Bending Genres describes itself by saying it is “committed to publishing the best fiction, poetry, and creative non-fiction, from dedicated writers.” It’s easy to get a feel for what they publish by reading their most recent issue here. They nominate for the Best Small Fictions, Best Microfictions, Best of the Net, and Pushcart Prizes. They state repeatedly, “We like blending genres, hybrid writing, blurred lines”.
Their website is very straightforward and easy to navigate. You can see their masthead here. Please read a few pieces before deciding to submit. They also host workshops. They respond pretty quickly to all submissions, generally within a week. They are on the more approachable side of the journal community, accepting about 1 in every 6 submissions.
They are always open to submissions via Submittable. They do not allow simultaneous submissions.
In terms of fiction they want one story that is less than 1,000 words. They say that want fiction “that is experimental, gut-wrenching, terrifying, gorgeous, breakneck speed, delightful, memorable and secretive.” For creative nonfiction they say something slightly different but with a lot of overlap for what they are seeking: “experimental, gut-wrenching, terrifying, honest, breakneck speed, whooshing out, fabulous and secretive.” Creative nonfiction can be up to 1,500 words. Only submit one piece of prose at a time.
Poetry also has a slightly different description, in terms of what they are seeking: “We seek POETRY that is unusual, experimental, terrifying, delightful, stunning, rare, deep, whooshes out, magnanimous and secretive.” They want three poems per submission.
All work should be Times New Roman, size 12, and formatted as .doc or .docx.
To learn more, go here.
Emily Harstone is the author of many popular books, including The Authors Publish Guide to Manuscript Submissions, Submit, Publish, Repeat, and The 2026 Guide to Manuscript Publishers. She regularly teaches three acclaimed courses on writing and publishing at The Writer’s Workshop at Authors Publish. You can follow her on Facebook here.
