Bard College’s literary journal Conjunctions publishes innovative fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction by emerging voices and contemporary masters.

For some four decades, Conjunctions has challenged accepted forms and styles, with equal emphasis on groundbreaking experimentation and rigorous quality. 

We are committed to launching and supporting the careers of unknown authors—William T. Vollmann, David Foster Wallace, Karen Russell, Isabella Hammad, and Raven Leilani all had some of their very first publications in Conjunctions—while providing a space for better-known voices—like John Ashbery, Sandra Cisneros, William H. Gass, Sigrid Nunez, or Joyce Carol Oates—to work outside audience expectations.

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The Ultimate List of Places to Submit Your Nonfiction

Story-focused publications with works chosen for Pushcart Prize anthologies. Less than 5% of nominated fiction typically makes the anthology.

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BASS represents the most mainstream recognition for short fiction in America. These journals serve as the initial screening layer for potential inclusion in this widely-read collection.

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Conjunctions

General call


SUBMISSION CALL
All things end, yet some rise to start anew. Whether through the grace of stubbornness, the tilt of the quixotic, the catch of a buoyant second breath, or the deeply ingrained habit of never giving up, some stand in the face of finales and write another act of the play. I can’t go on, I’ll go on is as familiar to readers of Beckett as it is a succinct way of describing the human will to carry on against the odds. A failure to fail, a hardwired impulse to regenerate is also a given in the natural world—miraculous, without fanfare. Floras perish and rise again, suns die and become supernovas, forest fires destroy but are followed by revitalization of the landscape. All this being said, starting anew emphatically does not guarantee a rosy outcome. Often, our paths come to inevitable ends from which there is no starting from scratch, no rising from ashes no matter how hard we fight the good fight.&nbsp;
Conjunctions:85, Anew will delve into the failure to relaunch as well as the reinvention of something thought forever lost. Just as the act of trying, trying again is the surest path to surviving—or failing with honor—Anew will center upon a theme that seems more pertinent than ever in a world of too many endings. The issue will feature previously unpublished writings by Benjamin Percy, Clare Beams, Karen Russell, Julia Alvarez, Fred Moten, Jonathan Lethem, James Morrow, Shane McCrae, and Jonathan Carroll, among many others both influential and emerging. See the full announcement on our website for a deeper dive into Conjunctions:85, Anew.
GUIDELINES

  All submissions must be in English and previously unpublished. We will consider works in translation for which the translator has secured the rights.
  For poetry submissions, we suggest sending half a dozen poems, depending on length.
  Along with your manuscript, please include a brief cover letter. Be sure to list your name, the title of your submission, and your email address.
  Former contributor to Conjunctions, in print or online? Please note this in your cover letter.
  All submissions are also considered for publication in the weekly online magazine, which is not subject to thematic restrictions.
  We cannot accept revisions after a manuscript has been submitted. If a manuscript is accepted, there will be an opportunity to make edits then.
  While we strongly prefer to receive exclusive submissions, simultaneous submissions are permitted. If a simultaneous submission is accepted elsewhere, please withdraw it immediately from Submittable.
  As always, we only consider previously unpublished work.&nbsp;
  If a manuscript is accepted for publication online or in print, our editors will contact the author via email and Submittable.
  Please also note that partial submission withdrawals are strongly discouraged.
  Our small editorial staff reads every manuscript carefully. We will do our very best to respond to your work within 6-8 months after receipt with the intention of getting back to you sooner than that. Please refrain from querying about the status of a submission until 8 months have passed.&nbsp;
  Writers published in print issues of Conjunctions receive a small honorarium.&nbsp;

ACCESSING CONJUNCTIONS
Are you familiar with our work? Sign up for our newsletter to read new writing in our online magazine every week or order a print issue. Conjunctions charges a $4 submission fee to help us cover administration expenses. If this fee is a hardship, please email managingeditor.conjunctions@gmail.com and we will waive the cost. If a disability prevents you from using Submittable, please email managingeditor.conjunctions@gmail.com. Love our publications? Support Conjunctions into the future by making a tax-deductible donation and writing "Conjunctions" in the notes.

Poetry Submission, Conjunctions

This Submittable window will be open from October 3, 12pm – October 31, 2025. Conjunctions's online exclusives do not have thematic restrictions.
 
 GUIDELINES

  All submissions must be in English and previously unpublished. We will consider works in translation for which the translator has secured the rights.
  Although we have no official restrictions regarding word count, most of the manuscripts we select for publication are under 8,000 words long. For poetry submissions, we suggest sending half a dozen poems, depending on length.
   Along with your manuscript, please include a brief cover letter. Be sure to list your name, the title of your submission, and your email address.
  Former contributor to Conjunctions, in print or online? Please note this in your cover letter.
  We cannot accept revisions after a manuscript has been submitted. If a manuscript is accepted, there will be an opportunity to make edits then.
  While we strongly prefer to receive exclusive submissions, simultaneous submissions are permitted. If a simultaneous submission is accepted elsewhere, please withdraw it immediately from Submittable.
  As always, we only consider previously unpublished work. 
  If a manuscript is accepted for publication online or in print, our editors will contact the author via email and Submittable.
  Please also note that partial submission withdrawals are strongly discouraged.
  Our small editorial staff reads every manuscript carefully. We will do our very best to respond to your work within 6-8 months after receipt with the intention of getting back to you sooner than that. Please refrain from querying about the status of a submission until 8 months have passed. 

ACCESSING CONJUNCTIONS
Are you familiar with our work? Sign up for our newsletter to read new writing in our online magazine every week or order a print issue. Conjunctions charges a $4 submission fee to help us cover administration expenses. If this fee is a hardship, please email managingeditor.conjunctions@gmail.com and we will waive the cost. If a disability prevents you from using Submittable, please email managingeditor.conjunctions@gmail.com. Love our publications? Support Conjunctions into the future by making a tax-deductible donation and writing "Conjunctions" in the notes.

Conjunctions Online Submission (Not themed) Fall 2025

Please see full details on the theme for Issue 86: Rights of Passage before submitting for the print issue.
Submissions for Online only publication are unthemed.
Please also read our complete submissions guidelines before submitting.

Conjunctions

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