Submissions
We are a mutually supportive volunteer writing community committed to excellence, to free speech, to respectful discussion, and to the concept that each human life is of great value and interest. We believe that the more we communicate with each other, the more the value of others, and of “the other,” will become apparent to us. We believe the more that we communicate, the more we will find common ground.
We publish creative nonfiction, usually longer than flash but less than 7500 words. For contests we usually cap the word limit at 5000 words. Our regular period runs September 1st through December 1st. Writers are welcome to submit via Submittable, via email at [email protected], or via groundmail to P.O. Box 332, Cookeville, Tennessee, 38506. We look for essays that find at least one strong advocate among our readers. We attempt to send real feedback to our submitters, and we do not charge for this.
If you have an essay of timely interest outside of our regular reading period, you are welcome to submit it via email with the subject heading of Writers Respond. If selected, your work may be accompanied by a podcast of your reading and discussing it with an editor.
We seek only original work that has not yet been published elsewhere.
Under the Sun started as a writing project in a college classroom in 1996, but has grown to become an independent 501 (c)3 literary nonprofit and one of the longest continuously running literary journals dedicated to creative nonfiction in the US. We look forward to reading your work, and we welcome you to our community.