Last updated: November 1st, 2024.
Current Theme Guidelines
Submissions for Issue 27: Staff Picks are now open. Our editors have chosen the following themes:
Fairy Tales
Paranormal Romance
Dreams
Horror
Structures
Animals
Beekeeping
Hacking
Classics
Submit your piece(s) by February 28th, 2025 with the theme you are submitting for. The color of the cover will be Green.
General Guidelines
We publish fiction, poetry, comics, art, images, medical reports, plays, essays, philosophies, sculptures, sounds, mushroom dataset analyses, magic spells, fairy tales, folklore, riddles, jokes, horoscopes, death-predictions, and more. Surprise us!
We’re looking for pieces that fit the theme and also those that take a unique spin on it. We want to give “overstocked” ideas an audience.
We have open submissions on a rolling basis.
Winter Issue: Open July 1st through October 31st. Release: January.
Spring Issue: Open November 1st through February 28th. Release: May.
Fall Issue: Open March 1st through June 30th. Release: September.
Simultaneous submissions are fine, but let us know if the piece gets accepted elsewhere. We do not accept previously published works.
Include a short bio about you, your work, and your role as a bookseller, librarian, or book collection steward in the body of your email. If you have been published by Deep Overstock previously we will use your previously submitted bio unless you provide an updated one.
Submissions over 3000 words might not be considered.
Any work that uses artificial intelligence will not be considered.
Email submissions@deepoverstock.com with your work attached (see below on file formats) and your bio in the body of the email.
Text Submissions
File format: Submit your written work as either .doc, .docx, .rtf, or a Google doc only. PDF submissions may be rejected.
Fiction, Essays, etc.
We strongly prefer pieces under 3000 words, especially flash fiction under 1000. We typically will not consider excerpts of longer pieces.
You may submit one to two fiction pieces for each theme, or up to three if they are each under 1000 words.
Poetry
You may send up to seven poems per theme.
Art Guidelines
File format: Any image file format of at least 300dpi is acceptable, .png is preferable. You may submit your image in color as we publish in full color on the website, but will print in black and white for the journal.
Send up to 12 images. The maximum number of pages for sequential art (such as a comic) is 12, however if you have a longer piece please contact us.
Print dimensions are 5.5 in. x 8.5 in. (half-letter). Please keep these dimensions in mind as you submit. We will do our best to accommodate horizontal images, but vertical images will usually look best.
We accept submissions for the cover! If you would like your art to be considered for the cover, please include that in your submission. We rotate the color of the cover for each issue.
Rights
- By submitting your work, you give Deep Overstock non-exclusive rights to publish your work in print and online in perpetuity.
- The work that you submit must not have been published anywhere else, it must be your work, and you must have the rights to submit it.
- You may submit the work to other publications after being published by Deep Overstock, so long as you give credit to Deep Overstock as first publisher.
- Before receiving an acceptance letter if your work is accepted elsewhere, or if you wish to retract your submission, submit a request to Deep Overstock in writing that we not publish your work.
- Once your work has been accepted, Deep Overstock may edit your work for grammar and for clarity, and will contact you with any major revisions before publishing.