About Toasted Cheese
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Toasted Cheese publishes flash fiction, fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, and reviews. Our focus is on quality of work, therefore the number of pieces published in each issue will vary. We accept approximately 5% of the submissions we receive.
Additional writing opportunities: TC runs four writing contests each year. We also publish monthly articles on writing.
TC does not restrict publication based on subject matter, however, due to the nature of our audience and our service provider's Terms of Service, we do not publish work that includes excessively graphic sex or violence.
We encourage unpublished writers to submit to Toasted Cheese. We are impressed by quality writing, not by a list of credentials.
Currently, there is no remuneration other than recognition. Your support can help change this.
How to Submit
Note: These guidelines are for regular submissions of poetry, flash, fiction, and creative nonfiction. For contest guidelines, click here. For article guidelines, click here. For reviews, please see below.
We strongly suggest that you follow our tips for email submissions.
Send submissions to
(Not submitting but need to contact us? Click here for other contact information)Use one of the following subject lines:
- Flash Submission (Your Byline)
- Fiction Submission (Your Byline)
- CNF Submission (Your Byline)
- Poetry Submission (Your Byline)
Example: Jane Anne Smith is submitting poetry. Her subject line would be:
Poetry Submission (Jane Anne Smith)
Example: Robert Jones writes as Joseph Q. Lee and is submitting fiction. His subject line would be:
Fiction Submission (Joseph Q. Lee)
Paste your submission in the body of the email message. NO ATTACHMENTS.
Your cover letter should include your name, byline if different, and a short biography.
You may submit either one work of flash fiction (500 words max.), fiction (5000 words max.) or creative nonfiction (5000 words max.), or up to five poems.
Submissions must be previously unpublished.
We do not accept simultaneous submissions.
Please submit only once per submission period:
- March issue: October 1 - December 31
- June issue: January 1 - March 31
- September issue: April 1 - June 30
- December issue: July 1 - September 30
Submissions are shortlisted at the end of each month. Shortlist notifications are sent out by the 15th of the following month, e.g. by February 15 for submissions received in January.
Final notifications are sent out in early February, May, August and November.
Toasted Cheese welcomes reviews of work by writers who have a connection to Toasted Cheese.
Reviews should include the name of the author and the title of the work. Reviews of books and anthologies should include publisher and publication date. Reviews of individual pieces (poems, stories, essays) should include date and place of publication, as well as the URL for work available online.
Submit reviews to reviews@toasted-cheese.com with "Review Submission" in your subject line and your review pasted into the body of the email message. There is no restriction on the number of reviews you may submit.
Additional info: Introducing Candle-Ends; Candle-Ends Forum.
By submitting your work to Toasted Cheese Literary Journal, you agree, should your work be accepted, to grant Toasted Cheese exclusive electronic rights to your work for a period of 90 days commencing on the date of publication, as well as a non-exclusive right to maintain a copy of published work in the literary journal archives indefinitely. Any subsequent publication should include the credit "originally published in Toasted Cheese."
"Exclusive electronic rights" means that you agree not to re-publish your work elsewhere online while the issue featuring your work is current. "Publish" means any public display of your work, and includes your personal website and posting to message boards. You are welcome to link to the page featuring your work instead. Once the issue your work appears in has been archived, you are free to re-publish your work online.
Effective January 2008, you also grant Toasted Cheese the right to post an audio version (podcast) of your work on the site. Authors of work published 2001–2007 will be contacted to obtain permission for this use.
You retain all other rights, including the right to re-publish the work in non-electronic form at any time.
Best of the Boards selections are subject to the same terms.
Letters to the editor(s) regarding submissions may be published in whole or in part. Names and other identifying information will be withheld unless the author's express permission is obtained.
