Union Spring seeks work from the heart that takes aim straight at our particular moment. We want writing that comes from out of nowhere, maybe inside of you, to say something big about this daring, windblown world.
We publish poetry, fiction, nonfiction, and literary criticism that says something direct and meaningful about our current American moment. We promise not to shy away from pointing the finger, if that’s what it takes to make a difference.
Please submit to any genre only once per reading period.
During this calamitous period of collapsing divisions, we've got Benedict Spinoza on our minds - so give us work that speaks to, echoes, or compliments Spinoza's theory of Concedo Nulli, Latin for “I yield to none.” We are always looking through different filters to determine on the large-scale: what is it to be a writer in the 21st Century, and how does resistance appear in your work?
For all poetry submissions:
- We appreciate paginated manuscripts in a standard font, sized 12.
- A table of contents is appreciated but not necessary.
- Start each poem on a new page.
- Limit your submissions to 10 poems.
- Include your name and the piece’s title and genre on the cover page.
- You may include a third-person bio to be used if accepted for publication.
- You may include social media handles.
- Detailed cover letters are optional.
- At last, if you could please tell us how you found us, it’d be a big help.
Work must be previously unpublished in print or online, including on personal blogs. We welcome simultaneous submissions, as long as you notify us immediately when work has been accepted elsewhere.
Union Spring acquires first English-language print and electronic rights. Copyright reverts to the author upon publication. Contributors will receive a copy of the issue in which they are published. We don’t charge for submitting, but please be sure to note our guidelines below.
If you have any questions about these guidelines, please email us at editors@unionspring.org.
For our third issue of Union Spring we are seeking poetry, prose, fiction, criticism, reviews, and essays straight from the head and the heart, that express your authentic experience of life, family, work, relationships, school, being a writer, and writing through these spaces as a way to exist in them.
For fiction, we like stories of real life encounters with people trying to get outside their internal struggles and into a better place, even and especially if they feel misunderstood. A keen eye for place, detail, and sympathy go a long way toward making our hearts skip a beat. Story resolutions not required.
Ask yourself, what’s going on inside you and all around? That’s the good stuff.
For all fiction submissions:
- We appreciate paginated manuscripts in a standard font, sized 12.
- A table of contents is appreciated but not necessary.
- Include your name and the piece’s title and genre on the cover page.
- Limit submissions to 8,000 words.
- You may include a third-person bio to be used if accepted for publication.
- You may include social media handles.
- Detailed cover letters are optional.
- At last, if you could please tell us how you found us, it’d be a big help.
Work must be previously unpublished in print or online, including on personal blogs. We welcome simultaneous submissions, as long as you notify us immediately when work has been accepted elsewhere.
Union Spring acquires first English-language print and electronic rights. Copyright reverts to the author upon publication. Contributors will receive a copy of the issue in which they are published. We don’t charge for submitting, but please be sure to note our guidelines below.
If you have any questions about these guidelines, please email us at editors@unionspring.org.
For our third issue of Union Spring we are seeking poetry, prose, fiction, criticism, reviews, and essays straight from the head and the heart, that express your authentic experience of life, family, work, relationships, school, being a writer, and writing through these spaces as a way to exist in them.
Our nonfiction space is a good area to explore turning the camera’s lens out onto the exterior world – what have you seen and what do you think it means, specifically to you and from your perspective? What are the strange things you notice just moving about the planet, and how do you reconcile them with a life on earth? Be creative, but be sincere. For a good idea of creative nonfiction we like, please read August Edwards's selection from our second issue.
Form is broad and varied in the nonfiction space, but we aren’t either necessarily looking for a puzzle. Tell your story in your way.
We do appreciate that everyone suffers, but that’s kind of the point – what about any particular trial or triviality is useful to the great karmic blob? If we’re asked to focus on our own moment in the fire, how do we relate that to the great big all of us?
For all nonfiction submissions:
- We appreciate paginated manuscripts in a standard font, sized 12.
- A table of contents is appreciated but not necessary.
- Include your name and the piece’s title and genre on the cover page.
- Limit submissions to 8,000 words or about 8-10 pages.
- You may include a third-person bio to be used if accepted for publication.
- You may include social media handles.
- Detailed cover letters are optional.
- At last, if you could please tell us how you found us, it’d be a big help.
Work must be previously unpublished in print or online, including on personal blogs. We welcome simultaneous submissions, as long as you notify us immediately when work has been accepted elsewhere.
Union Spring acquires first English-language print and electronic rights. Copyright reverts to the author upon publication. Contributors will receive a copy of the issue in which they are published. We don’t charge for submitting, but please be sure to note our guidelines below.
If you have any questions about these guidelines, please email us at editors@unionspring.org.
We're open to artwork and photography. But we're kind of specific, we think. This is new for us, so please be patient, but:
We're looking for:
- Stuff that prints easily and translates to the page, so please prioritize B+W Photography, Black & White artwork, Stencil work, Sketches, Drawings, Line Work, Vector Images, etc. Single big images work best, canvas that are overloaded typically don't translate well.
- We're beatniks, so consider work that explores pop art, vintage pop culture, mid-century themes, Americana, and so on, but please be contemporary. We're not in the game of nostalgia.
- Work that explores language, words, politics, classic poster calls, and the like are encouraged, but please do not be overtly political. There are other outlets who can better give you a voice for that.
- Please avoid digitally generated imagery.
- PDF, JPG, whatever you got. Likely we'll work with you after submission and acceptance to find a format that works for us both.
- Limit your submissions to 10 pages, preferably one work per page.
- Include your name and the piece’s title and genre on the cover page.
- You may include a third-person bio to be used if accepted for publication.
- You may include social media handles.
- Detailed cover letters are optional.
- At last, if you could please tell us how you found us, it’d be a big help.
Work must be previously unpublished in print or online, including on personal blogs.