“The past is never really past, but always present in some form or another.”

-M. Gessen

We are a journal preoccupied with history and how it shapes us. Adolescent blunders, dental records, the archaic origins of long-held or long-lost traditions— we want to know all of it. We are looking for work that spills secrets and wipes the dust off of old memories.

We want honesty. We want an education.

For more information about what we’re looking for and to determine if we’re the best fit for your work, please visit our about page, look through our archive, and/or read our editor’s interview with Trish Hopkinson.

Guidelines

Thank you for your interest in Kitchen Table Quarterly!

History is a complex thing, and too often, people's stories are erased because of who they are, how they look, what they believe, and/or where they come from. At Kitchen Table Quarterly, we believe in amplifying the voices of those whose histories have been lessened, altered, or outright denied. As such, we encourage submissions from writers who are Black, Indigenous, people of color, disabled, LGBTQIA+-identifying, immigrant, and/or otherwise from underrepresented communities.

Both new and established writers and artists are encouraged to submit!

Keep in mind, we only print previously unpublished works. For our purposes, personal blogs and/or social media posts do not count as previous publication; however, we do ask that you take down anything you plan to submit to us for consideration. We may also consider reprinting work that previously appeared in defunct journals/presses; however, please tell us where the piece was published and when.

We’re sorry, but right now, we are not able to print translations.

Submissions are only accepted online via our submittable page. We do not accept emailed submissions.

We enjoy cover letters! They don’t need to be long, but we appreciate a little introduction to those submitting to us. We love to know how you found us and if you’ve submitted to us before. Please be sure to include a brief (~50 words) third-person biography with your cover letter.

Simultaneous submissions are encouraged! Please do let us know in your cover letter and notify us immediately if your work is accepted elsewhere.

We do not accept multiple submissions. Please be sure to only submit to one category, once per reading period. We also ask that previous contributors wait a full year from publication before submitting again.

Kitchen Table Quarterly will immediately reject any work which promotes bigotry, malice, and/or discrimination based on race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, nationality, disability, etc.

For poetry, submit no more than five poems (with a maximum of 10 pages) as a single .doc or .docx attachment in a standard font (Times New Roman, Garamond, Helvetica, that type of thing). Each poem should begin on a fresh page. While we do welcome it, we encourage submitters to note that we rarely accept rhyming poetry. Please be sure to note the number of poems you are submitting in your cover letter and in the title of your submission. Additionally, all submissions are read blind! Please do not include any identifying information in your submission packet, including in the file name.

For creative nonfiction, submit a stand-alone piece of up to 3000 words as a double-spaced .doc or .docx attachment in a standard font (Times New Roman, Garamond, Helvetica, that type of thing). Please be sure to note the word count in your cover letter and in the title of your submission. Additionally, all submissions are read blind! Please do not include any identifying information in your submission packet, including in the file name. We accept all forms of creative nonfiction, and encourage experimentation with form and voice.

For artworks, please submit up to five pieces (diptychs and triptychs count as a single piece) as high quality .jpgs or .pngs. Be sure to include the title and material of each artwork in your cover letter. Note that we tend to print two-three pieces per artist and rarely accept single pieces. We do not recommend submitting less than three pieces. Yes, we count photography as artwork.

We’re sorry, but once work is submitted, we cannot accept revisions. However, submissions are free, so if the reading period is still open, you are welcome to withdraw your original submission and resubmit.

Publication Rights

If accepted, Kitchen Table Quarterly is granted first serial rights, archival rights, and non-exclusive reprint rights. Upon publication, individual rights revert back to the author. Kitchen Table Quarterly kindly asks for acknowledgment in any subsequent reprints of your work.

Artists retain all rights.

Reading Schedule

We publish four online issues per year— autumn, winter, spring and a summer “Notable” issue.

We are open for submissions during the months of March, July, and October.

Response Time

We do our best to respond within three months. If three months have passed and you still haven’t heard from us, feel free to inquire at editors@kitchentablequarterly.org.

Payment

We would love to compensate writers and artists for their work but we are, unfortunately, unable to do so. However, we do all we can to provide a platform, so please include links to websites, social media, etc. when submitting.

We also nominate for Best of the Net and Pushcart.