Submittable only displays categories that are open for submission. If you do not see a category, please reference the below reading periods for information on when you can submit.
The Rumpus publishes original fiction, poetry, literary humor writing, comics, essays, book reviews, and interviews with authors and artists of all kinds. Founded in 2009 and independent from the start, our mostly volunteer-run magazine strives to be a platform for risk-taking voices and writing that might not find a home elsewhere. We lift up new voices alongside those of more established writers our readers may already know and love.
---THE RUMPUS PRIZE---
[Submissions window now CLOSED] From December 5, 2024-March 2, 2025 we were open for submissions for our inaugural Rumpus Prize for Poetry, Fiction, and Creative Nonfiction.
$3,600 in prizes
- $1,000 1st prize and publication in three genres: poetry, creative nonfiction, and fiction
- Honorable mentions receive $200 and publication in each of the three genres
All writers could opt in if they’d like to be considered for publication by The Rumpus, regardless of whether they’re named a winner or finalist. Finalists will be contacted in April or May. We plan to announce the winners publicly in June 2025.
---OPEN READING PERIODS---
We are committed to offering at least 1-3 no fee open reading periods for each section every year. In the summer of 2024, The Rumpus held a fundraiser to increase our contributor funds and now offers a standard rate of $50 per eligible contributor for original writing and comics published between August 2024 and July 2025. With additional donor support and by growing our Membership program, we hope to continue offering $50—or more—after July 2025.
Please note that we are currently only pay contributors via Paypal, international ACH payments are not possible. (NOTE: we will make exceptions for Rumpus Prize winners, if needed.)
We are often overwhelmed by the breadth and quality of our submissions. To allow our volunteer editorial staff to better handle the workload and respond to your work in a more timely fashion, we've instituted reading periods for certain sections of The Rumpus. Please note, that during our open reading periods, we've regularly receive 500-1,000+ submissions within a couple of weeks and over 6,000+ submissions total every year.
- All work must be previously unpublished. This includes personal blogs and social media.
- Please only send one submission to a given section at a time; when we've responded with a decision, you are welcome to submit to that section again.
- We accept simultaneous submissions to other publications. Please withdraw or alert the editor you're in touch with, if your work is accepted at another publication.
Response time can vary from a few days to a few months. Please allow 3-4 months before sending status queries for essays, fiction, book reviews, and ENOUGH. Please allow 8 months before sending status queries for poetry and our Funny Women column. Your patience is appreciated. Please note if you are an annual Rumpus member you should've received a link to a "magic" portal via a Member welcome email that ensures a 6 week initial response time. Please use that link to submit to any of the open calls below OR to submit to specific genres (poetry, fiction, essays) outside of our usual open reading periods.
Agents and publicists: we strongly prefer that writers submit their own work to us. The Rumpus has an exceptional and diverse editorial team; bypassing Submittable results in fewer readers and editors looking at your work.
- Fiction our next open reading period is planned for August/September. 5,500 words max.
- Poetry our next open reading period is planned for August.
- Essays our next open reading period is planned for June/July and October. 4,000 words max.
- Comics open reading periods are Aug. 1 through Oct. 31 and Jan. 1 through March 31.
- ENOUGH open reading period is planned for Jan-Feb.
- We Are More open reading period is currently planned to reopen in Spring 2025
- Interview pitches and finished interview submissions are accepted year-round and should be sent directly to our Interviews team (interviews@therumpus.net). We are no longer using Submittable for interviews.
- Book review submissions are accepted year-round and should be sent through Submittable. Reviews of poetry collections should be directed to "Poetry Book Reviews" and all other reviews should be directed to "Book Reviews." Attention authors & book publicists: we do not usually have the bandwidth to assign reviews to reviewers, we depend on reviewers pitching us the books they're interested in reviewing.
---NEWSLETTER---
Sign up for our e-newsletter here if you'd like to be the first to hear about new submissions opportunities. We announce new open reading periods at least a few weeks in advance in our e-newsletter.
---MEMBERSHIP---
If you'd like to submit fiction, poetry, and essays up to an additional 4 x a year outside of the the open reading periods, become an annual Rumpus Member. *Please note this perk does not apply to monthly members.
This section is for poetry book reviews.
The Rumpus has two reading periods for unsolicited original poetry. Unsolicited poetry can only be submitted during those reading periods to our Rumpus Original Poetry category. Please do not submit unsolicited poetry here; the submission will be discarded.
We’re focused on reviews of full-length poetry collections and chapbooks by both emerging and established poets. We accept drafts of completed reviews only; please do not submit pitches.
We’re eager for reviews that embrace the traditional form as well as those that challenge or experiment convention, that welcome the “I” and a reader’s personal relationship to a text, and that engage with the form beyond our own imaginations. Please disclose any relationship you have to the author of the book you’re reviewing, if one exists, so we may determine any conflict of interest.
Your review should be accessible to a general audience. We're more interested in the reader's experience of the poems, subject matter, arc, and the poet's use of craft than we are in scholarly criticism or theory. We love reviews that address how the collection interacts with poetic tradition, the current landscape of poetry, and that speaks to what the collection brings to our shared discourse as readers and writers.
Formatting details:
- Reviews should be between 1200–2500 words for full-length collections, 1000-1500 words for chapbooks.
- Please provide the following information at the top of your review: title of book being reviewed, author of book, name of press and publication date, reviewer's name and email address
- Reviews should be single-spaced and paginated.
- Poem excerpts of more than three lines should be formatted exactly as they appear on the page, and set off in the text of the review. Please include at least 1–2 excerpts of more than three lines. Shorter excerpts should be quoted within the text of the review using quotation marks and virgules ( / ), with one space ahead and behind the virgule to indicate line breaks. Poems cannot be reprinted/quoted in their entirety. When excerpting poems, spaces at the front of the line and within lines should be done using the space bar rather than the tab key.
- There is no need to cite page numbers within the review, but please check excerpts and quotes carefully to ensure they are free of errors and formatted correctly.
- In your cover letter, please include: your contact information and a brief bio that we would use should your review be accepted
All work must be previously unpublished—this includes personal blogs, websites, and social media. We do allow simultaneous submissions; please withdraw your review from Submittable if it is accepted elsewhere. Please wait at least three months from date of submission before querying about submission status.
Publishers seeking to submit finished books for review consideration should not use this Submittable account.
If you are interested in submitting a review of a poetry collection, please only do so in our Poetry Book Reviews category on Submittable. Do not submit poetry reviews here.
We're interested in thoughtful, engaging book reviews between 1200-2500 words. Please submit a finished draft of your review rather than a review pitch.
Reviews should be single-spaced and paginated. Please provide the following information in your cover letter and at the top of your review: Title of book, author's name, name of press, publication date, and your name and email address. In your cover letter, please also include your contact information and a brief bio that we would use should your review be accepted.
We prefer not to publish negative reviews, but it’s fine to discuss a specific weakness, lack, or question you have related to the book. Please disclose any relationship you have to the author of the book you’re reviewing if one exists; we do not accept reviews where a conflict of interest exists.
All work must be previously unpublished—this includes personal blogs, websites, and social media.
Publishers seeking to submit finished books for review consideration should not use this Submittable account; instead, please send a description of the book to our Books Editor at j.brooke@therumpus.net. For poetry collections, please reach out to poetry@therumpus.net.