The Bloomin’ Onion accepts submissions of works of flash fiction, short stories, longform stories, and poetry on a rolling basis (year-round) and publishes two issues per year—April and October. Starting with Issue Three, issues can include everything except longform. In addition to the bi-annual issues, we also publish weekly featured flash fiction/short stories on Saturdays and featured poetry on Tuesdays, which highlight pieces we find especially captivating. Longform stories are published as standalone pieces on the first of every other month.

Additionally, The Bloomin’ Onion also accepts pitches for essays and works of creative nonfiction. If a pitch is accepted, it does not guarantee publication, but the writer will submit an essay or work of creative nonfiction based on the pitch to the editors for review.

Below is a list of what we’re currently accepting with word/page counts:

OPEN - Flash Fiction - <1,000 words

OPEN - Short Stories - 1,001-5,000 words

OPEN - Longform Stories - 5,001-15,000 words

OPEN - Poetry - 6 poems or 20 pages maximum

OPEN - Essays and Creative Nonfiction - Submit a pitch up to 200 words - Final work <2,000 words

We aim for a response time of 4-6 weeks, but please be patient. You may reach out regarding your submission if you haven’t received a response within 8 weeks of the submission date.

SIMULTANEOUS SUBMISSIONS are accepted and encouraged! However, please withdraw your work by responding to your submission email if your piece is accepted elsewhere.

MULTIPLE SUBMISSIONS are also accepted. You may submit both poems and fiction in the same submission period. If you want to submit poems and fiction, please send two submission emails—one for the poems, and another for the fiction.

We’re writers, too, and we don’t like being ghosted, so you’ll hear from us regarding your submission regardless of the final verdict. The email we send you will either be of acceptance, rejection, or confirmation that your work has been withdrawn. We try to offer individualized feedback when possible—especially for emerging writers—but no guarantees!

For FICTION, you may submit up to TWO total stories within a given submission period—that means two works of flash fiction, two short stories, two longform stories, or a combination of the categories. Anything beyond two submissions will not be considered until the start of the next submission period.

For POETRY, you may submit up to SIX total poems or TWENTY total pages (whichever comes first) within a given submission period. Poems can be about any topic.

For ESSAYS and CREATIVE NONFICTION, you may submit as many pitches as you like, though there is no guarantee that any particular pitch will be approved.

All writers are encouraged to submit, as we greatly enjoy lifting up work written by newly published or previously unpublished writers.

We do not accept submissions of previously published work, except for work published in magazines which are now defunct.

UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES will we publish anything racist, homophobic, sexist, transphobic, derogatory toward any marginalized group, AI-generated, or anything else deemed to be of poor taste. It is at the editors’ discretion as to what is categorized to be of poor taste. Should you choose to submit something ultimately deemed to be of poor taste, you will receive an email informing you that you’re banned from submitting further to our magazine, after which your email address will be blocked. Just be a good ‘lil onion.

Unfortunately, we cannot pay contributors at this time.

If accepted, The Bloomin’ Onion acquires First North American Serial Rights and First Electronic Rights. All rights revert to the contributor following publication. The contributor agrees to credit The Bloomin’ Onion as the original publisher if the work is subsequently reproduced online or in print.