Summary:
- Prose only, most genres accepted
- Up to 2,500 words
- One submission at a time
- Simultaneous submissions accepted (though as a professional courtesy, please let me know if it’s been accepted elsewhere)
- No payment at this time
What I’m Looking For:
I’m looking for a story. Let it be sad or joyful, science fiction or kitchen-sink drama, true or false, full of criminals or crawdads, or all of the above. But let it be a story.
I’m not looking for poetry at this time. I don’t have a clue what I’m doing with it.
Read the interviews and follow the guidelines below, and you stand the best chance of acceptance. I like to accept stories, and will happily fill the next several months of issues (and even do a double-issue) if I have quality stories with which to do so.
The Duotrope Editor Interview is available here.
The Six Questions Interview with Jim Harrington is available here.
Submission Guidelines:
The story you submit can be up to 2,500 words. I’m happy to consider all genres.
I won’t consider or accept erotica, most sexual content, gratuitous violence, gore, profanity, descriptions of abuse, or anything else that turns my stomach or makes me blush. (Think, “Could I read this out loud to a class of 7th graders in rural Illinois?”)
I’ll also reject stories set in another author’s universe or using another author’s characters, and I’m not interested in previously published work or translations of another author’s work.
Please don’t submit more than one story at a time. Depending on submission volume and the vagaries of my other responsibilities, I’m hoping to respond to all submissions within four weeks. If you have not heard back within 60 days, please shoot me a note with your e-mail, name, the title of your story, and the phrase, “Did the internet eat my story?”
I have in some cases have requested minor revisions for acceptance. I’m happy to work with you–my goal is to give authors a place to tell a story.
Rights & Payment:
Sadly, I am unable to offer payment at this time. You’ll be happy to know that I’m also unable to receive any payment at this time. I don’t sell ads, I don’t have a “donate here” button, and I won’t make any money on your stories. I thought about it, but then I quailed at the prospect of figuring out all the tax implications.
If I accept your story and you accept the offer of publication, you provide Bull & Cross with worldwide exclusive, English-language text First Publication rights, which permit me to display your work in electronic format on this site exclusively for three months from publication. You also provide Bull & Cross with the ongoing non-exclusive right to continue displaying your work after three months. Notice, this is text-only. You retain all audio, video, collage, graphic novel, live performance, and puppet show rights, as well as any I can’t think of in this moment.
After three months, you can revoke Bull & Cross‘s non-exclusive rights by writing me and requesting that I remove the story from the site. If you do that, I can guarantee that I’ll pull it down, though I can’t guarantee it won’t show up in search results or archives for some time after that. I also reserve the right to remove any story whenever I want for whatever reason. And you retain the right to let me know if you need, for some unusual reason, to pull your story down before the initial three months is up. Though I’d prefer that only happened in limited circumstances, but hey, it’s your story.
After that initial three months, you’re also welcome to re-sell your story in any medium as one previously published. Please mention prior publication in Bull & Cross in future publications of the same work, using phrasing such as, “Originally published by Bull & Cross.”
You still own your story. I will never include it in an anthology or e-book or any other media without first contacting you and negotiating the right to do so at that time.
If some aspect of this agreement gives you pause, don’t hesitate to ask about it. I’m flexible (metaphorically).
Instructions:
To submit, please fill out the fields and enter your story in the form below. If you have any questions, feel free to send me a message.