Dare. Risk. Dream. Share. Ruminate.​

​CLOCKHOUSE is a national literary journal published by Clockhouse Writers’ Conference, whose editors are MFA alumni of Goddard College.
​
We accept works of poetry, fiction, memoir, creative nonfiction, and ​dramatic works for stage or screen. We encourage submissions from both established and emerging writers.

We’re looking for work that beckons us to listen, share, and engage. Send us your best!

Before submitting, carefully read the general AND genre-specific guidelines below.

​Reading period

• Volume 13: September 1 through November 15, 2025
• Published in summer 2026

General guidelines

• All submissions must be original, unpublished work written by the author or, if you are submitting artwork for cover consideration, original artwork created by the artist
• Follow genre-appropriate formatting; Word documents preferred; double-spaced for fiction, memoir, and creative nonfiction​
• Include a bio of approximately 100 words or less
• Simultaneous submissions are welcome as long as you withdraw them if accepted elsewhere

• Submit only through Submittable. No email or mailed submissions will be accepted

Submissions that do not follow these guidelines will be discarded unread.  

Genre-specific guidelines
Poetry

• All poetry in traditional and experimental styles including prose poetry
• Submit up to three poems of any length per reading period
• ​Each poem must be uploaded as a separate submission 

Fiction

• All flash and short fiction in traditional and experimental literary styles; genre fiction will be considered only if it sustains literary merit
• Flash fiction, micro fiction, etc.: up to 3 pieces, up to 750 words each
• Short stories and self-contained novel excerpts: one piece, 751 - 3,500 words
• Double-spaced; note the word count on the first page
• If submitting more than one piece, each must be submitted separately

Memoir and Creative Nonfiction

• All memoir and creative nonfiction in traditional and experimental literary styles
• No academic or scientific essays
• Submit one piece, up to 5,000 words
• Double-spaced; note the word count on the first page

Dramatic Work for Stage or Screen

• Short plays and screenplays in traditional and experimental styles
• Standalone work only (not part of a longer work); no monologues
• Submitted work should be written with the audience in mind
• Submit up to 10 pages plus cover page with title and character breakdown
• Follow the industry-standard formatting guidelines appropriate for the plays/screenplays including paginations

Response time
Expect to wait up to four months after the close of our submissions period for a reply. After that time, you can check on the status of your submission by e-mailing [email protected]. Include the title of your piece, the genre, and the original date of submission.

Upon acceptance
By accepting any offer of publication by CLOCKHOUSE, the author will grant the magazine first serial rights. Upon publication, rights to the work revert back to the author. The author retains all other rights to the work. Any subsequent publication will note that the work was first published in CLOCKHOUSE.

Payment for publication in CLOCKHOUSE ​is one contributor’s copy in which the work appears and a discount on purchases of that volume. As appropriate, we may also choose to nominate published work for awards or other recognition.

Questions?
Email [email protected]. Submissions themselves are not accepted at this address.