ask that you withdraw your work immediately if it is accepted elsewhere. Please include a cover letter with a brief biography.
We appreciate the opportunity to read your work. Response time is typically 2 to 4 months. Thank you for submitting!
Montana Prize in Fiction - $17.00
(pdf, doc, docx, rtf)
Size limit: 40 pages
Open Dec. 1 - Feb. 28, 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, chosen by judge Eileen Myles, will be featured in CutBank 75 and receive $500. All pieces will be considered for print publication. We look forward to reading your work!CONTEST GUIDELINES:
The $17 contest entry fee includes a one-year subscription to CutBank and covers the reading of a single submission in a single genre. Please send only a single work of no greater than 40 pages. Please submit only once per genre - writers are permitted to submit in multiple genres.Include a short cover letter that mentions your address, phone number, and email address, as well as the title of your work. Please include the author's name on the manuscript—names will be removed from the pool of submissions that goes before our contest judges. Current subscribers may submit for the same $17 fee—subscriptions will be extended by one year. Simultaneous submissions are accepted, but please withdraw your submission via Submishmash immediately should it be accepted elsewhere. We are unable to offer refunds.
Entrants will be notified of their submission status no later than May 15, 2011. One winner in each genre, as chosen by our guest judges, will receive a $500 award and publication in CutBank 75, our summer 2011 issue. Winners will be required to complete a W-9 form to receive payment. All manuscripts are considered for publication in CutBank. 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 75 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.
Patricia Goedicke Prize in Poetry - $17.00
(pdf, doc, docx, rtf)
Size limit: 5 poems
Open Dec. 1 - Feb. 28, 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, chosen by judge D. A. Powell, will be featured in CutBank 75 and receive $500. All pieces will be considered for print publication. We look forward to reading your work!CONTEST GUIDELINES:
Submissions are accepted December 1 through February 28. Submissions are accepted through our online submission manager only. The $17 contest entry fee includes a one-year subscription to CutBank and covers the reading of a single submission in a single genre. Submit up to five poems. Please submit only once per genre - writers are permitted to submit in multiple genres.Please include a short cover letter that mentions your address, phone number, and email address, as well as the title of your work. Please include the author's name on the manuscript—names will be removed from the pool of submissions that goes before our contest judges. Current subscribers may submit for the same $17 fee—subscriptions will be extended by one year. Simultaneous submissions are accepted, but please withdraw your submission via Submishmash immediately should it be accepted elsewhere. We are unable to offer refunds.
Entrants will be notified of their submission status no later than May 15, 2011. One winner in each genre, as chosen by our guest judges, will receive a $500 award and publication in CutBank 75, our summer 2011 issue. Winners will be required to complete a W-9 form to receive payment. All manuscripts are considered for publication in CutBank. 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 75 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.
Montana Prize in Creative Nonfiction - $17.00
(pdf, doc, docx, rtf)
Size limit: 40 pages
Open Dec. 1 - Feb. 28, 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, chosen by judge Thalia Field, will be featured in CutBank 75 and receive $500. All pieces will be considered for print publication. We look forward to reading your work!CONTEST GUIDELINES:
The $17 contest entry fee includes a one-year subscription to CutBank and covers the reading of a single submission in a single genre. Please send only a single work of no greater than 40 pages. Please submit only once per genre - writers are permitted to submit in multiple genres.Include a short cover letter that mentions your address, phone number, and email address, as well as the title of your work. Please include the author's name on the manuscript—names will be removed from the pool of submissions that goes before our contest judges. Current subscribers may submit for the same $17 fee—subscriptions will be extended by one year. Simultaneous submissions are accepted, but please withdraw your submission via Submishmash immediately should it be accepted elsewhere. We are unable to offer refunds.
Entrants will be notified of their submission status no later than May 15, 2011. One winner in each genre, as chosen by our guest judges, will receive a $500 award and publication in CutBank 75, our summer 2011 issue. Winners will be required to complete a W-9 form to receive payment. All manuscripts are considered for publication in CutBank. 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 75 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.
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