Carve is seeking the highest quality literary short fiction (short stories). We want emotional jeopardy, soul, and honesty. Craft and control are tantamount to our connection to the characters. We highly recommend reading our most current issues to get an idea of what we're looking for.

» Please submit only one short story. Wait for a response before you send another. Please see sidebar for current response times.

» We do not accept genre fiction or poetry; novel excerpts only if it stands alone as a short story. We have a soft word count limit of 10,000 words.

» We accept simultaneous submissions. Please let us know if it is accepted elsewhere; we'll send you congratulations. (We know how hard it is to get published out there!)

» Please note, Carve readers are careful and thorough. Though we can't accept every story, we may feel compelled to offer comments or suggestions on some stories we return. Because of this, our response time may be lengthy.

» We pay our contributors as funds allow. Compensation varies between $20-$50 for your story. All authors are paid the same rate per story within a single issue.

How to Submit

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ONLINE SUBMISSIONS

We do not accept submissions by email.

We now utilize Submishmash to handle online submissions. This simple service allows you to track your submission and makes communication between submitters and editors more streamlined. There is no fee for creating an account on Submishmash, however we charge a $3 reading fee. This is comparable to the cost of postage, including a SASE, for mailed submissions.

Submit your story.

MAILED SUBMISSIONS

There is no fee for mailed submissions. (But you still have to pay for postage.)

For printed submissions, please mail via USPS to:

Carve Magazine
P.O. Box 701510
Dallas, TX 75370

Include a brief cover letter and contact information. Provide S.A.S.E. for response (or email if international submission.)