Submission Guidelines

  • Refer to genre guidelines in the specific submission project.
  • If your work contains violence, sexual or mental abuse, sexual assault, etc., please put a content warning or trigger warning above that specific piece--we would just like a little warning. Abusive pieces written from an obviously celebratory perspective will be rejected.

Our readers and editors read new submissions carefully. It usually takes 3-4 months for us to get back to you (unless otherwise noted), although we try to respond faster than that if we can. All of our staff are full-time graduate students at Kansas State University, and we appreciate your patience with our review process.

Touchstone is dedicated to creating a safe platform for publication for our new writers & artists. Black, Indigenous, & POC, women, LGBTQIA, diversely-abled, international writers, & other underrepresented voices are cordially welcome to find a home for your work with us!

The Touchstone Undergraduate Creative Writing Awards are a K-State English departmental award nominated by the editors of Touchstone for the best short fiction submitted by K-State undergraduates. First place award: $75; second place: $50. We'll select and publish two winners. Any K-State undergraduate may submit their best creative work for consideration! Please adhere the following guidelines as you prepare your submission:  

  • We will accept up to thirty pages of fiction 
  • Please use easy-to-read, standard fonts such as Times New Roman and Garamond. 12 point font. Please include page numbers. Attach your file as a Word document on the submissions page. We only recommend PDF if the piece has special formatting
  • Previous first place winners are ineligible
  • If you'd like to submit to more than one genre, please make another submission instead. There should be only one genre within each submission.
  • If your work contains violence, sexual or mental abuse, sexual assault, etc., please put a content warning or trigger warning above that specific piece--we would just like a little warning. Abusive pieces written from an obviously positive perspective will be rejected.

We're excited and honored to read your work, K-State undergrads! Send us your best.

The Touchstone Undergraduate Creative Writing Awards are a K-State English departmental award  nominated by the editors of Touchstone for the best nonfiction submitted by K-State undergraduates. First place award: $75; second place: $50. We'll select and publish two winners. Any K-State undergraduate may submit their best creative work for consideration! Please adhere the following guidelines as you prepare your submission:  

  • We will accept up to thirty pages of nonfiction 
  • Please use easy-to-read, standard fonts such as Times New Roman and Garamond. 12 point font. Please include page numbers. Attach your file as a Word document on the submissions page. We only recommend PDF if the piece has special formatting
  • Previous first place winners are ineligible
  • If you'd like to submit to more than one genre, please make another submission instead. There should be only one genre within each submission.
  • If your work contains violence, sexual or mental abuse, sexual assault, etc., please put a content warning or trigger warning above that specific piece--we would just like a little warning. Abusive pieces written from an obviously positive perspective will be rejected.

We're excited and honored to read your work, K-State undergrads! Send us your best!

The Touchstone Undergraduate Creative Writing Awards are K-State English departmental awards nominated by the editors of Touchstone for the best group of poems submitted by K-State undergraduates. First place award: $75; second place: $50. We'll select and publish two winners. Any K-State undergraduate may submit their best creative work for consideration! Please adhere the following guidelines as you prepare your submission:  

  • We will accept up to ten pages of poetry
  • Please use easy-to-read, standard fonts such as Times New Roman and Garamond. 12 point font. Please include page numbers. Attach your file as a Word document on the submissions page. We only recommend PDF if the piece has special formatting
  • Previous first place winners are ineligible
  • If you'd like to submit to more than one genre, please make another submission instead. There should be only one genre within each submission.
  • If your work contains violence, sexual or mental abuse, sexual assault, etc., please put a content warning or trigger warning above that specific piece--we would just like a little warning. Abusive pieces written from an obviously positive perspective will be rejected.

We're excited and honored to read your work, K-State undergrads! Send us your best!

Touchstone Literary Magazine