Nimrod International Journal

Nimrod International Journal welcomes submissions of poetry, short fiction, and creative nonfiction. We publish two issues annually. Our spring issue is thematic, with the theme announced the preceding fall. Previous themes have included Writers of Age;Range of Light: The Americas; Australia; Who We Are; Islands of the Sea and of the Mind; The Arabic Nations; Mexico/USA; and Crossing Borders. The fall issue features the winners and finalists of our annual Literary Awards. In most cases, both issues also contain work accepted as general submissions throughout the year.

Format
Each issue is approximately 200 pages, perfect bound with a four-color cover. 

General Submissions

PLEASE NOTE: WE ARE TEMPORARILY CLOSING GENERAL SUBMISSIONS AS OF 4/3/24. PLEASE CHECK BACK FOR MORE INFORMATION AND REOPENING DATES.

Accepted from January 1st to October 1st each year. Nimrod is closed to general submissions in October, November, and December. Turn-around time for general submissions is one to five months. Online general submissions have a $3 fee associated with them. 

Prose: Work must be previously unpublished. 7,500 words maximum. Double-spaced. We seek vigorous writing with characters that are well developed and dialogue that is realistic without being banal. 

Poetry: Work must be previously unpublished. 3-7 pages. One poem per page. Poetry is open to all styles and subjects. We seek poems that go beyond one word or image, honor the impulse to reveal a truth about, or persuasive version of, the inner and outer worlds.

Thematic Submissions

Each summer Nimrod announces a theme for the following spring issue. The guidelines for thematic submissions are the same as for general submissions, except that thematic submissions are sometimes accepted in December. Online thematic submissions have a $3 fee associated with them.

For the most up-to-date announcements on themes and other submission information, you can subscribe to our email newsletter or join us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. 

Why is there a $3 fee for online general and thematic submissions?

Our $3 fee is not a reading fee, but a fee to cover the administrative costs associated with our online submission system. We believe that it is similar to what you might spend on a paper submission, once you factor in paper, ink, mailing, return envelopes, and postage. If you do not wish to pay the $3, you may submit via postal mail, as we have no fees associated with postal general and thematic submissions. However, we also offer this alternative as a way to conveniently upload material directly from your computer, as well as to check the status of your submission online.
 

Payment

We pay $10/page, with a maximum payment of $200. Visual artists whose work appears internally will also be compensated at a rate of $10 per image used; front cover artists will be paid $100 for their work. All contributors will also receive two copies of the issue in which their work appears. Work selected for publication through our two annual contests, the Nimrod Literary Awards and the Francine Ringold Awards for New Writers, will also receive this payment ($2,000 and $1,000 for the Literary Awards; $500 for the Francine Ringold Awards).

Nimrod Literary Awards

Annual contest begins January 1 and ends April 1.

Fiction: 7,500 words maximum (one short story or a self-contained excerpt from a novel)

Poetry: 3-10 pages. One long poem or several shorter poems.

No previously published works or works accepted for publication elsewhere.  Author's name must not appear on the manuscript.  Include a cover sheet with title, author's name, full address, phone & email.

Submissions are open internationally.

All finalists will be considered for publication. In addition to publication and the prize money, winners will also be brought to Tulsa for the Awards Ceremony in October (or, in 2023, will take part in a virtual Awards Ceremony and Reading with our final judges).

 

The Francine Ringold Awards for New Writers

PLEASE NOTE: THIS YEAR'S RINGOLD AWARDS ARE ON HIATUS. PLEASE CHECK BACK IN 2025 WHEN WE HOPE TO REOPEN THEM.

Annual contest begins May 1 and ends July 15. 

Eligibility: The Francine Ringold Awards for New Writers honor the work of writers at the beginning of their careers. They are open only to writers whose work has not appeared or is not scheduled to appear in more than 2 publications. (Self-published works, works with a distribution of less than 100 copies, and journalistic articles are not considered toward the count of 2 publications.)

Prizes: $500 prizes will be awarded in both the fiction and poetry categories, and the winning manuscripts will appear in the spring issue of Nimrod. Winners will have the chance to work with the Nimrod board of editors to refine and edit their manuscripts before publication.

Contest Rules

Fiction: 5,000 words maximum (one short story or a self-contained excerpt from a novel)

Poetry: Up to 5 pages. One long poem or several shorter poems.

No previously published works or works accepted for publication elsewhere.  Author's name must not appear on the manuscript.  Include a cover sheet with title, author's name, full address, phone & email.

The Francine Ringold Awards are open internationally.  

For more information, visit our website or join us on Facebook or Twitter. 

Statement on “AI” Writing Tools (such as ChatGPT)

We will not consider any submissions written, developed, or assisted by these tools. Attempting to submit these works may result in being banned from submitting works in the future.