The Lemonwood Quarterly seeks the best English-language short stories and plays we can find. We do not publish poetry, flash fiction, nonfiction prose, book reviews, or interviews. We are looking for superbly written stories and play pieces between 2,000 and 10,000 words. Read more about our magazine below and submit via Submittable.
Every three months, ten stories or plays are selected for publication in that season’s issue of The Lemonwood Quarterly. The authors are awarded a $200 payment, and their story or play advances to the final contest round in December, for consideration for one of our annual prizes, the $1000 Charlotte Ann Porter Prize for Fiction or the $500 Hononegah Mack Prize for the Best Play.
We respond to all submissions within thirty days of the submission window deadline.
We especially seek out stories with female protagonists who are well into adulthood. There’s no minimum age requirement, but if your protagonist is not at least over thirty years old or so, it could be difficult for them to carry forward the type of stories we aim to publish. We definitely are not looking for coming-of-age stories. We are excited to showcase stories with protagonists who have already passed through those earlier milestones or hurdles and are at a different point in their lives. Although The Lemonwood Quarterly is especially interested in stories with a female protagonist, that does not mean we are looking for work that focuses on the theme of “being female”.
Submissions are read anonymously, so please do not include your name anywhere on the short story or playscript document.
