34 Orchard is an online literary magazine that “takes you dark places.” They publish poetry and fiction that’s frightening, unnerving, or sad. They don’t focus on traditional dark genres such as horror; rather, they aim to publish anything that’s shadowy and intense. They especially like dark writing that brings the reader to deeper truths.
34 Orchard is published twice a year online, in April and November. The journal is available for free as a downloadable PDF. Each edition contains writing from about 25 contributors from around the world. They’ve published authors from Africa, Australia, Canada, Croatia, Greece, Italy, and the United Kingdom, among other places.
34 Orchard holds two reading periods each year, from January 1 through January 15 for the April edition, and from July 1 through July 15 for the November edition. Submissions received in periods other than the first half of January and July will be deleted unread. They are currently open to submissions till January 15th.
Poets may submit up to three dark poems of any style or length. Authors of fiction may submit one dark story, 1,000 to 7,500 words. Manuscripts should use Shunn formatting, and should include a cover letter and third-person bio. Take care to follow the editor’s formatting requests under “How to Submit.” Submissions that do not follow these formatting guidelines will be deleted unread.
Submitting authors often receive a response within a few days, though the wait might be longer for submissions the editors are seriously considering. Authors can expect a response by February 28 for the April edition, and by August 31 for the November edition.
Authors published in 34 Orchard are paid $50. They can only pay via PayPal.
34 Orchard accepts submissions via email, not using an online submissions manager or by post. They accept simultaneous submissions but ask that authors withdraw work published elsewhere. They do not accept previously published work.
34 Orchard only accepts submissions that follow the guidelines they’ve posted online. Please read these guidelines in full before submitting.
If you’d like to learn more or submit to 34 Orchard, please visit their website here. Please carefully follow their submission guidelines.
Bio: Ella Peary is the pen name for an author, editor, creative writing mentor, and submission consultant. Over the past five years, she’s written hundreds of articles for Authors Publish, and she’s also served as a copywriter and copy editor for a wide range of organizations and individuals. She is the author of The Quick Start Guide to Flash Fiction. She occasionally teaches a course on flash fiction. You can contact her at ellapeary@gmail.com.
