The literary journal has announced its submission window for the November issue to be from October 1st to October 31st.
The Shallow Tales Review (TSTR) accepts fiction, creative non-fiction, book reviews, poems, one-act plays, cultural and social essays, art photographs, and translations that touch on the sensibilities of the African.
They state that literary criticisms must concern texts that are of modern and African temperament. For essays, they expect themes to be tackled logically and as clearly as possible. By “modern,” they refer to books published at most 5 years before.
They encourage freedom to break genre restrictions as you wish and appreciate fluidity as much as they value ingenuity.
At the moment, they do not offer financial support to contributors. They hope to do so in the near future. TSTR, however, nominate for the AKO Caine Prize for African Writing, as well as the Best of a Shallow Year award. They are also BSFA-nominated!
Entry requirements:
Entries should be sent in by mail to the following addresses subject to their genre:
- poetry.tstr@gmail.com
- essays.tstr@gmail.com (Essays & Creative Nonfiction)
- theshallowtalesreview@gmail.com (Fiction/Plays/Art & Photography)
- Use “TSTR Submissions” in the subject line.
- Non artwork entries should be between 1,500 – 4,000 words and should come in .doc or .docx format.
- Poetry submissions should not be more than forty (40) lines, per poem. They accept a maximum of three poetry entries at a time.
- Only previously unpublished works would be reviewed and considered.
- Reprints are NOT allowed. Do inform them if your piece has been considered or is being considered for publication elsewhere.
- All intellectual rights revert to the authors.
- Files should be saved with the title of the work, and in the case of a body of poems, with the first poem in the file.
- Entries must be sent single-spaced in 12 point, Times New Roman font. In the body of the mail, include a short cover letter describing the genre of the work, word count (for prose), number of poems included (for poetry), short author bio, and any other relevant information relating to the piece.
- Do not add any identifying information in the document with the entry.
Take note:
- They do not publish horror, sci-fi, travellogues or any sociological piece without the slightest literary tilt. TSTR could, however, break their rules for exceptionally great pieces that reflect the African/human condition.
- Selected pieces rarely get published the way they come, so please be ready to work through the revisions recommended by the assigned editors towards publication. They are free, and your piece would be better for it.
- Should a contributor’s published piece be accepted elsewhere after theirs, TSTR expects to be credited as first publisher.
- They will respond as soon as they review for publication and only accept one body of work in a genre at a time.
- Feel free to resubmit in another issue if your work was rejected within a submission window.
The Shallow Tales Review, a BSFA-nominated online literary journal, curates the best literature from Africa and across the world. It was founded in August 2019 by Nigerian writer, Nzube Nlebedim.
They seek brave, ambitious pieces and love to house marginalised voices.
The Shallow Tales Review publishes three times a year in January, June, and November.
Best of luck to all those submitting!
Bongiwe T. Maphosa
Bongiwe Maphosa is a budding author with a passion for storytelling. With her thought-provoking narratives, she takes her readers on a literary adventure. Bongiwe's works on the human condition from a fresh perspective have earned her recognition and publications in the Avbob Poetry Anthology of 2019, The Writer's Club of South Africa 2021, and JAY Lit in 2021. She hopes to cement her place in the literary community.
