General Submission Guidelines
Thin Air Magazine (print)
Submissions for Issue 31 are now open and close in fall 2024. We accept nonfiction, poetry, and fiction.
Submitting comes with a $3.00 reading fee. In an effort to minimize barriers and encourage work from marginalized writers, we waive this fee for a period surrounding Indigenous People’s Day.
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- We only consider unpublished work.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.
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.
Currently, we are looking for work that celebrates autumn. If you’re more inspired by winter, spring or summer, share that with us too! We accept work on a rolling basis. Accepted work will be published in their corresponding season.
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 30 of Thin Air Magazine, forthcoming February 2024!
$14.00 total ($12.00 for the magazine, $2.00 for shipping)
Featuring fiction, nonfiction, and poetry of Kevin B., Jacqueline Berger, Abby Caplin, Morgan Christie, Caleb Clark, Tricia Currans-Sheehan, John Dorroh, Kristina Erny, Emile Estrada, Judith Ford, Leigh Green, Meredith Davies Hadaway, Cordelia Hanemann, Jaime Herrera, JM Huck, Katie King, Jerrod Laber, Mitu Malhotra, J. Parker Marvin, Tory Pearman, Nicolette Reim, S.A. Renschler, Walker Rose, Erika Seshadri, Shyla Shehan, Beth Suter, Noor Tannir, Teatuahere Teiti-Gierlach, and Ellen June Wright.
Also includes pieces by the fourth-annual winner and runners-up of the Bird in Your Hands Prize: Danielle Shandiin Emerson, Anastasia Ibrahim, and Bertha Isabel Crombet.
Please note the following:
- You can expect to receive your copy of Issue 30 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 30, 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 fall 2024. 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: 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 fall 2024. 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 fall 2024. 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.
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.
Currently, we are looking for work that celebrates winter. If you’re more inspired by autumn, spring or summer, share that with us too! We accept work on a rolling basis. Accepted work will be published in their corresponding season.
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!
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