Guidelines
*Submissions are CLOSED. Our next reading period will be sometime in May 2024. (We took a brief hiatus during Winter 2023.)
Susurrus accepts previously unpublished poetry, flash, fiction, creative nonfiction, and photography from artists across the American South. We publish three times a year, during April, August, and December.
We value lush imagery, vivid language, and imaginative, skillful writing. Send us your gorgeous and compelling, your thoughtful and tender, your work that sings and stings. We are fans of all genres and simply want to represent the best in Southern voices. We particularly encourage submissions from underrepresented communities, including BIPOC and 2SLGBTQIA+ writers. Please take a look through our past issues for examples of what we look for.
We welcome photographs that feature all aspects of this diverse region, from the urban to the rural.
Simultaneous submissions are accepted and encouraged, but please let us know if your work is placed elsewhere.
Susurrus acquires first electronic rights and non-exclusive archival rights. Rights revert to the author upon publication. If your work is republished in the future, please credit Susurrus as the original publisher.
At this time, we unfortunately cannot offer payment for pieces chosen for publication.
Artists featured must be 18 years or older.
Poetry
Please submit no more than three poems per submission period. Individual poem length limit of three pages. Attach all poems into one document that includes the title and your name at the start of each poem.
Fiction & Creative Nonfiction
Fiction and Creative Nonfiction should be no more than 6,000 words. Up to three fiction or nonfiction pieces per submission period. Place your title and name at the start of each story. Double-space your work and number your pages.
Flash (Fiction & Nonfiction)
Flash should be no more than 1,000 words. Only up to three flash pieces per submission period. Attach all submissions into one document that includes the title and your name at the start of each story. Double-space your work and number your pages.
Photography
Please submit only photographs, from the urban to the rural, of the American South. Send at least 30 images, with no more than 50 images per submission period. These photos will accompany writing selected for publication in Susurrus and will also be featured in our Table of Contents page, a separate featured artist gallery, and on our social media. Please look through our past issues and our social platforms to get a better idea of how your work will be presented.
A Note on Challenging Topics
Pushing boundaries and examining tough questions are hallmarks of innovative and transcendent literature. While we value and welcome topics that touch on difficult subject matter, these topics must be written and addressed in a way with care and tenderness, not shock and exploitation.
Also, Dixie is dead. Lost Cause nonsense doesn’t live here. We will not tolerate nor accept submissions that promote bigotry or hatred in any form.
How to Submit
*Send all written submissions to staff [at]susurrusthemagazine[dot]com*
In the subject line of your email, please include your first and last name, as well as the genre of your work(s) (i.e: poetry, flash fiction, flash nonfiction, fiction, creative nonfiction). In the body, address your email to the appropriate editor and include a short third-person bio that touches on your pronouns, where you are from, your publication history, and any social accounts readers can follow you on.
*For photography submissions, share your collection via Google Drive to staff [at]susurrusthemagazine[dot]com. Please include in the body of your email a short, third-person bio that touches on your pronouns, where you are from, your publication/showing history, and any social accounts readers can follow you on.
Questions? Email staff [at]susurrusthemagazine[dot]com