Submissions
Do you accept unsolicited submissions?
Yes. However, we continue to be overwhelmed by submissions so response time can take 2-3 months. If you would like a response in 3 to 5 days, please consider using our FAST PASS system.
How do I submit?
Read the instructions below to make sure you are submitting the type of writing we are looking for. The best short story in the world will get turned down if it isn’t the kind of thing we are looking for. Basically, we are looking for The Trolley Problem in short story form. “The Waiting Room” is a GREAT example of the kind of thoughtful, well-written story we love to publish. “As You Wish” is a good example of the type of children’s story we publish. This video from our editor will give you more details. (Extended Version)
Proofread your work. We stop reading at the 3rd glaring typo. We aren’t kidding. We get a surprising number of submissions with typos and random font changes.
Consider using our FAST PASS system to “jump to the front of the line” and be read next. If you choose FAST PASS, pay via our online pay form before completing Step #4. (Secure Payment) Or, if you are a yearly digital or print subscriber, your story is always moved to the front of the line!
Submit via our online submissions form.
Your story will go to a first reader. If it clears the first reader, it will go to the larger group for discussion. Assuming you clear that, your story goes to our editor for final approval. This means, generally speaking, no news is good news… (If you use our FAST PASS system, you skip all this, and your submission goes right to our editor to read and decide.)
If your story is accepted, we will send you our author agreement - a simple contract granting us the right to publish your story. Feel free to take a look at this agreement now. If you find terms you won’t be comfortable with, don’t submit your story to us! It will save us both a heap of time.
Typically, your story is published (1) in the magazine, then (2) is available for consideration in our yearly paperback “best of [year]” anthology that comes out in the Spring, and (3) sometimes on our website.* Additionally, your story will be considered for inclusion in future (4) podcast discussions and/or as an (5) audiobook podcast reading.
No more than three submissions per six months.
What are you looking for?
Your story must spur discussions. It must require the reader to expand their mind and involve ethical questions.
Rule of Thumb: If you know the right answer, but don't do it because you lack courage, that's probably a HARD CHOICE. If you don't actually even know what the right answer is, that's an ETHICAL CHOICE (and what we publish). Ethical Question Quiz
Our editor has made this video, explaining what we are looking for. In short, your writing can be any genre and from any perspective, as long as it stimulates ethical and philosophical discussions.
If you need an example, read “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” by the amazing Ursula K. Le Guin. Another way to think of it is this, we are looking for The Trolley Problem in short story form. A great example of something we have published is “The Waiting Room.” “As You Wish” is a good example of the type of children’s story we publish.
If you think more in movies, think Ex Machina, Blade Runner, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, and Looper. For TV, think The Good Place, Westworld, and Star Trek: TNG.
Better yet, listen to our podcast!
The point is, we don’t care if it’s sci-fi, fantasy, romance, contemporary women’s fiction, historical fiction, western, or whatever, but the short story should have a deeper point for a longer discussion. 90% of what we turn down is not because of the quality of the writing, but because it’s simply not the kind of thing we publish.
If you just want the hard stats, our acceptance rate is around 3%, and stories in the 2500-4000-word range seem to do better with our readers.
We do not accept novels, poems, or artwork.
Are there ethical question stories you are not looking for?
There are a few common topic submissions. We aren’t saying we won’t accept more (we will), but they would have to have a special twist. All things being equal, we are more apt to take a new idea over a “yet another…” idea we have seen before. Submissions we see weekly include:
Going back in time to warn or change the past, or yourself.
Harvesting body parts from animals, clones, the poor/etc to save others.
Anything related to having the right to commit suicide.
Erasing people’s memory in any way related to crime.
A straight trolley car problem, just in a different setting.
Medical decisions/treatments/testing that hurts some, but helps others.
A car driven by AI that has to decide what to do.
Straight Utilitarianism decisions.
What length are you looking for?
Children’s Stories: under 1,500 words
Young Adult: under 3,500 words
Adult: 1,500-7,000** words
What does this pay?
Accepted short stories from unsolicited submissions pay $75.
Do you accept reprints and/or simultaneous submissions?
Yes. Just make sure you are not in violation of any other agreements you have signed.
How long will it take to hear back?
We continue to be a victim of our own success and get more and more submissions every month. As a result, read/response time is running about 2-3 months. Consider no news, good news. Rejections are easy (and fast). Potential acceptance means going to a larger committee for discussion, and that takes a bit of time. Check/report your submissions on Duotrope.
We also have a “Fast Pass” submission process that gets you priority reading for $12 and a response in 3-5 business days. Your story will go directly to our Editor in Chief (the final story decision-maker) to read, and he will write you a personal email regarding your story.
Why are so many of the stories you publish science fiction?
We would love to publish fantasy, biography, western, horror, erotica, etc. We just don’t get many submissions in these genres that fit the “trolley problem” guidelines, but if they did, we would happily publish them.
What % of your published stories come from the website submission process?
100%. Frankly, it drives us kind of crazy that there are literary magazine publishers out there that, technically, accept unsolicited submissions, yet mostly publish from people they reach out to to invite to submit. The only way anyone gets in our magazine is by blind submission.
Do you accept AI submissions?
After Dinner Conversation generally does not accept writing generated with AI software because our literary press and magazine are venues for intentional and thoughtful human creativity. We understand and appreciate that some interesting creative work is being done that explores and exploits these technologies, but it’s not for us at this time.
Do you need readers?
Yes! There is no better way to improve your writing than by reading other authors’ writing! We would love to have more volunteer readers! Just email us at info@afterdinnerconversation.com to learn more.
* After Dinner Conversation generally adheres to the Chicago Manual of Style guidelines. If your story is accepted, you agree to feedback regarding light editing from After Dinner Conversation editors, where needed.
** For some reason, shorter submissions (2,500-4,500 words) tend to fare best. With anything longer than 5,000 words, you should assume we may read just the few pages and start skimming, as it's rare that we will publish something that long. It’s nothing personal; it’s just that longer submissions tend not to have enough ethical-question “density” and the length comes from being verbose and descriptive rather than adding ideas of substance to the story. That said, this is just the trend we see; it is not a requirement. Our acceptance rate is around 3%, although it tends to be much higher for those who have read a few stories from our magazine before submitting!
