Submission Guidelines

Philadelphia Stories is a free print magazine that strives to publish the finest fiction, poetry, nonfiction, and art written by authors living in, or originally from, Pennsylvania, Delaware, or New Jersey. Philadelphia Stories seeks submissions from diverse perspectives: all ethnicities, races, abilities, and gender identification. We wish to demonstrate the vitality and vibrancy of the Philadelphia-area residents in every issue.

Philadelphia Stories is an all-volunteer non-profit supported by the donations of its members. You can help support other local writers and artists by making a donation here.

Thanks to the support of the Conrad Weiser Contribution Fund, we are a paying market paying an honorarium of $50 to our authors published in the print magazine.

Below are the guidelines for submitting material. There is no reading fee.

Deadlines

SUBMISSION PERIODS:

Art: Rolling submissions

CNF/Fiction/Poetry —

Summer/Fall 2024: Closed

Winter/Spring 2025: October 1, 2024 – January 15, 2025

Summer/Fall 2025: June 1 – September 1, 2025

Contests:

2025 Fiction Contest: September 1 – December 1, 2024

PLEASE NOTE: You will be notified of the status of your submission within six months AFTER the issue deadline. If you have not heard from us within six months after your submission was sent, please feel free to contact us and we’ll check the status for you. Please note, our emails do sometimes get caught in spam filters. Thanks for submitting to Philadelphia Stories!

General Guidelines

  1. Only work submitted through our Online Submission Form will be considered.
  2. We do not accept previously published work. This includes work published online, on personal blogs or websites.
  3. Any work received after the closing date for a particular issue will be considered for the next issue.
  4. Simultaneous submissions are accepted. Please let us know immediately if your work is accepted elsewhere.
  5. Please attach a SHORT bio (about 75 words, written in third person) including your connection to Pennsylvania, Delaware, or New Jersey.
  6. We will send notice by email regarding the acceptance or rejection of your material within six months after the issue’s deadline.

Fiction

  1. Please send all submissions to the Fiction Editor through our Online Submission Form.
  2. We accept short stories or novel excerpts in varying lengths up to 5,000 words. (Hint: Shorter works are more likely to find a spot in print.)
  3. We look for fiction written by Pennsylvania, Delaware, and New Jersey writers (either currently residing in, originally from, or lived here at some point) that features sharp writing, carefully crafted plots, and, above all, compelling characters. Novel excerpts should be able to stand alone as a complete work.

Poetry

  1. Up to three poems may be submitted in one submission period. Due to themed issues and contests, there may be a delay between winter, spring, and summer. Thank you for your patience.
  2. Each submitted poem is not to exceed 36 lines. Poems may be single spaced (unlike prose submissions which should be double spaced). Poems that exceed 36 lines/one page may be excluded from consideration.
  3. Submit each poem in its own single document/attachment. This will allow the submitter to WITHDRAW work that is accepted elsewhere as we DO expect some poets to make simultaneous submissions to multiple journals. Submitted documents that include multiple poems may be excluded from consideration.
  4. If your simultaneously submitted poem is accepted elsewhere, please WITHDRAW your poem as soon as possible. And congratulations!
  5. Your cover letter should include a SHORT bio (about 50-75 words, written in third person) including your connection to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, or Delaware. Feel free to copy and paste the same text in each of your three submissions. Upon acceptance, we will also ask for a photo and an updated bio.
  6. Please title your submission with the TITLE of the attached poem.
  7. Please send all poetry to the Poetry Editor through our Online Submission Form.

Nonfiction

  1. Creative nonfiction essays should not exceed 2,500 words. We’re looking for pieces that focus on positive Philadelphia experiences, but will consider any well-written essay on any subject. In particular, essays should convey real emotional honesty and or humor.
  2. Please send all essays to the Nonfiction Editor through our Online Submission Form.

Artwork

  1. All artwork must be submitted electronically.
  2. Please submit no more than five previously unpublished images for consideration.
  3. Preliminary images do not need to be print resolution and may be attached as a JPEG or GIF. Final, approved artwork should be of professional quality, at least 300 dpi saved as a TIFF, PDF, JPEG or EPS.
  4. Do not send us links to your website. We’ll leave it to you to find your best work.
  5. Please upload all artwork to through our Online Submission Form or email to art@philadelphiastories.org.

PS Junior (writers/artists aged 18 and younger)

Philadelphia Stories, Junior, a division of Philadelphia Stories, is a literary magazine published each Spring for writers age 18 and under who currently live in Pennsylvania, Delaware, or Southern New Jersey. Please follow these guidelines for submitting material.  There is no reading fee. Deadline: February 1.

General Guidelines
1.   Philadelphia Stories, Jr.  accepts work submitted to our online submission form.
2.  On the first page, please include your name, school, grade, and information on how we can contact you.
3.  Any work received after the closing date for a particular issue will be considered for the next issue.
4. Tell us about yourself and where you live. For example: George Smith is in sixth grade and likes to write poetry. He also likes  basketball and lives with his cat and little sister in Cherry Hill, NJ.  He has read all seven Harry Potters twice.

If you would prefer to email your submission, email to PSJR912@gmail.com.