Submission Guidelines

AUSTRALIA * BECOMING A NURSE * SOUTHERN SIN * SECTION QUERIES
TINY TRUTHS * GENERAL

**PAST CALL UPDATES**

ANGER & REVENGE: Thanks to everyone who submitted work to the Anger & Revenge contest. The winning essay, "Rebecca v. Mr. Wonderful," by Mardi Jo Link was published in Issue #43: Fall/Winter. The issue is now available for purchase here.

ILLUSTRATORS: Thanks to everyone who sent work samples for Issue #44. Please note that we will be seeking artists for all upcoming issues, so please check back for more information.

TRUE CRIME: Thanks to everyone who submitted work to the True Crime contest. The winning essays will be published in Issue #45. We hope to notify finalists by January.

**CURRENT CALLS**

SPECIAL ISSUE AND CONTEST: AUSTRALIA
Deadline: February 29, 2012

Co-sponsored by Tashmadada and The Writers Conversation
Contest judged by Lee Gutkind and Leah Kaminsky

Creative Nonfiction, in association with Tashmadada, seeks new essays for a special “Australia” issue.

We’re looking for a variety of perspectives—from locals, expats, tourists, or anyone else—and will consider essays of all forms and focuses as long as Australia’s landscape, people, and/or culture are prominently featured; the stories are true; and submissions are previously unpublished.

Essays must be vivid and dramatic. Writing should combine a strong and compelling narrative with a significant element of research or information, and reach for some universal or deeper meaning. We’re looking for well-written prose, rich with detail and a distinctive voice. Essays must be 4,000 words maximum and submitted by February 29, 2012.

The Writers Conversation is sponsoring two cash prizes:

$6,500 (AUD) for Best Essay
All writers and submissions, regardless of country of origin, will be considered for this prize.
-&-
$2,500 (AUD) for Best Essay by an emerging Australian Writer
Only submitters who are current citizens or permanent residents of the Commonwealth of Australia will be considered for this prize. The same writer/essay may not win both prizes.

There is a $20 reading fee; multiple entries are welcome ($20/essay); and entries from outside the U.S. are encouraged.

All submitters have the option to include a 4-issue subscription to Creative Nonfiction with their reading fee; up-charges vary and depend on mailing address and postage rates.

For this contest, we are accepting electronic submissions only. To submit please click the appropriate link below:

Reading fee plus a 4-issue subscription:
to the U.S. ($25 USD)
to Canada ($45 USD)
to anywhere else in the world ($60 USD)

Reading fee only ($20 USD)

There will be only two contest winners, but all submissions will be considered by the judges for inclusion in Creative Nonfiction #46, which will be launched at the 2012 Melbourne Writers Festival.

BOOK PROJECT: BECOMING A NURSE
postmark deadline: January 31, 2012

Creative Nonfiction is seeking essays by and about nurses for a new collection, Becoming a Nurse: Real Stories of Nurses, Their Lives and Their Patients.

Most Americans will be hospitalized at some point in their lives, and nurses will be their most consistent point of contact with the health care establishment. While doctors have long been the subjects of the more glamorous pop culture depictions of medicine, nurses provide the day-in, day-out care for patients and families.

But what motivates nurses to enter, and to stay in, this demanding profession, and how are their daily lives affected by ongoing changes in the healthcare system? Becoming a Nurse will present readers with the world of medicine from the perspective of nurses in hospitals, in-home care programs, long-term care facilities, hospices, and the armed forces as they tell stories that recall and recreate the most salient moments of their careers.

We are looking for writers who can write dramatically and vividly about this profession for a collection of essays, which will be published by Creative Nonfiction. Essays can be from 2,500-5,000 words but should be written in a narrative form, with scenes, description, vivid characters and a distinctive voice. To submit, please send your manuscript to:

Creative Nonfiction
Attn: Becoming a Nurse
5501 Walnut Street, Suite 202
Pittsburgh, PA 15232

Please include a word count on the first page of the essay, as well as your contact information and an SASE or email address for response. Any additional questions can be directed to information [at] creativenonfiction.org. Submissions must be postmarked by January 31, 2012.

SPECIAL ISSUE AND CONTEST: SOUTHERN SIN
Postmark deadline: May 28, 2012

Creative Nonfiction and the Oxford Creative Nonfiction Writers Conference & Workshop are looking for essays that capture the South in all its steamy sinfulness--whether you're skipping church to watch football, coveting your neighbor's Real Housewife of Atlanta, or just drinking an unholy amount of sweet tea. Confess your own wrongdoings, gossip about your neighbor's depravity, or tell us about your personal connection to a famous Southerner headed down the broad road to Hell. Whether the sin you discuss is deadliy or just something that would make your mama blush we want to hear about it in an essay that is at least partially narrative--employing scenes, descriptions, etc.

Your essay can channel William Faulkner or Flannery O'Connor, Alice Walker or Rick Bragg; it can be serious, humorous, or somewhere in between, but all essays must tell true stories, and must incorporate both sin and the South in some way.

Usually the wages of sin is death, but this time we're making an exception. The best essays will be published in Creative Nonfiction #47, and CNF and Oxford will be awarding multiple cash prizes (amount TBA).

Guidelines: Essays must be unpublished, 4,000 words maximum, postmarked by May 28, 2012, and clearly marked "Southern Sin" on both the essay and the outside of the envelope. There is a $20 reading fee (or send a reading fee of $25 to include a 4-issue CNF subscription--U.S. submitters only); multiple entries are welcome ($20/essay) as are entries from outside the U.S. (though due to shipping costs, the subscription deal is not valid). Please send manuscript, accompanied by a cover letter with complete contact information including the title of the essay, word count, SASE and payment to:

Creative Nonfiction
Attn: Southern Sin
5501 Walnut Street, Suite 202
Pittsburgh, PA 15232

SECTION QUERIES
accepted year-round

Have an idea for a literary timeline? An opinion on essential texts for readers and/or writers? An in-depth, working knowledge of a specific type of nonfiction? Pitch us your ideas; Creative Nonfiction is now accepting query letters for the following sections of the magazine:

UNDER THE UMBRELLA - explores one subset or type of writing that falls under the creative nonfiction umbrella--dad memoir, extreme travel writing, as well as lesser-known kinds of creative nonfiction--and the patterns that connect these types of writing. Past example: CNF's Armchair Guide to Stunt Writing.

WRITER AT WORK - an analysis of or an in-depth look into a specific writer's writing process. Past example: Gay Talese's approach to composition.

BETWEEN THE LINES - focuses on the business of writing and the role of the editor, agent, publisher and nonfiction writer in the contemporary publishing landscape. This section is reserved for more serious, newsy (in a general way) topics. Past examples: The future of literary magazines in America, and a defense of navel-gazing.

REQUIRED READING - catalogues and explores essential texts for nonfiction readers and writers. Pieces can be as simple as a list or as complex as a lyric essay. Past examples: David Shields' inspirations and recommendations, and the narrative forms of Norman Mailer as recounted by his biographer.

THEN AND NOW - literary timelines or comparisons of the genre's past and present. Past example: a history of the genre (and the magazine) from 1993 to 2009.

AFTERWORDS - the final page of the magazine. We're open to just about any ideas that can be presented completely in one page, though we are more inclined to pieces that take a lighter look at the genre, craft, and/or industry. Past examples: First sentences from first books, and the ever-expanding nonfiction subtitle.

[Note: Nothing increases your publishing chances more than a familiarity with the magazine; we recommend you become a subscriber, but a working knowledge of our last two issues (#38 and #39) is a great place to start, too. Once you're a student of the publication, query us via email, according to the guidelines below.]

Guidelines: All queries should be sent to "queries [at] creativenonfiction [dot] org", and the subject line should include the section you're querying about (e.g. "Between the Lines"). In the body of the email, please include the following:

Your name; your email address; your idea (250 words or less); your bio as it relates to your idea (250 words or less); and your plan for executing your idea (250 words or less).

Queries only. Please do not send completed pieces. Please do not send attachments. Please send brilliant ideas and a solid plan for turning said brilliant ideas into brilliant pieces of writing.

CONTEST: Tiny Truths: CNF's Daily Twitter Contest
accepted year-round

Can you tell a true story in 130 characters (or fewer)? Think you could write one hundred CNF-worthy micro essays a day? Go for it. We dare you. There's no limit. Simply follow Creative Nonfiction on Twitter and tag your tiny truths with the trending topic #cnftweet. That's it.

We re-tweet winners daily and republish 10-12 winning tweets in every issue of Creative Nonfiction.

Not sure what we're looking for? Check out all of our past "Favorites".

GENERAL (UN-THEMED) SUBMISSIONS
accepted year-round

We try to respond to all submissions as soon as possible. We read general submissions year-round, but depending on the time of year, it is not uncommon for a response to take up to 6 months.

What we're looking for:

• Strong reportage
• Well-written prose, rich with detail and a distinctive voice.
• An informational quality or instructive element that offers the reader something to learn (an idea, concept or collection of facts, strengthened with insight, reflection and interpretation.)
• A compelling, focused, sustained narrative that is well-structured, makes sense and conveys meaning.

• Submissions should be typed, double-spaced, 5,000 words maximum (with word count clearly marked).
• Submissions to special issues should be clearly marked.
• Please do not send multiple submissions.
• Please do not send queries. We consider only complete essays.
• Faxed or emailed submissions will not be accepted.
• Please include a self-addressed, stamped envelope for response. We regret that we cannot return manuscripts.
• We will reply to manuscripts sent from outside the United States by email, if an email address is provided.
• We accept simultaneous submissions, but do ask to be kept informed of the status of your manuscript.
• We typically pay $10 per printed page.
  
• Please send unsolicited material to:
  
  Creative Nonfiction Foundation
  5501 Walnut Street, Suite 202
  Pittsburgh, PA 15232