Rivet: The Journal of Writing That Risks publishes new literary work that breaks from the confines of mainstream realism to surprise, delight, and challenge readers. We seek writing that crosses boundaries of form, content, genre, and style — either subtly or radically. If you have something that’s weird and interesting and strangely powerful but don’t know who would publish such a thing, it’s exactly what we want to read.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are temporarily closing submissions. We will reopen once everyone’s back on their feet and can give new submissions the attention they deserve. Sign up for our newsletter, and you’ll be the first to know when submissions reopen.

If you have already submitted work to us, it will be reviewed, just not quickly. Feel free to simultaneously submit elsewhere.

General Guidelines:

• Read the journal to get a feel for what we publish. It’s online and free.
• All submissions must be previously unpublished in print or electronically. Author must be the sole rights holder of the submission.
• One submission per person, per cycle. (Please wait till you’ve heard a response before sending a new submission.)
• Documents should be formatted for readability.
• Please include a brief cover letter and bio with your submission. 
• Simultaneous submissions are OK as long as you notify us if the work is accepted elsewhere (you can do this right in Submittable by withdrawing the work or sending us a note).

Detailed Guidelines: 

We accept most kinds of submissions on a rolling basis year round.

• Fiction: Fiction submissions are open through July.
  Submit one short story or up to 5 pieces of flash fiction in one document. Length of each piece should be between 15 and 15,000 words, give or take. 
• Poetry: Submit up to 5 poems in one document. For more on what our poetry editors are looking for, read this interview.
• Nonfiction: Submit one essay or up to 5 short related pieces. Length guidelines are the same as those for fiction. Topic is wide open. Surprise us.
• Hybrid: Is your work hard to label? Yay! Just use the guidelines above that match most closely.
• Translations are welcome. Follow the guidelines for whichever category above matches the work, and tell us about the original work in the cover letter.
• Reviews & Interviews: We publish reviews and interviews on our blog. We’re interested in articles that focus on people, books, art, movies, and music that buck the status quo and inspire experimentation.
• Visual, Multimedia, Hybrid Art: Yes. Just Yes.

Permissions and Payment:

• Authors retain copyright over their work. Authors give Rivet the right to publish the work on the Rivet website; this right is exclusive for 6 months from the date of publication. Thereafter, the author is welcome to reprint the work elsewhere.
• Rivet pays $25 per author per issue, regardless of genre, length or number of pieces. (These rates can change from year to year as they are based on the amount of funding we receive from supporters.)