The Taddle Creek Guidelines for Submission

Submissions to Taddle Creek may be sent via E-mail to editor@taddlecreekmag.com, or via post to P.O. Box 611, Station P, Toronto, Ontario M5S 2Y4. That said, a thorough reading of the following submission guidelines is a must. There are no submission deadlines-Taddle Creek is always reading. The magazine will strive to reply in a prompt fashion, usually in less than two months. Please do not contact the magazine to check on the status of your submission until at least two months have passed.

Please note: Taddle Creek has all the content it needs for its upcoming Christmas number, and the submission deadline for the summer, 2010, Out-of-Towner issue has now passed, so the magazine respectfully requests would-be future contributors hold off on sending any submissions until January.

1. Taddle Creek accepts only submissions of fiction and poetry, only from authors currently residing in the city of Toronto. Please do not send, or ask if you can send, submissions of essays, personal histories, book reviews, photographs, or illustrations. Also, please do not ask if you can send a submission if you live outside of Toronto (Thornhill is not Toronto, nor is Mississauga) or if you used to live in Toronto but now don't.

2. Authors should read some recent issues of the magazine before submitting, to see if their work is in keeping with the magazine's style. Spelling the name of the magazine wrong on your submission (Toddle Creek, Paddle Creek, Beaver Creek, Taddlecreek (shudder), Soldier of Fortune, etc.) is a dead giveaway you did not do this.

3. Work submitted to Taddle Creek must be previously unpublished and not under consideration by any other journal. (Taddle Creek is well aware your submission is most likely under consideration by other journals, even if you say it's not. Don't think you're fooling anyone.)

4. There is no minimum or maximum length required of fiction or poetry submissions, though the magazine tends to get antsy about stories of more than three thousand words and poems longer than ninety lines. Submitted works over these lengths will still be considered, though excessively long stories that aren't very exciting in the first few pages will likely not be read all the way through. Please do not send more than three pieces of fiction and/or six poems at a time.

5. All submissions must include the author's full name, address, and daytime phone number-no pseudonyms. This information should be included on the first page of every submission, not just the envelope or cover letter. An E-mail address is not your full name and address.

6. If submitting via E-mail, please include your submission in the body of the E-mail and as a Microsoft Word (no .docx files, please) or text-file attachment. If submitting multiple poems, there is no need to save each one as a separate file. This just makes your submission annoying to open and print.

7. If submitting via post, include a self-addressed stamped envelope or an E-mail address for reply. If you would like your submission returned, the return envelope must be the correct size to accommodate it. Those not including an S.A.S.E. or an E-mail address with their submission will not be contacted. Those submitting in envelopes addressed improperly (i.e., those opening at the bottom or on the left, depending on the size of your envelope) will still be considered, but will be placed at the bottom of the pile, as the magazine will think of you as not being very bright. And remember-postage increases every January!

8. Do not attempt to draw attention to your submission by using a wacky typeface or a coloured background. Also, do not attempt to detract attention from your submission by hand-writing it.

9. Taddle Creek accepts stuff it likes. Yes, it's just that simple. The magazine prefers submissions that are humorous or show a sense of humour about their subject. The magazine does not restrict itself to this type of submission, however, and often accepts "serious" submissions, provided they are entertaining. However, please note:

9-1. If you have/have had problems with your parents (what the magazine calls "daddy issues") and feel the need to express them in the form of prose or poetry in a way that is weepy or heavy-handed, there are many magazines that will accept your work. Taddle Creek is not one of them. If you can express your problems in a funny or entertaining way, however, do send your work along.

9-2. The magazine is fully aware of the absurdity of organized religion. If you have religion issues and can present them in a way you feel the magazine's readers would enjoy, by all means do so. Earnest religious works will not be accepted.

9-3. The magazine does not care to read any more stories written from the point of view of a fetus.

9-4. Three words: no shaped poetry.

9-5. The magazine wishes it didn't still have to be said, but it does: no stories about September 11th, the Y2K bug, or tsunamis.

9-6. Most importantly: Under no circumstances leave two spaces after terminal periods. There is absolutely no reason to do this, despite the fact it is still, bizarrely, taught in school. Any work submitted with two spaces after the period will be sent back to have the extra spaces removed before it is even read. Authors may then sit at the grown-up table.

If the magazine does accept your work, know this: it will be edited. Taddle Creek prides itself on its author-editor relationship. Work will not be changed substantially without consultation. Authors will receive an edited proof before the magazine is sent to press.

Minor style and spelling changes will also be made. Though the author will be able to view these changes in their proof copy, the final decision on such matters will be that of the magazine.

Taddle Creek retains only the first publication rights to an accepted work. All further rights remain the property of the author. Selected authors will be required to provide an electronic version of their story or poem.

If the magazine does not accept your work, you will receive a Taddle Creek Impersonal Form-Rejection Slip. It's the best that can be done. The magazine cannot and will not critique rejected work with you, no matter how much you beg.