Elephants Never wants you! We seek submissions of flash fiction, poetry and light verse, art, creative nonfiction, and hybrid or other work for ongoing publication. Send content, questions, and ideas to anelephantnever@gmail.com for consideration on a rolling basis.
See below for rules and guidelines, and read about our current themes. Join our community and share in the fun.
How it Works
We accept submissions until the 24th of each month for publication the following month (unless stated otherwise in the current themes). Work received after the 24th will be considered during the next month. We aim to respond to all submissions within one month. Please feel free to follow up by email if you have not heard back after one month.
Simultaneous submissions will be accepted. Please let us know in your initial email, however, that your work has been submitted elsewhere. Submissions may relate to our current themes or ignore the themes altogether. Each month we aim to publish a blend of themed and unthemed work.
Compensation and Copyright
We cannot offer payment for your work at this time, much as we’d love to. We will, however, do our best to publicize you. And we encourage you to send links to your own site, blog, or social media accounts when submitting. Let us showcase you.
Please send your own, previously unpublished work (though we do like found poetry, centos, collages, and the like). Creators retain all rights to their work after publication. If your work is then subsequently reprinted elsewhere, please acknowledge Elephants Never as the site of first publication. Should we choose to include your work in a future collection or anthology, we will reach out to you for permission.
Guidelines for Submissions
We will not publish anything we deem discriminatory or abusive. We will accept sex and violence within reason and when relevant to the piece. We encourage submissions from diverse voices anywhere in the world.
Now, let’s talk about the elephant on the site. Your submission does not need to include or feature a pachyderm. We love pieces that engage in wordplay or interact with famous sayings (e.g., “look before you leap,” “they who hesitate are lost”). And we’ll always enjoy references to or variations on the phrase, “Elephants never forget.”
Feel free to send submissions in any format, either as attachments or in the body of your email. Please note:
- Flash Fiction – We prefer under 500 words, but will consider longer stories. Send up to 3 pieces.
- Poetry and Light Verse – Send up to 3 traditional verse or prose poems in any style, including light verse and experimental.
- Art – Send up to 3 cartoons, photos, illustrations, or mixed-media pieces in any style.
- Creative Nonfiction – We prefer under 1,500 words, but will consider longer pieces.
- Hybrid or Other Work – Surprise us with your book reviews, mixed media, playlists, animations, visual poetry, or other works you think our readers will love. Send up to 3 pieces.
That’s enough out of us. Your turn!