Short fiction only.
We’re after short fiction with something to say. We publish three times a year and it could take up to 4 months for us to read your review. Everyone reading your story is a volunteer, and it’s important that we all read submissions at the same time. Patience is the biggest virtue for a writer.
We’re willing to look at any short fiction. It’s important to remember that we are not confining submissions to a theme or specific type or style of prose. As long as it is between 1 and 3,000 words, it’s suitable for submission. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Don’t send your stories through AI or use AI to write or edit your work for you. Resist the coddling and standardising of the human brain as much as you can. We’d rather read work with it’s own unique scars and blemishes than work that’s been automated.
A few musts:
Must be a Word document
Use single quotation marks
Use UK general format
Include a bio – show your previous wares if you’d like, your past history, or any bizarre thought you’ve had that you don’t mind saying aloud.
Please note, we’re currently receiving between 400-500 submissions per period, and generally around 5 of those submissions will make it in.
Submissions can come from anywhere in the world. We’re OPEN.
P.S. Our previous email, info@openpen.co.uk, is no longer in use. If you’ve submitted a story to this address, please resend to our Gmail.
FAQ
I’m not sure if my piece is suitable. Are there guidelines for submission?
Your fiction should be between 1 and 3000 words.
Can I submit to your magazine even though I’m not from the UK?
Yes. We’re ‘Open’ Pen after all.
Do you accept poetry?
No. We only publish short fiction. That’s quite enough to be getting on with frankly.
How many submissions get published in each issue?
The number of submissions we print each issue will depend heavily on the word count of the winning piece and runner up submissions. However we will aim to get the winning piece and at least one or two runner ups in each issue.
Can I submit more than one piece?
We’re happy to accept multiple submissions from individuals. But don’t go mad, there are only so many eyes here.
How will I know you’ve received my submission?
We will advise by email when we are in receipt of your submission.
Can I submit the same piece elsewhere?
Sure, but please let us know if that story is accepted elsewhere.
Do I retain the copyright?
If you wrote it, yes.
Do you pay for short stories?
No. For several reasons, not least of all that we don’t have any money. Open Pen is a not for profit magazine, run at our own cost. Everyone working on the print magazine volunteers their time. The magazine itself is of course free, and its aim is to provide a platform to up-and-coming or (ahem) ’emerging” writers.
I found a copy of Open Pen randomly, where can I get a copy of the next issue?
Check out our list of stockists.
How can I advertise in Open Pen?
Please get in touch by email at openpenmag@gmail.com and we will be happy to provide pricing details.
How do I contact one of your writers?
If you have a message for one of our writers we will be more than happy to pass it on for you. For full contact details we will have to request the permission of the writer so please send your request to us by email. Please see our authors section for some information about the winning authors.
Can I subscribe to Open Pen?
Yes. We will be reopening our subscription options again shortly. (Open Pen is free from bookshops, which is where we’d really love you to pick up a copy. We understand that getting to one of our stockists is not always possible, we don’t have stockists everywhere, so if this is the case, check out our subscription packages, which cover costs – our magazine, should it really need to be said, is not-for-profit.)