Our Fiction Aesthetic
Fiction that flickers and holds our gaze:
We publish quiet stories that use the unreal, the surreal, the fantastic, and the speculative as a secret passageway to the profound. In the imagined, the mythical, the magical, the folkloric, and the scientifically plausible is a window, a metaphor, to the truth. We look for the colors of the real world through a warped or blurred mirror, to learn something about the way things are by experiencing the way they are not, or the way they could be. We see the lyrical and the fabulist as siblings.
What do we mean by “quiet”? Fiction that journeys inward, that cares more about the human condition than about flashiness. This is a place for deep contemplation, introspection, subtlety, warm humor, a sublime state of wonder, and a grateful gaze upon a rising spark in the night.
Fiction we consign to the flame:
We’re not much interested in the rigidly, stringently real. We question reality to begin with, so unquestioning realism is unlikely to be accepted. We are not looking for blunt, boisterous stories that grab you by the throat and bash your head to the brick and leave your ears ringing. Action-packed, melodramatic, bitingly satirical, cold-hearted, and ostentatiously gory are not descriptors likely to apply to our aesthetic. We don’t publish fan fiction. We avoid the trope and the cliché.
Our Poetry Aesthetic
We publish poetry that is, above all else, quiet. We look for poems that invite our attention, that draw us in with subtlety, and keep us in place with skill. We enjoy poems that nudge toward the surreal, that play with structure and language without being heavy-handed. We want moments delivered with sincerity, specificity, and grace. This is a place for meditations, contemplations, silent revolutions, and relentlessly gentle voices.
We reject the clumsy, the loud, the blunt, the merciless, the brash, the crass, the jarring, the cynical, the artless, and the senselessly graphic.
Our Nonfiction Aesthetic
The Quiet Circle looks for nonfiction with a strong voice and for self-aware narrators who examine and reflect upon their inner lives. Good stories can emerge without raucous action, and strong energy can arise from sincere grappling with ideas, emotions, and memories. Such an approach grants readers access to the deepest parts of the self and seeks to share the most intensely human of experiences.
How to Submit
Some Logistical Requirements:
Length
For fiction, send 1short story (up to 9,000 words) or 1-3 flash fiction pieces in a single file (flash fiction pieces should be less than 1,000 words apiece).
For poetry send up to 6 poems in a single file - please do not send more than that.
For nonfiction, send 1 essay (up to 9,000 words).
Spacing, Pagination, and Author Contact Info
The top of the first page of your submission should include your name and preferred contact email left-justified. Further down the first page, include the title of the piece and its word count. Fiction and Nonfiction must be double-spaced and have numbered pages. Poetry may be single-spaced, but should also include page numbers.
Ensuring Your Submission Gets Read
Submissions of your original, previously unpublished work should be emailed to [CURRENTLY CLOSED], with the subject line beginning with the word SUBMISSION, followed by the GENRE (fiction, poetry, nonfiction, etc.), and then the TITLE of the piece. Example subject line: SUBMISSION--POETRY: "4 POEMS"
DO NOT PASTE THE SUBMISSION INTO THE BODY OF THE EMAIL. Such submissions will not be read. If desired, you can include a brief cover letter in the body of the email.
ATTACH THE SUBMISSION TO THE EMAIL AS A SEPARATE FILE (.doc, .docx, .PDF, or .rtf). The TITLE OF THE FILE should BEGIN with the GENRE and INCLUDE the AUTHOR'S SURNAME. Example: "FICTION--TITLE--SMITH.DOC"
Submission emails that do not follow these guidelines will be treated as spam.
Other Logistics
We are a free, online market and do not charge a reading fee. Unfortunately, we are unable to offer monetary compensation at this time.
Upon acceptance, we will ask for first publication rights, and the right to keep the work publically accessible in our archive. The author retains ownership of the work.
We welcome simultaneous submissions, but please let us know immediately if the piece is accepted elsewhere, and make clear your intention to withdraw the piece from consideration.
Please do not query about submission status until at least 1 year from the date of submission--we will try to send a response sooner.
Please wait for a response to your first submission before submitting again.