Cutleaf welcomes writers at all levels of experience to submit original literary nonfiction in English for consideration for Volume 6. We are looking for well-written, imaginative work that invites a reader to join the writer in thinking through what it means to be alive in the modern world. 

Cutleaf is a journal run by writers. We try to treat writers as we want to be treated. We charge no fee to submit. We pay from $100 to $300 per published nonfiction piece. We reply to submissions in a timely manner, usually not later than three months and generally much sooner.

For the 2026 journal year, the first reading period will be April 1 to April 15, 2025. 

The second reading period is planned for September 2 to September 16, 2025.  

We ask those who submit to follow the guidelines

• Only one nonfiction submission per writer per calendar year. 
• Name and email on the first page of the submission. Text double-spaced, with page numbers, and in a standard 12 point font with a 1 inch margin. 
• A brief bio written in the third person included with submission. 
• We are not interested in and will not publish fantasy, erotica, romance (paranormal or otherwise), polemics, position statements, editorials, purely academic papers, or screeds. We are not interested in pitches for work yet to be completed. We do not publish previously published work. 
• We do not limit our point of view to the simply factual, but we expect nonfiction writers to hew closely to the truth. We do not fact-check the pieces published in the journal, but we do engage in a back-and-forth editing process for many of the pieces we accept for publication. Authors are responsible for securing permissions for quotes of copyrighted material, if needed.  
• We consider simultaneous submissions with the understanding that you will quickly inform us if a piece is accepted by another publication.

Cutleaf is accepting submissions of up to seven poems at a time per author. Our format is designed to showcase a group of 3 to 5 poems from a single author in each issue. One of our considerations is how those poems work together as a suite. Single-poem submissions are discouraged. 

We pay $50 for each poem that we publish. 

Cutleaf encourages submissions from writers who have been historically underrepresented in literary publishing.

Poems may be in any style and format, although we have some limitations in our ability to accurately reproduce exceptionally long lines or spatially-intricate structures. Submissions should use a standard 12-point font, such as Times New Roman. 

All poems within the submission must be previously unpublished.

All submissions should be in English. Translations are welcome, but translation rights must be secured prior to submission.

Please upload your entire submission as one MS Word file. Be sure to include your name and contact information on the first page.

Due to the high volume of submissions and the limited nature of our small staff, we will close after receiving 200 submissions. Our goal is to respond to submissions as quickly as possible while also giving each submission its due consideration. Please do not submit more than once per reading period. 

Cutleaf will consider literary fiction of many styles. 

That said, we are very unlikely to publish genre fiction, young adult fiction, teen paranormal romance, erotica, science fiction, comics, or graphics-based short stories.    

We are generally interested in work less than 4000 words.

Short excerpts from longer works are more likely to be accepted when they stand alone as a discrete work. We will read one long piece or up to three short pieces at a time per author. We are also interested in flash fiction (limit 1000 words).

Prose submissions should be double-spaced and use a standard 12-point font, such as Times New Roman. Please upload your entire submission as one MS Word file. Be sure to include your name and contact information on the first page.

Cutleaf will pay from $100 to $300 for published prose. 

The EastOver Prize for a debut story collection will be awarded to a writer who has not published another full-length book. 

Award: One winner will be declared at the conclusion of the contest. The winner of this contest will be awarded $2000 and be published by EastOver Press. 

The author of the selected manuscript will be awarded upon successful completion of a contract for publication. 

The contest ends May 1, 2025. 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 Sept 15, 2025.

Judging: Manuel Muñoz 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.

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