Submitting Work

We are now accepting submissions for the "Me" issue, to be published in Spring 2027.

Elm Leaves Journal welcomes submissions on the theme: "Me."  Identity, anonymity, what's between—walls, borders, membranes, skulls; here, there, everywhere, past and present and future, 1 if by land, 2 if by sea, 3...--we could go on, but we'd rather you do that; we're open to suggestion in interpretations of "Me."

The deadline for submissions for the Spring 2027 issue is NOVEMBER 15, 2026.

To visit our submissions site, click here: Elm Leaves Journal Submission Manager.

General Submission Guidelines

Short/flash fiction, short/flash creative nonfiction, and poetry are welcome. Contact the editors to propose submitting works in other genres. 

Submissions that comply with the theme are most welcome but all submissions will be evaluated. 

Please send (individual genre) submissions as a single WORD doc or PDF. You will also be asked to include a short 3rd-person bio and mailing address. Limit one submission (per genre) per reading cycle.

• Poetry: submit up to 3 poems (up to 5 total pages).

• Short fiction and/or short creative nonfiction: submit a single work, up to 3,000 words.

• Flash fiction or flash creative nonfiction: submit up to 3 works, up to 3,000 total words.

Simultaneous submissions are welcome. Please let us know if your work is accepted elsewhere. We do not publish reprints. 

Submissions produced by AI will not be considered.

Thank you for sending us your work.

The Editors

editor@eljelmleavesjournal.org