Kelp Journal is an online publication of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and travel memoir. Helmed in coastal California, they especially like writing about the ocean, surfing, and ecological conservation. They love finding new voices, and they publish authors from around the world. You can get a sense of what they like by reading the journal online.
Kelp Journal is published twice a year online, in the summer and winter. Each issue features writing from around 15 contributors, including several books reviews and interviews. Kelp Journal is produced by Kelp Books, an independent press that is “the home of surf noir.”
Kelp Journal also produces “The Wave,” a bi-weekly blog that publishes flash and micro writing, short essays, books reviews, poetry, photography, and art. They especially love to publish emerging poets. And, in addition to ocean-themed writing, they also like to publish writing about “spooky encounters.”
Kelp Journal is open to submissions twice a year: from February 15th through May 15th for their summer issue, and from August 1st through November 1st for their winter issue. They are open to submissions for their blog, “The Wave,” year-round.
For Kelp Journal, authors may submit fiction and nonfiction under 6,000 words. Poets may submit three to five poems. Authors should keep in mind that while Kelp Journal accepts all types of writing, they prefer the following themes: the ocean, the coast, surfing, global travel, adventure, nature, ecology, and conservation.
For The Wave, authors may submit micro writing, flashes, or other short works in any genre. They also accept poetry, book reviews, photography, and art. Shorter is better for The Wave.
Kelp Journal accepts submissions online using Submittable. They don’t accept submissions via email or by post, and they don’t accept previously published writing.
Kelp Journal only accepts submissions that follow the guidelines they’ve posted online. Please read these guidelines in full before submitting.
If you would like to learn more or submit to Kelp Journal, 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.
