Coastal Shelf is a brand new online journal of poetry and prose paying authors at least $20 per published piece. After over twenty years of experience working at other literary magazines, editor Zebulon Huset wanted to do things differently. In addition to paying authors for their work (often well over $20), he provides constructive feedback on every submission. And, since he knows how important good reading is for good writing, he also provides personalized reading recommendations to every author who submits. If he doesn’t accept the piece, he also recommends other journals that might be a good fit for their writing.
If it’s not already clear that Coastal Shelf is all about helping authors, it’s also worth noting that they nominate authors published in the journal for major literary awards such as The Pushcart Prize, Best American Poetry, Best American Fiction, Best of the Net, Best Microfiction, O. Henry, and any other anthologies they can find.
Coastal Shelf is published twice a year, in January and July. They’re selective; they only publish fifteen pieces in each issue at most. They accept a limited number of fee-free submissions each month, and tip jar submissions throughout the month. You can get a sense of their style by reading Issue Zero, a compilation of literature the editor loves. You can also read about Huest’s aesthetic preferences in the submission guidelines.
Poets may submit one to two poems, 80 lines or fewer each. Authors of prose may submit one story, 2,000 words or fewer. Coastal Shelf reads submissions blind, so authors should take care not to include any identifying information on the submitted work itself (only in the cover letter). Submitting authors can expect a response within two weeks.
Coastal Shelf accepts submissions online, not via email or by post. They accept simultaneous submissions but ask that authors withdraw work published elsewhere. They do not accept previously published work.
If you would like to learn more or submit to Coastal Shelf, please visit their website here.
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.
