Lend us your quill.
The Birdseed would love to publish your writing! We are looking for micro-reviews of books (to be published on the Birdseed Blog) and for micro fiction (to be published in the Birdseed Magazine).
book reviews, in 150 words or less
The Birdseed Blog publishes, among other bookish pursuits, micro book reviews!
We love books and reading, and we want to be a place that people can turn to when they just want to shout about a book–good or bad. And if you relish the challenge of fitting your thoughts into 150 words, we’re the blog for you!
We’re looking for pithy and interesting reviews, and we welcome creativity!
The only guidelines are that the review must be 150 words or less, and that if you’re in any way connected to the book you’re reviewing (your roommate is the author, you work for the publisher, etc.), you disclose that.
We’re pretty flexible in terms of review submissions: book review submissions are open year-round, you can submit multiple reviews simultaneously, and you need not wait for a response from us before submitting another!
micro fiction
The Birdseed Magazine publishes micro fiction from new writers, emerging writers, _____ writers. Writers of all types!
We are looking for fiction of 150 words or less.
We are looking for writing that waltzes; writing that soars; and writing that celebrates. We love a fresh, surprising voice, and we love writing that feels like rain or maybe a birdsong morning.
We love whimsy and quirk, but we also love introspective pieces. We also, of course, love nature writing.
Let the spirit of the Birdseed settle into your bones, and send us what flies out!
Submissions for our fourth issue and beyond are open beginning December 1! Issue four will bring a couple of changes: we are moving to an always-open submission cycle (which means you can send us your writing whenever you’d like!), and we will be moving to a four-issues-per-year publishing cycle (rather than six).
The Birdseed is currently a digital-only publication, but we hope to move to a digital/print hybrid in the future.
how to submit
Please send all submissions to hello@the-birdseed.com!
Please note in the email subject line whether you are submitting a book review or micro fiction. If you decide to submit both a book review and a fiction piece, first of all yay!, second of all please do so in two separate emails.
In terms of formatting logistics, we prefer if you paste your submission in the body of your email, but please also feel free to attach your work in either .pdf or .doc format. We are not at all concerned about things like formatting or font, but if you feel strongly about the format or font of your piece (which we get, don’t sweat it), please let us know and also send us a PDF so that we can ensure that the formatting is preserved upon publication.
Submissions should primarily be in English (i.e., at least most of the piece should be English).
You may submit up to three pieces at a time. Upon receiving a response, you are welcome to submit additional pieces.
We are 100% okay with simultaneous submissions, but if someone else snaps up your piece before we can, please do send us an email withdrawing your piece from consideration.
You can expect a response from us within a month or so after you submit. We endeavor to be much quicker than that, but alas, we do not always succeed. 🙂
the fine print
Masthead
Kourtney Jai (@heykourtneyjai on Twitter) is the EIC and is currently the only member of the masthead, although that may change! We’ll keep you updated.
Rights
Your work belongs to you! If we accept your fiction or review, we request first serial rights–this means that we kindly request that you refrain from publishing it until it’s up on The Birdseed. But once it’s published, all rights revert back to the author. Upon publication, you are welcome to publish your work elsewhere, but we do ask that if your beautiful words are indeed published elsewhere in the future, you credit The Birdseed as the initial publication.
Please note that by submitting to The Birdseed, you are representing that the work you are submitting is your own.
Payment
We do not currently offer payment, nor do we accept donations. If any of this changes, our authors will be the first to know!
Fun stuff
We plan on nominating our fave flash fiction pieces for the Pushcart Prize and for inclusion in the Best of the Net Anthology, the Best Small Fictions Anthology, and the Best Microfiction Anthology.
The Birdseed 