July 21, 2008

Guidelines for Submissions

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General Information

The Press accepts fiction, nonfiction, essays and art, in a broad variety of topics and genres. We do not accept erotica or pornography. We do accept previously published material, as long as the author retains the necessary rights.

Lack of prior publication is not frowned upon; excessive spelling errors are.

We do prefer email queries before you send in a submission.

Unless otherwise noted below, all submissions to editor@pikerpress.com.

We are not a paying market. We do count as a legitimate e-publishing credit on a writing resume. Items published in the Piker Press are considered officially published and may not be submitted elsewhere in the e- or print industry as a previously unpublished work. By submitting an item for publication in the Press, you are offering the Press one time electronic rights to publication. The author retains all other rights and we wholly support an author who desires to publish pieces submitted to us in other e- or print venues. It is standard for us to also ask for the rights to maintain an article in our e-database and archive. We have no problem removing items per an author's request.

We do offer compensation in the form of a designated portion of advertising space, in which the author is welcome to promote works published elsewhere. This service is meant primarily for books and articles, though occasionally other products qualify, and is subject to approval.

Manuscripts and poems should be sent in MS Word compatible format, .rtf or .txt

Photographs, comics, and artwork should be sent in .jpg or .gif format

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Poetry

Send poetry queries and submissions to poetry@pikerpress.com.

For seasonal and current calls for submissions, please visit the Poetry Submissions thread of our forums.

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Fiction

The Press seeks an active balance between genres, from literary and contemporary fiction to science fiction and horror. Fiction is published in segments of approximately 2000 words in length and will be broken up accordingly. Short fiction is considered anything under 10,000 words in length. The Press continually accepts short fiction submissions. Serial fiction is longer.

As of September 2005:

We are currently accepting serial fiction in the 10,000-50,000 word range.

We are currently looking for one work of serial fiction in the 50,000k+ range for publication in mid-January 2009.

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Nonfiction

Nonfiction should be 2000 words or less.

We look for:

• Book, film, product reviews that are well thought out and written in an engaging, impersonal voice. We prefer positive reviews, but cannot resist nasty ones.
• How-to's. Include step-by-step instructions. Photographs a plus.
• Scholarly articles on history, science, wildlife, plants, geography. We love these. Amateurs are welcome; remember to cite your sources. Make sure a layman can understand it, even if the article has to be broken up into a small series to do so. Again, an informal, engaging voice is preferred.
• Travelogues. Photos are important, as well as pacing and selection of detail. The reader should be able to travel vicariously through your experience, but don't necessarily keep the article waiting around in the luggage claim for hours.
• Religion/culture. Articles on different religions and cultures are prized, however they are considered very carefully. At minimum, they must address a particular religion or culture in a positive manner, and without denigrating other religions/cultures. Articles written by members of a culture or religion about controversies existing within the same are sometimes considered, however as a rule, the Press is not a vehicle for controversy.

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Essays

Essays should be 2000 words or less.

We are not currently looking for columnists. We are currently accepting individual essays. Essays can be on, but are not limited to, the topics of family, personal experience, and humor. Political commentary is sometimes accepted, however as stated above, the Press is not a vehicle for controversy. The Press will not run pro-abortion material.

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Peeks of the Week/Photography

Send photography/Peeks of the Week to aser@pikerpress.com.

Unusual art and photography. The final image will be reduced to a maximum of 600 wide by 800 high pixels. Our preference is to submit an unreduced .jpg or .gif of this size (72-300 dpi) to allow us to present the image in the optimum balance of detail and download time, which varies from image to image. Please accompany photograph or art with a brief description of the topic and the medium/tools used. An accompanying essay of 600 words is acceptable, as well.

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Webcomics

We are accepting individual comic submissions (as opposed to series or novellas).

We are accepting three graphic novellas currently, to conclude in 50 strips or less. The novella must be storyboarded out in entirety, with a minimum of several finished strips available in advance. Send a one-paragraph summary of the graphic novella with your query before sending samples. Be prepared to send 2-3 sample strips and a more extensive summary of the plot. Also be prepared to discuss having your work available for purchase in a print format, such as Lulu.com.

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Items not covered above

Pitch us. What's the worst we could say?

By submitting, you acknowledge that the work is of your original creation. If your work is accepted, The Piker Press is granted one-time electronic publication rights and the right to maintain a copy of the work in our electronic database, unless by other arrangement.

Editorial Staff

Senior Editor

Alexandra Queen
editor@pikerpress.com

Assistant Editors

Josh Brown
Technical Support, sci-fi/horror tvaddict@pikerpress.com

Sand Pilarski
Contemporary/literary fic, art and photography
aser@pikerpress.com

Cheryl Haimann
Poetry editor
poetry@pikerpress.com

Tedi Trindle
Marketing
tedi@pikerpress.com