Written by Ella Peary
Steam Ticket is an established, nationally distributed print journal of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. The journal is produced by students at the University of Wisconsin, La Crosse, and they publish a wide range of new, emerging, and well-known writers. You can get a sense of what they like by reading a free PDF copy of the journal online.
Steam Ticket has been published annually since 1996. Each issue contains writing from around 60 authors, as well as artwork (photographs and drawings published in black and white). Sometime just one artist is featured, and sometimes they showcase work from around five to seven artists. They publish in late April or early May each year.
Right now through March 1, Steam Ticket is open to submissions for their 2025 publication. Poets may submit three to five poems, 50 lines or fewer each. Authors of fiction and creative nonfiction may submit up to 5,000 words. Steam Ticket welcomes flash writing, but discourages genre writing like sci-fi, fantasy, and romance.
Authors should submit only once per submission period. Authors published in Steam Ticket will receive contributor’s copies.
Steam Ticket accepts submission via email, not online or by post. They accept simultaneous submissions but ask that authors withdraw writing published elsewhere. They do not accept previously published work, including writing that has been published online in any form.
Steam Ticket 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 Steam Ticket, 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.
