EastOver Press is a small literary press run by writers. The press publishes physical books as well as the online literary journal Cutleaf.
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Cutleaf online journal publishes original poetry, short fiction, and literary nonfiction in English from established and emerging writers.
Submission windows for Cutleaf for work to appear in 2026-7 are listed below. More details will be in the specific forms for each genre. Please make sure to subscribe to our newsletter at cutleafjournal.com/subscribe for the most up-to-date and complete information.
Cutleaf Short Fiction – CLOSED – April 1 to April 15, 2026 (with cap of 500 submissions--Short fiction closed April 8, 2026) (Our cap for Fiction has been reached. Thank you for submitting!)
Cutleaf Literary Nonfiction – April 1 to April 15, 2026 (with cap of 500 submissions)
Cutleaf Poetry – CLOSED – April 1 to April 15, 2026 (with cap of 300 submissions) (Our cap for Poetry has been reached. Thank you for submitting!)
There is no fee to submit. Cutleaf will pay from $100 to $300 for published prose and from $50 to $100 per published poem. We will consider simultaneous submissions with the understanding that you will quickly inform us if a piece is accepted by another publication.
Cutleaf acquires non-exclusive first serial rights throughout North America to publish work in all editions of Cutleaf, wherever published and distributed, including hard copy and electronic formats. We reserve the right to make any work that we’ve published available in the Cutleaf archives on our website. Should a piece first published in Cutleaf be reprinted in another work, we request the later publication include an acknowledgment of Cutleaf.
Work published online in Cutleaf may be chosen for inclusion in a print anthology.
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EastOver Press focuses on collections of short stories, essays, or poetry, though we are open to hybrid forms and genre-expanding work. We invite work in English that responds to our common experience and reflects our differences. We are interested in work by all writers, especially those historically underrepresented in literary publishing. To see the books published and forthcoming from the Press, please visit eastoverpress.com.
EastOver Press is not currently open for unsolicited fiction, nonfiction or poetry manuscripts.
Manuscripts may be under consideration by other publishers, but if a manuscript is accepted for publication elsewhere, please notify us immediately. Manuscripts under contract elsewhere are ineligible for consideration.
The EastOver Prize for a debut story collection will be awarded to a writer who has not published another full-length book in any genre.
Award: The winner of this contest will be awarded $2000 and be published by EastOver Press upon successful completion of a contract for publication.
The contest ends December 31, 2026. The editors reserve the right to close the contest early if the number of submissions exceeds our ability to respond to each submission in a timely manner.
Announcement of winner: The winner will be announced no later than April 15, 2027. However, EastOver Press may change the announcement date to another date in 2027 should unforeseen circumstances arise.
Judging: Amy Hempel will serve as judge for the competition. Friends, family members, former students, and anyone well-acquainted with the judge is not eligible for consideration.
Eligibility: The competition is open to manuscripts written in the English language from writers 18 and older who live in the United States or one of its territories.
Ineligibility: Previously published story collections, including self-published collections available in print or as an ebook, are not eligible for this contest.
AI: We will not consider work written with AI.
Story Collection Guidelines
1. Manuscripts should contain a collection of short stories, which can include flash fiction, and may include one novella. Total page count should be double-spaced with numbered pages, set in a standard 12-point font (such as Times New Roman, Garamond, etc.). Manuscripts may be no fewer than 125 and no more than 250 pages.
2. Manuscripts may also be under consideration by other publishers, but if a manuscript is accepted for publication elsewhere, please notify us immediately via Submittable. Manuscripts under contract elsewhere are not eligible.
3. Multiple submissions are not allowed.
4. Include a table of contents with page numbers.
5. Please include an acknowledgments page for previous publications of stories.