Fault Zone: Faultless?

PLEASE FOLLOW ALL OF THE GUIDELINES. IF YOU NEED HELP, ASK.

• All submissions must be original to the author and may not have been previously published. In this context, “published” means any form of publication including: an anthology, a book, a print or online magazine, posting to a blog, social media, or personal website. If unsure, consider: could the location the work appears possibly be subject to copyright? Is it publicly accessible? Seen by people you didn’t share with personally? If so, then first publication rights have already been granted, so it’s not suitable for Fault Zone. Save that piece for your own upcoming retrospective collection.
• Generative AI (ChatGPT, CoPilot, etc.) may not have been used in the creation of the work. For practical purposes, we exclude typical assistive tools such as grammar checkers and spell checkers. We understand that using research tools such as Chrome or Bing inevitably engages AI-based search engines, but if you refrain from prompts such as “Please outline a short story showing how it’s ok to have some faults.” you should be … OK. If you are experimenting with genAI for your creative work, again, please save those pieces for your own publications. If you’re unsure what we mean, please reach out to the editorial team and ask.
• Length: Poems of up to 100 lines will be considered. Structured poetry is encouraged—look for new and interesting structures to spark your creativity. However, as always, unstructured poems are also welcome. Up to three related haiku may be submitted in one document as a single entry with a provisional identifying title, e.g., “Three Haiku Using the Word Chartreuse”.     
  • File type: doc, docx, or rtf. If you use Word 2016, please save your file in rich text format (rtf) and submit the rtf version. Submissions in any other format, including pdf, will be declined unread.
• Use standard manuscript format. Good formatting helps your story shine—it’s worth the effort. Here are the basics:

1. 12-pt. type, Times New Roman
2. Prose must be double-spaced, poetry may be single- or double-spaced
3. For shaped poetry, include a note in your cover letter to let us know you are aiming for such an effect, and designate your genre on the manuscript as “shaped poetry”
4. 1-inch margins
5. Indent first line in each paragraph
6. Do not use tabs to indent
7. Do not use carriage returns to create page breaks
8. One space after periods
9. Number every page after the first in the header; use automatic numbering
10. Place the title in the header
11. Title centered on first line
12. Specify submission category on the first page, preferably at upper right
13. For detailed help on manuscript formatting, including short story and poetry templates you can download and use with confidence, see: https://cometarytales.com/resources/

• Provide a brief cover letter with your personal information, the name of your piece, its submission category (poetry, creative nonfiction, fiction) and length. If you are a member of the Fault Zone team, please mention your role—this will not affect selection, but if a piece is selected it may guide assigning your editor during the revision process. If you would like the story published under a pseudonym, make it clear in your cover letter which name is your real name and which your pen name. The cover letter (which reveals your identity) will not be taken into account during selection. If accepted, you will be asked to provide a bio and other information related to your piece.
• If you need any specific accommodations, please let us know in your cover letter. Submissions from authors with disabilities are welcomed; we want to be sure we communicate and work with you effectively. Any such information will be held in confidence unless you request otherwise.
• Anonymize your submission. This means your name (including any pen name) should not appear anywhere in the manuscript, not even headers or footers. Your name will be registered by Submittable. Be sure to include your personal name, any pen name (be clear which is which), and reliable contact information (email at a minimum), in your cover letter.
• No simultaneous submissions.

PLEASE FOLLOW ALL OF THE GUIDELINES. IF YOU NEED HELP, ASK.

• All submissions must be original to the author and may not have been previously published. In this context, “published” means any form of publication including: an anthology, a book, a print or online magazine, posting to a blog, social media, or personal website. If unsure, consider: could the location the work appears possibly be subject to copyright? Is it publicly accessible? Seen by people you didn’t share with personally? If so, then first publication rights have already been granted, so it’s not suitable for Fault Zone. Save that piece for your own upcoming retrospective collection.
• Generative AI (ChatGPT, CoPilot, etc.) may not have been used in the creation of the work. For practical purposes, we exclude typical assistive tools such as grammar checkers and spell checkers. We understand that using research tools such as Chrome or Bing inevitably engages AI-based search engines, but if you refrain from prompts such as “Please outline a short story showing how it’s ok to have some faults.” you should be … OK. If you are experimenting with genAI for your creative work, again, please save those pieces for your own publications. If you’re unsure what we mean, please reach out to the editorial team and ask.
• Length: Creative nonfiction and fiction works of up to 3,000 words will be considered. We recommend aiming for an upper limit 2,500 words, as that will give working space for further development during the revision process.
• File type: doc, docx, or rtf. If you use Word 2016, please save your file in rich text format (rtf) and submit the rtf version. Submissions in any other format, including pdf, will be declined unread.
• Use standard manuscript format. Good formatting helps your story shine—it’s worth the effort. Here are the basics:

1. 12-pt. type, Times New Roman
2. Prose must be double-spaced, poetry may be single- or double-spaced
3. For shaped poetry, include a note in your cover letter to let us know you are aiming for such an effect, and designate your genre on the manuscript as “shaped poetry”
4. 1-inch margins
5. Indent first line in each paragraph
6. Do not use tabs to indent
7. Do not use carriage returns to create page breaks
8. One space after periods
9. Number every page after the first in the header; use automatic numbering
10. Place the title in the header
11. Title centered on first line
12. Specify submission category on the first page, preferably at upper right
13. For detailed help on manuscript formatting, including short story and poetry templates you can download and use with confidence, see: https://cometarytales.com/resources/

• Provide a brief cover letter with your personal information, the name of your piece, its submission category (poetry, creative nonfiction, fiction) and length. If you are a member of the Fault Zone team, please mention your role—this will not affect selection, but if a piece is selected it may guide assigning your editor during the revision process. If you would like the story published under a pseudonym, make it clear in your cover letter which name is your real name and which your pen name. The cover letter (which reveals your identity) will not be taken into account during selection. If accepted, you will be asked to provide a bio and other information related to your piece.
• If you need any specific accommodations, please let us know in your cover letter. Submissions from authors with disabilities are welcomed; we want to be sure we communicate and work with you effectively. Any such information will be held in confidence unless you request otherwise.
• Anonymize your submission. This means your name (including any pen name) should not appear anywhere in the manuscript, not even headers or footers. Your name will be registered by Submittable. Be sure to include your personal name, any pen name (be clear which is which), and reliable contact information (email at a minimum), in your cover letter.
• No simultaneous submissions.

PLEASE FOLLOW ALL OF THE GUIDELINES. IF YOU NEED HELP, ASK.

• All submissions must be original to the author and may not have been previously published. In this context, “published” means any form of publication including: an anthology, a book, a print or online magazine, posting to a blog, social media, or personal website. If unsure, consider: could the location the work appears possibly be subject to copyright? Is it publicly accessible? Seen by people you didn’t share with personally? If so, then first publication rights have already been granted, so it’s not suitable for Fault Zone. Save that piece for your own upcoming retrospective collection.
• Generative AI (ChatGPT, CoPilot, etc.) may not have been used in the creation of the work. For practical purposes, we exclude typical assistive tools such as grammar checkers and spell checkers. We understand that using research tools such as Chrome or Bing inevitably engages AI-based search engines, but if you refrain from prompts such as “Please outline a short story showing how it’s ok to have some faults.” you should be … OK. If you are experimenting with genAI for your creative work, again, please save those pieces for your own publications. If you’re unsure what we mean, please reach out to the editorial team and ask.
• Length: Creative nonfiction and fiction works of up to 3,000 words will be considered. We recommend aiming for an upper limit 2,500 words, as that will give working space for further development during the revision process.
• File type: doc, docx, or rtf. If you use Word 2016, please save your file in rich text format (rtf) and submit the rtf version. Submissions in any other format, including pdf, will be declined unread.
• Use standard manuscript format. Good formatting helps your story shine—it’s worth the effort. Here are the basics:

1. 12-pt. type, Times New Roman
2. Prose must be double-spaced, poetry may be single- or double-spaced
3. For shaped poetry, include a note in your cover letter to let us know you are aiming for such an effect, and designate your genre on the manuscript as “shaped poetry”
4. 1-inch margins
5. Indent first line in each paragraph
6. Do not use tabs to indent
7. Do not use carriage returns to create page breaks
8. One space after periods
9. Number every page after the first in the header; use automatic numbering
10. Place the title in the header
11. Title centered on first line
12. Specify submission category on the first page, preferably at upper right
13. For detailed help on manuscript formatting, including short story and poetry templates you can download and use with confidence, see: https://cometarytales.com/resources/

• Provide a brief cover letter with your personal information, the name of your piece, its submission category (poetry, creative nonfiction, fiction) and length. If you are a member of the Fault Zone team, please mention your role—this will not affect selection, but if a piece is selected it may guide assigning your editor during the revision process. If you would like the story published under a pseudonym, make it clear in your cover letter which name is your real name and which your pen name. The cover letter (which reveals your identity) will not be taken into account during selection. If accepted, you will be asked to provide a bio and other information related to your piece.
• If you need any specific accommodations, please let us know in your cover letter. Submissions from authors with disabilities are welcomed; we want to be sure we communicate and work with you effectively. Any such information will be held in confidence unless you request otherwise.
• Anonymize your submission. This means your name (including any pen name) should not appear anywhere in the manuscript, not even headers or footers. Your name will be registered by Submittable. Be sure to include your personal name, any pen name (be clear which is which), and reliable contact information (email at a minimum), in your cover letter.
• No simultaneous submissions.