$25 Cash Prize. One Story. Custom Broadside Art.

Emerge with us!

In Fall 2020, Touchstone transformed into what you see today: a fully digital magazine, open to all writers nationally and internationally, with an annual issue series that is FREE and available digitally; an open platform that shares and celebrates our favorite works with all of our readers, old and new.

We are immensely proud of our debut online issues, but as we continue to grow, we also understand how hard it is for an emerging writer to enter the publishing world for the first time. If you have never published fiction with a magazine, we’d like to invite you to emerge with us. Let us be the first home for your story!

The Debut Prize is set to usher writers into the gate and celebrate their debut in the literary community. The Debut Prize in Fiction recognizes one short story, one never-published writer, with a $25 cash award. In addition to paid publication, the winner will be celebrated on our website and social media and receive a digital broadside for their story, depicting a compelling scene and line from the story, which will be exclusively designed by our talented artist and available for download and sharing. Due to the selective nature of this contest, we might not be able to accept all the strong stories we adore. With writers’ permission, we will gladly consider such stories for publication in our annual issue.

For an example, click here to read 2021's Debut Prize in Fiction Winner: "Hollow" by Ariana Tucker _____________________________________________________________

Submission Guidelines

• Submissions period: September 20- October 4, 2023.
• $5 donation per submission. Multiple paid submissions are allowed. 100% of your donation will go toward supporting our magazine (Submittable and website fees, paying our future contributors, etc.).
• Submissions are open to all fiction authors who have never been published by a literary magazine before.
• Stories should range between 1,000 and 5,000 words. Flash fiction, novel excerpts, and longer stories will not be read. You may submit up to two stories, each of at least 1,000 words per piece. Please include both stories in the same document before uploading to Submittable.
• Please consistently keep the font 12pt, single-spaced, Times New Roman or Garamond, and the pages numbered.
• Your name or other identifying information should not appear anywhere in your submission.
• Please include a brief cover letter and a third-person author bio (25-75 words for the bio) in the Submittable portion. A paragraph or two will suffice--just tell us a bit about you.
• At the moment, we accept stories primarily written in English.
• Stories may be about any topic, setting, or character. Genre fiction is welcome! Stories should be polished, and ready for print, though editors might reach out to make some editorial adjustments as they see fit. Writers will have a chance to review edits before they are published.
• Simultaneous submissions to other journals are fine, but please do let us know immediately if your piece is no longer available.

$25 Cash Prize. One Poem. With Custom Broadside Art. 

Emerge with us!  As a literary magazine that supports and amplifies new voices, we understand how hard it is for an emerging poet to enter the publishing world for the first time. The Debut Prize is set to usher writers into the gate and celebrate their debut in the literary community.  

The Debut Prize in Poetry recognizes one poem, one never-published poet, with a $25 cash award. In addition to paid publication, the winner will be celebrated on our website and social media and receive a digital broadside for their poem, which will be exclusively designed by our talented artist and available for download and sharing. Due to the selective nature of this contest, we might not be able to accept all the strong poems we adore. With poets’ permission, we will gladly consider such poems for publication in our regular online series.

For an example, click here to read 2020's Debut Prize in Poetry winner: "unplugged" by Ayaz Siddiqui. ________________________________________________________________  

Submission Guidelines 

• Submissions period: September 20 - October 4, 2023
• $5 donation per submission. Multiple paid submissions are allowed. 100% of your donation will go toward supporting our magazine (Submittable and website fees, paying our future contributors, etc.).
• Submissions are open to all poets who have never been published by a literary magazine before. Self-published poets are welcome if the work you are submitting has not been published on personal platforms (social media, blog post, etc).
• At the moment, we accept poems primarily written in English. 
• Poems may be any style, format, or subject. We simply want to see your best work. Surprise us. Move us. Expand our understanding of poetry. Remind us what a good poem can do. 
• 1-3 poems or 5 pages max per submission, whichever comes first. 
• Please consistently keep the font 12pt, single-spaced, Times New Roman or Garamond, unless a poem demands weird spacing and wonky fonts.
• Include all poems in one document, each new poem starting on a separate page. Your name or other identifying information should not appear anywhere in your submission unless it’s part of the theme of the poem.
• Please include a brief cover letter and a third-person author bio (25-75 words for the bio) in the submittable portion. A paragraph or two will suffice--just tell us a bit about you beyond your work.
• Simultaneous submissions are welcome. Please inform us at once when a current submission becomes unavailable. 

"The attributes of liminality are necessarily ambiguous... Liminal entities are neither here nor there; they are betwixt and between the positions assigned and arrayed by law, custom, convention and ceremonial." -Victor Turner

   Liminality is a quality of being between two places or stages, on the verge of transitioning to something new. There's a liminality to the brief moment between being injured and fully recovered, between being healed and moved on, or between important moments of life! We would like to read your essays on this in-between space. Please send us your submission to show us the progress rather than the product. We are looking forward to reading your essays that uniquely approach the theme.

This nonfiction publication opportunity has a short submission window of one week, which will allow us to get back to you in a few short weeks. Pieces selected for publication will be digitally published by Touchstone.

Submission Guidelines:

• Submission period: September 20 - September 27
• Pieces submitted should be between 1500-5000 words, with a maximum of two pieces submitted per person. 
• 12-point font, preferably in Times New Roman or Garamond. Please do not include your name or title in the header line of your piece. Unless needed for emphasis, nonfiction pieces should be double-spaced and adhere to general fiction formatting.
• Include a brief cover letter and a third-person bio of between 25-75 words in the cover letter box. A paragraph or two will suffice--just tell us a bit about you beyond your work.
• Simultaneous submissions are welcome, but please let us know in advance if your work has been accepted elsewhere.
• If your piece contains sensitive material (i.e. sexual or mental abuse, violence, sexual assault, self-harm, etc.), please establish a content warning, either in the cover letter box or before the piece itself. Pieces that explore these topics in problematic ways (celebratory or otherwise) will be rejected.
• At the moment, we accept stories primarily written in English.
• $5 donation per submission. 100% of your donation will go toward supporting our magazine (Submittable fees, website domain, etc).