Hi there!
Thank you for your interest in Hippocampus Magazine! Please refer to the full guidelines at our website BEFORE submitting work to our online journal.
[Book query guidelines listed within that category, below.]
Thank you and best of luck!
Abbreviated Guidelines:
These guidelines were updated on August 15, 2016. Please read them carefully before submitting.
Hippocampus Magazine enthusiastically accepts unsolicited submissions in the following categories:
- memoir excerpt – a self-contained portion (chapter or selection) of a larger, book-length work - 4,000 words max
- personal essay – a short narrative reflecting on a particular life experience or observation - 4,000 words max
- flash creative nonfiction - 800 words max
- (For our small press submission guidelines, visit our Books page.)
- Our articles section is not open to submissions (craft, review, writing life, interviews).
Please read our current and past issues to familiarize yourself with our publication. We can tell you this: we like quirky, we like edgy, we like witty, we like smart, we like diverse voices and pieces that take us to new places, we like to be moved, and, most of all, we like pieces that stick with us.
Guidelines: Word Count, Formatting and Submission Information
Please note: submissions not following our guidelines, below, will be automatically declined. Our blind reading process is important to us, and names on manuscripts/in filenames is the most overlooked rule. Please take care in your submissions to us and all literary journals.
Submissions should be:
- no more than 4,000 words in the memoir and essay category
- no more than 800 words for flash creative nonfiction pieces
- in Times New Roman or Arial (or similar), 12 pt. font. (No courier, please.)
- double-spaced
- page-numbered
- free of your name or other identifying/contact information in the manuscript, header, and filename.
- (Clarification: From time to time we get questions when a submitter's name is important to the story. We completely understand! This is bound to happen since, after all, we publish creative nonfiction where you, the writer, are likely central to the story. Please use your judgement regarding your name appearing within the story, but PLEASE DO NOT include your name or contact information in the file name, header/footer or title page.)
Other Information:
- Do not send us multiple submissions.
- Hippocampus will only accept one submission at a time from an author; we will automatically decline any additional submissions. The exception is during contest or theme issue calls.
- If you are interested in submitting more than one piece to us, please wait until you receive a decision on one before submitting another.
- We accept simultaneous submissions.
- Use Submittable’s “withdraw” feature to make us aware if another magazine accepts your publication.
- Effective August 15, 2016, Hippocampus Magazine will only accept unpublished work.
- If
we accept your story, you will receive notification via Submittable's
email system, so be sure you are set up to receive those notifications
and periodically check your spam or promotion (or other filtered
stories.)
- If we accept your story, you must respond to us with your intentions within 30 days; we'll send one reminder email.
Hello, creative nonfiction friend! Below, you will find our abbreviated essay submission guidelines; Please read full guidelines on our website first if you have not done so already. Otherwise, please fill out the brief form, including checking off if your piece is an essay, memoir excerpt, or flash.
Essay submissions should be:
- No more than 4,000 words
- Double-spaced, with pages numbered
- Free
of your name in header/footer, title page and file name. (We do realize
that in creative nonfiction, your name might be necessary within the
content. Please use your judgement.)
Abbreviated Guidelines:
These guidelines were updated on Jan. 7, 2017. Please read them carefully before submitting.
Hippocampus Magazine enthusiastically accepts unsolicited submissions in the following categories:
- memoir excerpt – a self-contained portion (chapter or selection) of a larger, book-length work - 4,000 words max
- personal essay – a short narrative reflecting on a particular life experience or observation - 4,000 words max
- flash creative nonfiction - 800 words max
- (For our small press submission guidelines, visit our Books page.)
Please read our current and past issues to familiarize yourself with our publication. We can tell you this: we like quirky, we like edgy, we like witty, we like smart, we like diverse voices and pieces that take us to new places, we like to be moved, and, most of all, we like pieces that stick with us.
Guidelines: Word Count, Formatting and Submission Information
Please note: submissions not following our guidelines, below, will be automatically declined. Our blind reading process is important to us, and names on manuscripts/in filenames is the most overlooked rule. Please take care in your submissions to us and all literary journals.
Submissions should be:
- no more than 4,000 words in the memoir and essay category
- no more than 800 words for flash creative nonfiction pieces
- in Times New Roman or Arial (or similar), 12 pt. font. (No courier, please.)
- double-spaced
- page-numbered
- free of your name or other identifying/contact information in the manuscript, header, and filename.
- (Clarification: From time to time we get questions when a submitter's name is important to the story. We completely understand! This is bound to happen since, after all, we publish creative nonfiction where you, the writer, are likely central to the story. Please use your judgement regarding your name appearing within the story, but PLEASE DO NOT include your name or contact information in the file name, header/footer or title page.)
Other Information:
- Do not send us multiple submissions.
- Hippocampus will only accept one submission to our magazine at a time from an author; we will automatically decline any additional submissions. The exception is during contest or theme issue calls.
- If you are interested in submitting more than one piece to us, please wait until you receive a decision on one before submitting another.
- We accept simultaneous submissions.
- Use Submittable’s “withdraw” feature to make us aware if another magazine accepts your publication.
- Effective August 15, 2016, Hippocampus Magazine will only accept unpublished work.
- If
we accept your story, you will receive notification via Submittable's
email system, so be sure you are set up to receive those notifications
and periodically check your spam or promotion (or other filtered
stories.)
- If we accept your story, you must respond to us with your intentions within 30 days; we'll send one reminder email.
If your story is selected for publication, you will receive a $45 honorarium; this will be issued via PayPal or Venmo within 60 days of the date of publication.
Hippocampus Magazine is giving away more than $1,200 in cash and prizes this November. DEADLINE: August 31, 2017.
--Memoir excerpts and personal essays accepted -- there is no theme.
--Word count 4,000 words max.
--Submission MUST be free of your name in headers/footers, title page and file name.
--Enter between April 1 and August 31, 2017
--$12 entry fee (supports prizes; $10.63 goes to Hippocampus after Submittable fee)
DETAILS
--The Hippocampus reader panel will select five to six finalists from all submitted essays and memoir excerpts.
--A panel of guest judges (to be announced) will select the winners from these five finalists.
--Winning stories will be published in the November 2017 issue of Hippocampus Magazine.
--During the month of November, the Most Memorable contest will double as The Remember in November Reader’s Choice prize—the readers of Hippocampus will also have a chance to make their case for which of the five finalists should win!
PRIZES:
-
$1,000 grand prize (1) + free registration to HippoCamp 2017
- $150 runner-up (1)
- $25 honorable mention (3-4)
- $25 reader’s choice winner (doubles as the most memorable designation of the month)
CONTEST RULES AND INFORMATION:
Full contest details are available on our website.
We're looking for work in the following categories (and, in parentheses, is what to submit for consideration):
- Memoirs (query + first three chapters)
- Essay collections (query + three essays)
- Literary journalism - (query + first three chapters OR proposal, as we'll entertain strongly developed ideas that may not yet be completed projects)
- Creativity books (proposal)
- Craft books (proposal)
We'll respond to all queries/proposals within six months. Thank you for your interest.
Please note the selection process is competitive; during our early years, we'll have the capacity to publish two to three titles per year.
Submitters: Please include your original title (in case you changed that) and date of your first submission in your cover letter; this will help us keep track of its progress.
Note: Submitting a revision does not guarantee acceptance; it is vetted just the same.
