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Guidelines
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Open for submissions

Guidelines

"We’re looking for narrative writing and evocative photography from all over the world. Send us work that maps the human landscape, where the light catches on the faintest joy, where darkness sometimes threatens to overwhelm, and where ✗ never marks the spot."

"We’re looking for narrative writing and evocative photography from all over the world. Send us work that maps the human landscape, where the light catches on the faintest joy, where darkness sometimes threatens to overwhelm, and where ✗ never marks the spot."

Vibe

Top-tier stuff. Not Paris Review, but ok

Response Time

3 months / 68 days

Acceptance Rate

0.1% / 1.09%

  • Payment

    Yes: $200-$0

  • Fee

    Yes: $2.5

  • Simultaneous submissions

    Yes

  • Previously published

    No

  • Expedited response

    No

  • Available in print

    Yes

  • Provides contributor copies

    Yes: 10

  • Examples online

    Yes

  • Active on social media

    Yes

Accepted genres

4 genres

Fiction

Max words: 7000

Send us your emotionally honest story — the one that helps us learn what it feels like to be someone else. Share satire that hits close to ...

Nonfiction

Max words: 7000

Send us your essay that’s too personal for any other journal — the one where you’re so unguarded you need editors you can trust and compassi...

Poetry

Max pieces: 5

Send us your poem that basks in the mysteries of the universe — the one where the smallest detail tells us about our place in the world. Sh...

Photography

Max pieces: 36

We're interested in black-and-white photographs — from intimate moments of human connection to striking natural wonders — reminding us to ta...

Fiction

Max words: 7000

Send us your emotionally honest story — the one that helps us learn what it feels like to be someone else. Share satire that hits close to ...

Nonfiction

Max words: 7000

Send us your essay that’s too personal for any other journal — the one where you’re so unguarded you need editors you can trust and compassi...

Poetry

Max pieces: 5

Send us your poem that basks in the mysteries of the universe — the one where the smallest detail tells us about our place in the world. Sh...

Photography

Max pieces: 36

We're interested in black-and-white photographs — from intimate moments of human connection to striking natural wonders — reminding us to ta...

Statistics

We're able to provide them because you use our tracker!
You're the best!

Track submission

139

Total submissions tracked

68 days

Average response time

0.1% / 1.09%

Average acceptance rate

2 days

Fastest response time

232 days

Slowest response time

*Weird response times we excluded from calculations: 403 days, 473 days, 486 days, 488 days

How to submit

Process

We use Submittable.

Cover letters

This magazine does not list any details on their website for this section.

Eligibility

No specific eligibility requirements

Formatting

We prefer manuscripts in any legible 12-point font with double-spaced paragraphs, page numbers in the footer, and 1-inch margins. On page 1 please include the author’s name, submission title, and genre. While we appreciate careful proofreading, we don’t disqualify submissions for formatting inconsistencies or typos. Please don’t withdraw and resubmit just because you spot a mistake.

Rights for published work

We purchase one-time print and online publishing rights.

Additional info

We pay $200 and up depending on published length. We consider simultaneous submissions. Submission fee: $2.50. We pay our manuscript readers as well as our contributors. We are particularly looking for work by writers of color, queer and trans writers, writers with disabilities, incarcerated writers, and others who are marginalized on the basis of their circumstances or identity.

About the Magazine

Founded in 1974 | United States

The Sun is an independent, ad-free magazine that for more than forty years has used words and photographs to evoke the splendor and heartache of being human. Each monthly issue celebrates life, but not in a way that ignores its complexity. The personal essays, short stories, interviews, poetry, and photographs that appear in The Sun’s pages explore the challenges we face and the moments when we rise to meet them. From its idealistic, unlikely inception in 1974 to its current incarnation as a nonprofit magazine with more than 60,000 print and digital subscribers, The Sun has attempted to marry the personal and political; to challenge the status quo and reveal injustice; to honor courageous and honest writing; and to touch the mystery of our humanity. In a world where advertising pursues us almost everywhere, The Sun remains a rare ad-free sanctuary.

Masthead

We currently list only main editors, more will be added later! If you are an editor, you can edit your masthead in our admin panel :)

Sy Safransky

Editor-in-Chief

Rob Bowers

Publisher