Call for Submissions: Spoon Knife 12
Open August 1, 2026 – July 31, 2027
Theme
What is bouncing into your life? Or are you bouncing into the life of another? The theme of Bounce is super open, and speaks to unexpected play along with many other elements.
Anyone that has bounced back from a challenge knows about the innate power of the Bounce, as we rebound and change direction. It’s how we animate again, discovering that springy and vivacious shape.
What does Bounce mean to you?
We want your stories, memoirs, and poetry inspired by this theme. If an idea is already bouncing into your mind, we look forward to reading it.
What We’re Looking For
We are looking for poems, memoir, and short fiction produced by artisanal human writers. Pieces that bend, combine, and explode genres are of particular interest, as are authentically weird, queer, mad, or otherwise fringe perspectives. Above all, we want well-crafted stories featuring some interesting take on the theme.
What We’re Not Looking For
We do not accept fanfic; any fictional characters or setting in your work must be your original creation. No simultaneous submissions or work that have been previously published elsewhere, and no AI-assisted material. We are not seeking essays, direct commentary, or opinion pieces.
Editors
Spoon Knife 12 will be co-edited by Azzia Walker and Dean Gloster.
Timeline
The deadline for submissions is July 31, 2027.
Contributors will be notified of acceptance or rejection no later than January 2028.
Spoon Knife 12 will be published in May 2028.
Submission Format
All submissions must be Word documents (.doc or .docx files) formatted to meet the following criteria:
– 12-point Times New Roman font
– 1.5 or double spacing (no single-spacing except poetry or block quotes)
– First line of each paragraph indented
– No extra whitespace between paragraphs
– Consistent use of Oxford commas
– Thoroughly proofread and spell-checked
– For em dashes, please use the em dash character (not a hyphen or pair of hyphens), with no space between the em dash and the surrounding words.
Important: On the title page, be sure to include your email address.
Photographs and other imagery will not be accepted. Although we love a good concrete poem, poetry relying on complex formatting on the page will not be accepted.
The maximum length for submissions is 10k words. Exception: You can assume this limit to be flexible if you’re an author whom we’ve previously published or whose submission the editors have actively solicited.
For those submitting stories, especially that use dialogue, you might first review Browne and King’s Self-Editing for Fiction Writers and incorporate the suggestions on best practices for writers.
Submission Process
We accept .doc and .docx file types, and please make sure your file name follows this format: Last Name – First Name – Story or Poem Name. Then email it to info – at – autpress.com. The email confirmation of receipt will come within a week, along with a reminder of the schedule (see more information below).
Editorial Process
You will receive an email from the editors no later than January 2028 notifying you of acceptance or rejection.
If your piece is accepted, we will ask you for a short bio written in the third person, no more than 150 words in length, with the exact name under which you wish to be credited. We will also ask for your mailing address for the purpose of shipping a complimentary copy of the book to you.
Our process, on acceptance, includes a close copy-edit. We will check in with authors if any significant change is needed beyond fixing typological errors. We do not send author proofs to individual contributors.
Payment
Payment for accepted submissions will be $30 plus 1 cent per word, sent near the time of the book’s release.
Questions?
Email info [at] autpress [dot] com.