Paper Nautilus is a print literary journal that publishes poems, short stories, and flash fiction. They also have a yearly chapbook contest for writers of all genres. This review will cover the journal and then discuss the chapbook prize.
It is free to submit to the journal, but a small fee is charged for the chapbook contest, it is also good to keep in mind that poets they publish in their journal will probably receive preferential treatment when it comes to the chapbook contest.
Keep that in mind, so that if your work is accepted by Paper Nautilus this year, you might want to submit to their chapbook contest next year, even if you are not ready to do so now.
Paper Nautilus accepts around ten percent of the work submitted to them. It takes them around three months to respond to submissions. The print journal itself is beautiful to look at.
They are a print journal, but you can get a good feeling for the work they publish by visiting the featured work section of their site. That is where they post some of their favorite work that has appeared in the magazine
The work they publish tends to be narrative with strong images. They also tend feature a lot of metaphors.
They accept up to five poems at a time. Fiction can be up to 6,500 words in length. They also accept “aphorisms”: Stories that are no longer then 150 charioteers in length. They ask that you do not submit more then once per submission period.
Paper Nautilus uses the standard submission manager, Submittable. You use the same submission manager to submit your chapbook to the Vella Chapbook Contest.
A chapbook is a small book with a limited print run (under 500). The contents of a chapbook can be reprinted as part of a larger book later on by another publisher. Most poets start out with chapbooks, but regardless of what you write, it is a good way to get your work out there.
The chapbook contest is open to poetry, fiction, and mixed- or hybrid-genre works. The manuscript must be between 16-24 pages in length. Thematically linked work is encouraged.
It costs $11 to submit a manuscript for consideration. The deadline of August 15th is fast approaching, but if you have a chapbook ready to go it is well worth submitting. A prize winning chapbook is a valuable thing to have written.
This is the third year of the chapbook contest, so it already has an established reputation.
In conclusion Paper Nautilus is a good place to submit to because they are established and eclectic. Also if your work is accepted by Paper Nautilus you are putting your foot in door for the chapbook contest.
For more information on the contest visit this page: https://papernautilus.submittable.com/submit/21067. Visit the home page for more information on Paper Nautilus in aligner: http://readpapernautilus.wordpress.com/
