Some days we feel like postal clerks in a dream…sorting envelopes in a long, humming corridor that extends out into infinity. Perhaps that’s our inner Romantic, but in a world all washed in lightlessness, it can feel wonderful to see the joy in small things. Which is to say, we answered 237 emails and are making our way through the hundreds of Substack DM requests and it’s heartening to see the excitement you all have for Strange Pilgrims.
We love hearing from you! And since many of your questions are echoes of each other, we thought we’d answer the most frequently asked questions here.
What follows is perhaps less a logistical info-dump and more a map to how we work (or, in some cases, the ideals we aspire to). Our answers cover things like: where to send your stories, what we’re hoping to read, stuff about money, our AI policy, what we can and can’t do as editors and as a magazine, and more…
Please do read these before sending any questions through. If you still can’t find what you need—we’re always here. But we hope this helps light the way.
⟡ How can I submit my work? ⟡
Please use our custom submission portal. We don’t read submissions sent via email or DMs—it’s the only way we can stay organized (and sane).
⟡ How many pieces can I send at a time? ⟡
One piece at a time, please. Any multiple submissions will be rejected unread, so send your best piece, whether it’s a short story, essay, or flash.
⟡ Can I send work for more than one category (multiple submissions)? ⟡
No. Please pick one category—short story, essay, flash fiction, or flash nonfiction—and wait to hear back before submitting another. We know it can be hard to choose, but trust you gut and send your best.
⟡ Do you accept previously published work? ⟡
No, we do not currently accept work previously published by another journal, anthology, or book. We do, however, consider self-published work (work that’s appeared on your blog, personal Substack, social media, etc.)
⟡ Can I send the same piece to other magazines (simultaneous submissions)? ⟡
Yes, absolutely. Just let us know right away via email if it’s accepted elsewhere.
⟡ My story/essay got accepted elsewhere. How do I withdraw a piece? ⟡
Congratulations! Please send us an email with “Withdraw” as the Subject Line to let us know.
⟡ I left a typo in my submission. Can I send a revised version? ⟡
Please do not email us for typos—they never affect our decision. There is no need to withdraw your submission if there are a few errors. If accepted, you’ll have a chance to send a revised piece before publication.
⟡ What’s the word limit? ⟡
Flash — up to 1,000 words | Stories & essays — up to 5,000 words
⟡ My story is 5,128 words long. Is it eligible? ⟡
Yes. These word limits are more prescriptive than prohibitive. However, longer the piece goes above word count, the more it has to prove itself.
⟡ Can I submit under a pen name? ⟡
Yes, you can.
⟡ Do you require author photos to go with each publication? ⟡
No. If your piece is selected, we’ll publish a short interview alongside it. You’re welcome to include a photo and bio, but neither is required.
⟡ Can I pitch instead of submitting a finished piece? ⟡
No. We only consider completed work.
⟡ Can I submit work in translation? ⟡
Yes, we welcome translated work—it expands the conversation across languages, which is what literature has always done. Please include the original author’s name and confirm you have their permission. If you write in another language, you may also submit your own work translated into English.
⟡ What is flash writing? ⟡
Flash writing is very short prose—usually under 1,000 words—that still carries the weight of a full story or essay. Sometimes called micro-fiction or sudden fiction, it has roots in storytelling traditions across cultures (think fables, parables, vignettes). That said, it doesn’t have to take those forms—we’re open to anything that feels complete, alive, and unforgettable. In flash, every word counts. The best pieces leave you breathless by the end.
⟡ What is flash nonfiction? ⟡
Think of it as the compressed cousin of the essay: under 1,000 words, rooted in fact, yet lyrical, narrative, or experimental in form. A sliver of memory, an obsession, an overheard moment, told with the cadence of a story. Flash CNF (Flash Creative Nonfiction) should feel complete in itself, even if it gestures beyond its borders (as all good writing does). Book, movie, music, and art reviews are welcome under this category.
⟡ What kind of stories and essays are you looking for? ⟡
We’re looking for prose that feels original and intellectually alive. That could mean a surreal story, a slow-burning essay, a journalistic piece, a fragmented flash, a speculative vignette, sci-fi, romance—the list goes on! We care less about genre and more about whether the writing moves us—emotionally, yes, but also narratively. Does the story actually go somewhere?
You can find more detail about our taste (and the authors who shape it) on our About page.
⟡ Can I send serialized work, excerpts from a larger project, or something in episodes? ⟡
Yes, as long as the excerpts you send stand alone. We should be able to read it without needing the rest of the book or series.
⟡ Do you publish poetry? ⟡
No, we do not publish poetry. Strange Pilgrims is devoted to prose in all its forms and moods. We do, however, edit another magazine solely devoted to poetry: ONLY POEMS. Feel free to send your poetry for consideration there.
⟡ Do you consider stories with illustrations or visual elements? ⟡
Yes, if visuals are inseparable from your story/essay, send them along. That said, we collaborate closely with our in-house artist Mariam Chagelishvili, to shape the visual aesthetic of the magazine.
⟡ I submitted my piece today—when will I hear back? ⟡
About four months after you’ve submitted. Sometimes sooner, rarely longer (and if it’s longer, it usually means we’re seriously considering your piece). Please refrain from querying about the status of your submission until this time has elapsed.
We understand the frustration of slow responses. The industry average is closer to six months, and we’re doing our best to stay ahead of that. We also accept simultaneous submission and previously self-published work so that you can keep sharing your writing in the meantime.
⟡ Do you ever cap submissions or close early? ⟡
No. We will never close our calls early, no matter how many submissions we receive. You’ll always have the full submission window to send us your work—whether it’s on day one or a minute before midnight on deadline day, we’ll read it with the same care and attention as every other piece.
We also refuse to cap submissions, because doing so punishes the writers who submit later, often through no fault of their own. Deadlines are hard enough—especially for neurodivergent writers who may need more time. Our goal is simple: to publish amazing writing, not just the work of those who happen to be well-organized.
⟡ Do you provide feedback on declined submissions? ⟡
No, our time is limited, and we’re unable to provide feedback on any submission. If you would like a detailed response, you may choose the optional editorial feedback service when submitting, in which case you’ll receive a comprehensive feedback letter.
⟡ How often do you publish? ⟡
As of now, we plan to publish every Thursday (starting January 8, 2026). We’ll alternate between flash and long-form: one week a flash piece (fiction or nonfiction), the next week a full-length story or essay. If this changes or evolves, we’ll be sure to let you know.
⟡ Who will be reading my writing? ⟡
We, the founders and editors, of Strange Pilgrims, will read each and every piece submitted to us. Here are our professional bios:
Shannan Mann is the Nonfiction Editor of Strange Pilgrims and Creative Director of ONLY POEMS. Honored by the Emily Morrison Short Story Award, Irene Adler Essay Prize, Rattle Poetry Prize, Auburn Witness prize, among others; her poems appear in Best New Poets, Poetry Daily, Black Warrior Review, Missouri Review, Poet Lore, Gulf Coast, Literary Review of Canada, EPOCH & elsewhere; essays in Tolka Journal and Going Down Swinging. She also translates Sanskrit literature. She’s currently working on her novel.
Karan Kapoor is the Fiction Editor of Strange Pilgrims and Editor-in-Chief of ONLY POEMS. Finalist for the Felix Pollak Prize & Charles B. Wheeler Book prize, his recent poems appear in Best New Poets, AGNI, Shenandoah, IMAGE, Colorado Review, Cincinnati Review, Prairie Schooner, North American Review, and elsewhere; fiction in JOYLAND and the other side of hope; translations in The Offing and The Los Angeles Review. He’s currently working on working on his novel.
⟡ Do I retain the rights to my work? ⟡
Yes. We ask for first serial rights—meaning we’re the first publication (magazine, press, anthology, book, etc) to feature your piece. We also request archival rights to keep your work up our website (which is our Substack).
Work you’ve self-published on your blog, personal Substack, or social media is fine to send our way and doesn’t interfere with the above. After your piece is published, all rights return to you. As is the industry standard, if your work is later reprinted in a book or anthology, we ask that you acknowledge that it first appeared in Strange Pilgrims.
⟡ How much do you pay contributors? ⟡
$200 for long-form | $50 for flash
⟡ I don’t use PayPal. Is there another way to be paid? ⟡
Unfortunately, we’re only able to pay via PayPal right now. We’re happy to send your honorarium to your friend’s or relative’s account if you don’t have one.
⟡ Why do you interview your writers? ⟡
We have spent hours listening to our favorite artists take part in interviews that feel like you’re sitting right there in the room with them, as the rest of the world melts away and, for a moment, everything feels clearer. A good interview is another piece of literature in its own right.
That’s the feeling we’d like you to have when perusing Strange Pilgrims. An interview helps unlock what even an astute reader might miss, and also carries us past the story itself—into the mind and heart of the one that conjured it. Ultimately, we want to publish writers, not just what they’ve written.
⟡ Why are you on Substack? ⟡
At this point, we’re finding Substack aligns with the vision we have for Strange Pilgrims. Each story we publish will arrive like a letter, straight to your inbox. That kind of intimacy feels rare and worth holding onto.
Substack also gives us the ability to grow a community around the magazine in a way that feels seamless and natural. Readers can respond, share, and take part in conversations. And we value that it’s ad-free (as ad-free as one can be in late-stage capitalism) while offering readers an easy, transparent way to support the publications they believe in.
It also saves us the cost and labor of creating and maintaining a custom website.
⟡ Will you ever go to print? ⟡
Right now, our focus is on building a sustainable literary magazine that has a real, dedicated readership. We want the work to be free and accessible to anyone, anywhere in the world.
That said, we love print as much as anyone—that messy stack of mags and books on the coffee table, the rolled up copy carried on a train, the kind of falling-apart, colorful chaotic thing you stumble across years later in a used bookshop. So, once we cross 1000 paid subscribers, we’ll start seriously considering a print edition for those who crave that tangible, analog ritual.
⟡ Are you hiring? (Illustrators, editors, slush readers?) ⟡
Not at the moment, but if we open up for volunteer roles, we’ll announce them publicly.
⟡ If all your stories and interviews are free to read, why would anyone pay for a subscription? ⟡
Our model is simple: the magazine itself stays forever free, open and accessible to everyone. Paid subscriptions are how we keep it alive: how we pay writers, cover costs, and build something sustainable without ads.
Paid subscribers also receive a few perks:
Year-round free submissions
Special posts + resources on writing, editing and publishing
A subscriber-only chat space for ideas, prompts and advice
& for Super Supporters: an annual in-depth editorial feedback letter
But honestly…what you’re really supporting is the possibility of a publication like Strange Pilgrims existing at all—open to all, truly independent, ad-free, and alive in the hands of its readers.
⟡ What is your AI policy? ⟡
We do not publish AI-generated stories or essays. Writing is an act of imagination, research, and memory—one mind reaching for another. Artists hold the pulse of the human condition in a way machines never will. They catch what algorithms miss—the contradictions, hesitations, tiny human errors that turn into revelation. An artist’s work carries the weight of lived time, of memory and forgetting, grief and joy that can’t be squeezed into a template.
For that reason, we only publish work written by humans. We’re utterly uninterested in outsourcing imagination. Literature has always been a conversation between people across time and place, and we intend to keep it that way.
⟡ Can I pay you to publish my work? ⟡
No. Never. We don’t accept payment for publication, and we never will. If we publish your work, it’s because we love it—not because you paid us. In fact, we pay you.
⟡ What is your greatest fear as a magazine? ⟡
That only writers who want to publish with Strange Pilgrims will care about Strange Pilgrims. We want to be a magazine for readers as much as for writers. While sometimes it can feel that there are often more people practicing literary fiction than those out there seeking to read it…this is more based on hearsay and writerly anxieties than fact.
What’s perhaps closer to the truth is that readers hesitate to pick up writing that hasn’t been vouched for in some way. Without a stellar (and often personal) recommendation, even great stories can drift past unseen.
So, our fear is also our challenge and call to adventure. We want to cultivate a community of readers who step through these strange doors first and foremost for the joy of reading. You are all strange pilgrims—you belong here, as writers, lurkers, subscribers, but hopefully, above all, as readers!
⟡ How can I support Strange Pilgrims? ⟡
Start with the simplest and most important thing: read what we publish. Let the stories and essays live in your mind for a while, carry them with you on your walk to work, mention them at dinner. Share them—with a friend, a stranger, an enemy. Teach what we publish. Be an engaged reader—leave comments, write us letters, tell us what a story made you feel/think, restack what moves you.
And, finally, if you have the means to do so, consider a paid subscription—it’s how we keep the lights on.
I was very excited when you started to accept submissions on Sep 21st, but once I read that you received over 2000+ submission, it felt like it's gonna be a major uphill and a figure hard to compete against, especially that I have never written fiction before.
Whether it’s the piece I submitted to you last month, I cannot wait to be published by SP. thank you for starting this conversation and journey.