Submissions Guidelines

Liminal Press publishes contemporary writing that explores the central concept of liminality as described on the website. We welcome submissions from Wales and beyond.

1. What We Accept

Literary short fiction – up to 2000 words not including the title. Include a word count at the end.
Creative non-fiction – up to 2000 words not including the title. Include a word count at the end.
Poetry – up 30 lines per poem not including the title. No more than three poems in total. Give each poem its own page and provide a line count after each one.
Hybrid forms – no more than 2000 words. Include a word count at the end.
Liminal Press Global Walk and Write submissions of up to 500 words not including the title. Include a word count at the end.

1b. What We Don’t Accept

AI-generated work.
Entries that have been published elsewhere.
Plagiarism.

1c. A Note on Gratuitous Content

Liminal Press does not publish work that includes gratuitous violence, abuse, prejudice or discriminatory language. These elements may appear in your narrative where they are artistically or thematically necessary, but they must serve a clear purpose within the work and not exist solely to shock or harm. Work that relies purely on sensationalism or demeaning portrayals will not be considered.

2. Submission Format

.doc, .docx, .rtf (no pdfs)
Standard formatting:
- Font size 12pt
- Standard Fonts: ideally Times New Roman or Courier New - NO decorative or novelty fonts.
- Spacing:
  - Prose: double-spaced
  - Poetry: single-spaced unless the form requires otherwise
- Standard margins
- Include page numbers
- Include a word count at the end and in the submissions form.
Include your name and contact details when you submit.
Document naming convention:
- Submit using the following format to help us to keep submissions organised and to ensure work is processed correctly:
  - submissiontype_authorname_title - for example:
    - opensubmission_johnsmith_TheSeaRemains
    - competitionsubmission_janeharris_AcrossTheField
    - journalsubmission_davidevans_DownToTheWire
    - globalwalkandwrite_rintanaka_AWalkInKyoto
A note on submission windows.
- Only send the relevant submission type during the relevant submission window. This is important as some submission types are paid. For example:
  - we will not review ‘journal submissions’ outside of the journal submissions window.
  - we will not review ‘competition submissions’ outside of the competition submissions window.

3. Rights

By submitting, you agree that:

You retain full copyright
You grant Liminal Press first publication rights – ie. your work has not been published previously.
You grant us the right to publish your work in print, digital and in promotional contexts
You grant us the right to archive your work once published and to re-publish it for the purpose of retrospectives and re-visits
Rights revert to you after publication
If republished elsewhere, please credit Liminal Press as the original publisher

4. Editorial Process

We aim to respond within 8–12 weeks but it may be sooner. Response times may vary depending on volume and editorial workload.
Not all submissions will be published.
We may request minor edits.
We do not currently pay published contributors on a rolling/open basis (unless this changes).
We only offer cash prizes to one competition winner and two runners-up for each competition cycle. Placed entrants may be selected for publishing in print.

5. Simultaneous Submissions

Allowed - but please notify us immediately if your work is accepted elsewhere.

6. Previously Published Work

We do not accept previously published work. Please confirm this on the submissions form.

7. How to Submit

All submissions must be made through our online submission form with documents named as per the above naming convention. This form allows you to upload your work and, where applicable, complete the payment process for competition entries and when opting for feedback. We do not accept submissions by email.