Submissions
Frequently asked questions
What are you looking for?
We are looking for crime fiction that makes us forget that we are reading.
What are your manuscript guidelines?
Submit work as a Word Doc, Rich Text Format (RTF), or Plain Text. No PDFs. Length of stories may vary from a paragraph (under 125 words) to 15 pages (or 3,750 words). We may be open to novellas under 60 pages at some future time, but for now we need to cap fiction at 15 pages. Do query though and make yourself known.
We are also considering blots, a new literary form that will appear in Noir Nation No. 8. Blots are satirical works of prose fiction under 125 words that conform to entries in a police blotter.
Include the writer's name, postal address, phone number, and email address at the top left-hand corner of the MS. Also include in the document a short and straightforward bio.
Do you pay writers?
Always. Not much. But always.
What is the Golden Fedora Award?
The Golden Fedora Award is a medallion created by the Northwestern Mint, the same mint that coins the Pultizers, awarded to winning entries selected by The Editors for poetry and fiction. Prizes in each category are awarded in alternating years. In 2019 the award will be for fiction.
Do you charge a reading fee?
Never.
Are you open for submissions now?
We have no regular reading periods. Much depends on available editorial resources. But if you want updates on the reading period and what we may be needing for a particular issue, please subscribe to our newsletter.
The newsletter provides subscribers advance notice of open calls and pay and official announcements of Golden Fedora winners and publication releases. Additionally, editors rely on subscribers for ideas and referrals when working on special by-invite-only issues.
Nota Bene: Submissions are closed for Noir Nation No. 8 but we are still considering material submitted for that issue for Noir Nation Nos. 9 and 10.
How do I submit my work?
We are no longer accepting work via Submittable. If you submitted work there and have not heard from us, please resubmit your work as an MS Word or RTF attachment to editor@noirnation and include the words "Noir Nation Resubmission" in the RE line.
If you submitted work for the 2020 Golden Fedora Fiction Prize, and did not place, and wish your work considered for publication in Noir Nation Nos. 9, 10, and 11, please include "2020 Golden Fedora Fiction Resubmission" in the RE line.
Submissions are currently closed for Noir Nation No. 8.
Do you accept previously published work?
We prefer previously unpublished work but do make exceptions for work that has appeared in languages other than English or as a chapter of novel or in a single-author collection of short fiction or poetry. We also make exceptions for works of nonfiction, journalistic or academic that were published in outlets of general interest, that is, not a crime fiction magazine or anthology.
Would you consider vampire detectives on Mars?
Prose fiction should be realistic and set in the here & now or near past. However, if the work is comedic or farcical, it can be set anywhere, any time but must be more than parody: it must be funny.
True crime and Nonfiction should remain within the generally accepted bounderies of those forms. True crime must be based on something that happened, perhaps a story by a journalist, or a case worked on by a law enforcement or court officer, or a transgressive act by a writer released from prison, in prison, or on death row. Nonfiction must inform readers about the world of noir, its literature, films, history, and movements. We don't publish book reviews unless the review is part of a larger discussion about a body of work, time period, or contemporary writing scene.
Poems should be under 30 lines but query the editor if you have a work that is substantially longer. Submit 3-5 poems at a time on the same document.
Blots, a new literary form we are introducing in NN8, should be under 125 words. They are short satirical works of prose fiction based on police blotter entries.