What types of work are you accepting? 

We are interested in three types of material:

• Short Fiction

• Poetry

• Creative Non-fiction

Short Fiction

Stories should not exceed 10,000 words.  An author can submit up to THREE stories per reading period.  Simultaneous submissions are accepted, but please withdraw your piece immediately if it is accepted elsewhere.  

Poetry

Poetry should not exceed 1000 words.  An author can submit up to FIVE poems per reading period.  Simultaneous submissions are accepted, but please immediately withdraw your piece if it is accepted elsewhere.  We are looking for poetry that is well-written and makes sense.

Creative Non-Fiction

Creative Non-Fiction should not exceed 8,000 words.  An author can submit up to THREE pieces per reading period.  Simultaneous submissions are accepted, but please withdraw your piece immediately if it is accepted elsewhere. 

NEW! Watch Heather von Doehren's video on how to format your manuscripts!

Alternatively, you can also view it here: http://blip.tv/file/759429  

Up until this point, we have not posted any formatting requirements for submissions.  We didn’t worry about it because when we put together the final product, every manuscript has to be reformatted anyway to meet our style guide and be placed into our layout application.  What we’ve learned, however, is that certain formatting choices make life a bit easier for our editors.  So here they are:

Relief’s Formatting Requirements:

• Use a basic 12pt font like Times, Ariel, Helvetica, etc.

• Double space your fiction and creative nonfiction manuscripts (poetry can be spaced as appropriate for the poem.)

• In the document’s header, please include your name, the name of the work you are submitting, and the page number (if the document is only one page, this may not be necessary).

• Make sure the title and your name are on the first page of the document, along with a word count for fiction and creative nonfiction or line count for poetry.

• Poems should be submitted separately so that they can be reviewed separately

• Poems that continue onto a second page should include a note of either “continued with stanza break” or “continued without stanza break."

If you have already submitted your work, we will not reject anything solely based on its formatting; however, if you would like to make some quick formatting changes, you can edit your document.  Click on “Edit Details” next to the appropriate submission, then click on “browse” to submit your revision, then “update” to make the change.

We have established an online submisison system that will make the submission process easy for everyone. The new system will streamline the process so that we can evaluate submissions more quickly. There is no need for costly envelopes and postage! 

We do not accept submissions through email or regular mail. We will not consider nor return submissions sent in these fashions.

The Process

The Relief 2.0 strategy has improved how work is submitted. Here's the process:

1. Create an account on the Relief Writers Network. Click Here to jump to it.
2. After creating an account, log in and click on Submit Work.
3. Fill out the form, attach your document in Microsoft Word (.doc) or Rich Text Format (.rtf) only!!!! If you try to upload any other format, the system will not accept it! If the editors cannot open your file, they can't read it, and it will be summarily dismissed! Then, you will email the editors, because you are sad, and didn't read the instructions. The editors will then tell you to read the instructions on this page. Then, you will be happy, because you will save your work in one of those two formats and be able to upload your work.
4. Mac Users: You have to add the .doc or .rtf extension on the end of the file name.
5. You can go back and check on your work anytime in the Relief Writers Network by clicking on the Check Work link at the top of the page . You will receive an email and you'll also get an status update on the work submission itself.

Coach has built a keen little video to walk you through the process. Click here to view it.

Relief is a non-profit journal running on a very small budget.  Authors will experience the joy of being published in an issue of a cutting edge Christian event.  Each contributor will receive a complimentary copy of the issue, and a cash prize (to be determined) will be awarded to "Editor's Choice" in each genre as long as funds are available.  When funds are low, the honor will still be given and the authors receiving the Editor's Choice Awards will receive two contributor's copies and extra congratulations.

For information about donating to this cause, click away .