The Literary Hatchet is an independent international journal devoted to emerging and established voices crafting provocative short fiction and thoughtful poetry and prose.  Published three times a year!

The Literary Hatchet was founded in 2008 by a group of writers and editors who were eager to develop a journal that would share new, emerging, and established authors.  Since our inception, we have worked with authors and artists from every continent, except Antarctica.

Our mission is simple: giving authors a platform to share their works and engage audiences. Each issue runs between 160 and 250 pages. We pay our authors a small honorarium for their works.

THE MAGAZINE IN A NUTSHELL

The Literary Hatchet is an Internet journal devoted to provocative fiction (short stories), poetry, and prose. We are interested in well-written but easy to read works in any genre (except erotica).

We will consider previously published material but prefer original works.

We accept short fiction essays, flash fiction, first-person narratives, speculative fiction, short stories, poetry, photography, art, illustrations, interviews, and reviews.

Though the publication started as a horror genre zine, we have evolved into a more diverse, less genre-specific, literary journal. Our editors are interested in reading inventive narratives that delight and surprise. As for poetry, we look for the unsaid, the unwritten, and unimagined translated into words—that shocks the heart and revitalizes the mind.

The above is not exhaustive. If you don’t have an immediate idea for a piece, but you’d really like to write for us, let us know and be prepared to show us work you’ve done. We can always think of subjects!

SHORT STORIES: We accept short stories from 500-7,500 words in length. Feel free to contact us with inquiries about the type of stories we might be interested in if you are in doubt. We appreciate the well-written work, and acceptance is determined by whether the piece grabs the editor and holds their interest.

POETRY: We are looking for high-quality extraordinary poems (both serious and humorous) that explore the human condition. Personal pieces that offer a self-reflection are welcomed.

ART, PHOTOGRAPHY, CARTOONS, AND ILLUSTRATIONS: All submitted art and illustrations must be in 300 dpi, JPG or PNG formats and no larger than 1200 X 1200 pixels.

See our submission guidelines for more detailed information.

Issue #29, published July 2021.

Contributing writers and artists include: chelsea arrington, barbara demarco-barrett, michael brimbau, l.b. busser, grim k. deevil, natascha graham, emiliano gomez, george kelly, allen kopp, cadeem lalor, aurora lewis, christopher locke, juan marquez, fabiyas mv, wayne scheer, carl tait, jim windolf, todd zack, lee clark zumpe, and chani zwibel.