General Submission Guidelines
Thin Air Magazine (print)
Submissions for Thin Air 31 are now closed! Submissions for Thin Air Online are OPEN!
Submitting comes with a $3.00 reading fee. In an effort to minimize barriers and encourage work from marginalized writers, we will wave this fee upon request at our discretion.
Please review our general and genre-specific guidelines below:
- We accept fiction and nonfiction up to 3,000 words.
- We accept up to three poems in one document totaling five or fewer pages.
- We only consider unpublished work. Please do not submit material previously published in anthologies, chapbooks, online, or on personal websites (including FB, Twitter, Insta, Flickr, blogs, etc.)
- We accept simultaneous submissions. If any part of your submission is selected for publication elsewhere, please notify us immediately using Submittable.
- In an effort to encourage submissions from both established and emerging writers with diverse voices, we read all submissions blind. Do not include any identifying information within your submission.
- Thin Air Magazine does not accept work from anyone affiliated with Northern Arizona University within the last 7 years.
- Thin Air Magazine aims to respond to your submission within 3-5 months. If you submit April-August, know that we likely won’t be able to respond until September when school is back in session. We appreciate your patience! Our staff is a volunteer-graduate-student-run magazine and we strive to read every submission carefully before making a decision.
Formatting Specifications:
- Please use Times New Roman, 12pt., double-spaced, 1 inch margins for all submissions except poetry, which should remain single-spaced.
- INCLUDE page numbers and a word count at the top of your manuscript.
- DO NOT INCLUDE your name/identifiers in your manuscript.
- If the unique format of your submission is critical to the piece, please feel free to keep your unique formatting.
- Note that we may have to alter format for printing due to physical restraints and requirements.
Copyright: We ask for first North American serial rights for work published in Thin Air Magazine. Copyright is retained by the author at all times.
Submission Expectations
Thin Air has a responsibility to build a safe, diverse community for contributors and readers alike. We have no tolerance for writing that is racist, sexist, homophobic, transphobic, ableist, body shaming, islamophobic, anti semitic, or in any other way cruel. Your writing may, and in fact is encouraged to, grapple productively with these subjects. Do not send us unchecked bigotry or hate speech.
Acknowledgement
Thin Air is run by NAU graduate students on the Kinłání (occupied Flagstaff, Arizona) campus. We sit at the base of the Dook'o'oosłííd, on homelands sacred to Native Americans throughout the region. We strive to acknowledge and commemorate the indigenous past, present, and future of Kinłání.
Accountability
Thin Air is not and will never be perfect, but that doesn’t mean we won’t try. We strive to be an active voice for universal equity, and we commit to using our position in the literary world to uplift historically underrepresented voices and fight for the decolonization of literary magazines. If you notice we have missed the mark on anything, no matter how small, please reach out to us at thinairlitmag@gmail.com. We thank you for your help on our path to becoming our best selves.
Thin Air Online
Thin Air Online, distinct from our print magazine, accepts the following: poems, art, fiction, tiny films, nonfiction, humor, songs, paintings, collages, interpretative dances, jokes, audio projects and other precious creations that celebrate the seasons.
For the first time ever, NAU’s Thin Air literary website is inviting its university community to submit their literary work. Submissions are open to all, including those currently affiliated with NAU. It’s like an online literary farmer’s market – give us your fresh, seasonal and local.
Please review our general and genre-specific guidelines for TAO below:
- Clearly label your submission’s genre and season.
- Written submissions must be 5,000 words or less.
- Submit poems in batches up to 3.
- Video and audio pieces must be shorter than 10 minutes.
- We only consider unpublished work. Please do not submit material previously published in anthologies, chapbooks, online, or on personal websites (including FB, Twitter, Insta, Flickr, blogs, etc.)
- We accept simultaneous submissions. If any part of your submission is selected for publication elsewhere, please notify us immediately using Submittable.
- In an effort to encourage submissions from both established and emerging writers with diverse voices, Thin Air Online reads all submissions blind. Do not include any identifying information within your submission.
- Thin Air Online aims to respond to your submission within 3-5 months. If you submit April-August, know that we likely won’t be able to respond until September when school is back in session. We appreciate your patience! Our staff is a volunteer-graduate-student-run magazine and we strive to read every submission carefully before making a decision.
Copyright: We ask for first North American online serial rights. If your work is selected for Thin Air Online, we ask for exclusive online rights for 60 days from the date of publication. Copyright is retained by the author at all times.
Thank you for submitting!
Issue 31 of Thin Air Magazine!
$16.00 total ($14.00 for the magazine, $2.00 for shipping)
Includes fiction, poetry, nonfiction and visual arts by: Ordell Bizahaloni, Ellen Boomer, Catherine Broadwall, Kathy Bruce, Roger Camp, Seán Carlson, Danielle Charette, Lucas Chini, Ryan Clark, Seth Copeland, Gray Dawson, Panika M.C. Dillon, John Dorroh, Eamonn Gallagher, Kimberly Gibson-Tran, Peter Grandbois, Larissa Hauck, David Joseph, Beverly Joyce, Cary Kinross, Nathaniel Lachenmeyer, Jennifer Lang, Cathy Lautenbach, Mark MacAllister, J. Nehemiah, Ners Neonlumberjack, samodH Porawagamage, Verena Raban, Sjafril Riz, Nicholas Ritter, Richard Robbins, C.C. Russel, John Struloeff, Charles H. Webb, Mirka Walter, and Tanya L. Young.
Please note the following:
- You can expect to receive your copy of Issue 31 within three weeks of your purchase date. To ensure you receive your magazine in a timely manner please be sure your address is updated and correct.
- If you are a contributor in Issue 31, there's no need to purchase a magazine; we will send you a contributor copy in February.
- Currently, we can only ship within the United States. If you are shipping outside of the US, the shipping costs increase, and we ask that you please send us a note with your shipping destination and we will be in touch.
Formatting: We accept fiction up to 3,000 words. We will consider novel excerpts as long as they can stand alone. Stories that contain visuals or art are welcome as long as you own the copyrights. We may accept stories without accepting the art.
Please use fonts like Times New Roman/Calibri/Arial, 12pt., double spaced, 1 inch margins. INCLUDE page numbers and a word count at the top of your manuscript. DO NOT INCLUDE your name/identifiers in your manuscript. If the unique format of your submission is critical to the piece, please feel free to keep your unique formatting.
Submission Deadline: This year’s print issue deadline is 10/15/25. We have rolling submissions open right now. Reading of submissions begins in August every year and runs until the deadline.
Reminders: In addition to these guidelines, please read our General Submission Guidelines. We only consider unpublished work. Please do not submit material previously published in anthologies, chapbooks, online, or on personal websites (including FB, Twitter, Insta, Flickr, blogs, etc.). Simultaneous submissions are encouraged, but let us know immediately if a submission has been accepted elsewhere.
PLEASE NOTE: we will be implementing a broad theme for this issue. If you are concerned about potentially being outside of this theme, we advise waiting until it is announced.
Formatting: We accept nonfiction up to 3,000 words. We will consider book excerpts as long as they can stand alone. Stories that contain visuals or art are welcome as long as you own the copyrights. We may accept stories without accepting the art.
Please use fonts like Times New Roman/Calibri/Arial, 12pt., double spaced, 1 inch margins. INCLUDE page numbers and a word count at the top of your manuscript. DO NOT INCLUDE your name/identifiers in your manuscript. If the unique format of your submission is critical to the piece, please feel free to keep your unique formatting.
Submission Deadline: This year’s extended print issue deadline is 10/15/25. We have rolling submissions open right now. Reading of submissions begins in August every year and runs until the deadline.
Reminders: In addition to these guidelines, please read our General Submission Guidelines. We only consider unpublished work. Please do not submit material previously published in anthologies, chapbooks, online, or on personal websites (including FB, Twitter, Insta, Flickr, blogs, etc.). Simultaneous submissions are encouraged, but let us know immediately if a submission has been accepted elsewhere.
PLEASE NOTE: we will be implementing a broad theme for this issue. If you are concerned about potentially being outside of this theme, we advise waiting until it is announced.
Please send us up to three poems in one document totaling five or fewer pages. Poems that contain visuals or art are welcome as long as you own the copyrights. We may accept poems without accepting the art.
Please use fonts like Times New Roman/Calibri/Arial, 12pt., double spaced, 1 inch margins. INCLUDE page numbers and a word count at the top of your manuscript. DO NOT INCLUDE your name/identifiers in your manuscript. If the unique format of your submission is critical to the piece, please feel free to keep your unique formatting.
Submission Deadline: This year’s print issue deadline is 10/15/25. We have rolling submissions open right now. Reading of submissions begins in August every year and runs until the deadline.
Reminders: In addition to these guidelines, please read our General Submission Guidelines. We only consider unpublished work. Please do not submit material previously published in anthologies, chapbooks, online, or on personal websites (including FB, Twitter, Insta, Flickr, blogs, etc.). Simultaneous submissions are encouraged, but let us know immediately if a submission has been accepted elsewhere.
Formatting: Please send us up to three poems in one document totaling five or fewer pages. Poems that contain visuals or art are welcome as long as you own the copyrights. We may accept poems without accepting the art.
Please use fonts like Times New Roman/Calibri/Arial, 12pt., double spaced, 1 inch margins. INCLUDE page numbers and a word count at the top of your manuscript. DO NOT INCLUDE your name/identifiers in your manuscript. If the unique format of your submission is critical to the piece, please feel free to keep your unique formatting.
Submission Deadline: This year’s print issue deadline is 10/15/25. We have rolling submissions open right now. Reading of submissions begins in August every year and runs until the deadline.
Reminders: In addition to these guidelines, please read our General Submission Guidelines. We only consider unpublished work. Please do not submit material previously published in anthologies, chapbooks, online, or on personal websites (including FB, Twitter, Insta, Flickr, blogs, etc.). Simultaneous submissions are encouraged, but let us know immediately if a submission has been accepted elsewhere.
PLEASE NOTE: we will be implementing a broad theme for this issue. If you are concerned about potentially being outside of this theme, we advise waiting until it is announced.
Thin Air Online
Our website can be found here: thinairmagazine.org
Thin Air Online, distinct from our print magazine, accepts the following: poems, art, fiction, tiny films, nonfiction, humor, songs, paintings, collages, interpretative dances, jokes, audio projects and other precious creations that celebrate the seasons.
For the first time ever, NAU’s Thin Air literary website is inviting its university community to submit their literary work. Submissions are open to all, including those currently affiliated with NAU. It’s like an online literary farmer’s market – give us your fresh, seasonal and local.
Please review our general and genre-specific guidelines for TAO below:
- Clearly label your submission’s genre and season.
- Written submissions must be 5,000 words or less.
- Submit poems in batches up to 3.
- Video and audio pieces must be shorter than 10 minutes.
- We only consider unpublished work. Please do not submit material previously published in anthologies, chapbooks, online, or on personal websites (including FB, Twitter, Insta, Flickr, blogs, etc.)
- We accept simultaneous submissions. If any part of your submission is selected for publication elsewhere, please notify us immediately using Submittable.
- In an effort to encourage submissions from both established and emerging writers with diverse voices, Thin Air Online reads all submissions blind. Do not include any identifying information within your submission.
- Thin Air Online aims to respond to your submission within 3-5 months. If you submit April-August, know that we likely won’t be able to respond until September when school is back in session. We appreciate your patience! Our staff is a volunteer-graduate-student-run magazine and we strive to read every submission carefully before making a decision.
Copyright: We ask for first North American online serial rights. If your work is selected for Thin Air Online, we ask for exclusive online rights for 60 days from the date of publication. Copyright is retained by the author at all times.
Thank you for submitting!
Purchase one past issue of Thin Air Magazine. Please specify which issue you would like to purchase:
TAM30 (2024)
TAM 29 (2023)
TAM27 (2021)
TAM 26 (2020)
TAM 23 (2017)
TAM 21 (2015)
TAM 20 (2014)
TAM 19 (2013)
TAM 28 (2012)