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. At this time, we do not accept previously published work, translations, reviews, creative nonfiction, or poetry. We’re generally open for submissions from April 1 to June 30 and October 1 to December 31. These dates are subject to change or extensions. 

Word Count

500 – 5,000 words, give or take.

Formatting

Manuscripts should be double-spaced and paginated, with a readable (serif) font and 1-inch margins. Include a word count at the top of the page. Don’t include wonky fonts.

Simultaneous Submissions

It takes lit mags months upon months to respond. We aren’t monsters—we absolutely accept simultaneous submissions. Let us know in your cover letter whether you’re submitting simultaneously, and notify us if you get published elsewhere so we can celebrate your success!

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 give us the basics and 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. 
• 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. This archival is incredibly beneficial for authors, as they can link to their stories from their own websites or on social media!

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.