Guidelines for
Quarterly Submissions

Thank you for your interest in submitting to Timothy McSweeney’s Quarterly Concern! We gladly consider unsolicited works, but because we are a very small organization with an even smaller editorial department, it often takes us a long time to respond to our submitters. We appreciate your patience with us as we work on getting to your piece.

Please send unsolicited submissions to the below address:

McSweeney’s Quarterly
c/o Rita Bullwinkel
849 Valencia St.
San Francisco CA 94110

If you would like a response please include a self-addressed and pre-stamped postcard. We are unable to return manuscripts.

STYLE AND SUBJECT
We publish mostly fiction and some nonfiction. There are no rules. The best way to get a sense of what we’re interested in publishing is to read the Quarterly. You can pick up a subscription or back issues here.

LENGTH
Is up to you.

COVER LETTER
Please keep yours brief, though we do like to hear from people who like the magazine. We’re not concerned about writing degrees or past publications, so don’t be daunted if you don’t have an MFA or much in the way of previously published work.

SUBMISSIONS FOR THE WEBSITE
Should be sent to a different address, following different guidelines, which are presented in a different link on this site.

FORMATTING
It’s better if you don’t use colors or Fun Fonts or strange formatting.

AUTHOR BIOS
Feel free to include a brief biography of yourself.

PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED WORK
Will not be considered here.

PAYMENT
Contributors are paid at the time of publication, and our standard rate for short stories is $400. The fee for letters, flash fiction, translations, and other formats and situations varies according to circumstances, with equity in mind.

POETRY
Can be wonderful, but is not something we often publish in the Quarterly.