Man hands on misery to man, / it deepens like a coastal shelf
-Philip Larkin in “This Be the Verse”
Coastal Shelf is the culmination of two decades working at various publications and wanting to do things a little different but never being in the position to implement those changes. Well, now I am. I firmly believe that reading is one of the most important factors in improving your own work—so by that token I will also be recommending journals and sometimes writers I feel the submitter might enjoy or might benefit from reading. Of course, this will all be merely the opinion of a couple random editors and not the an in-depth character study of you based on your submission—so of course take all input with a grain of salt. It can just be quite discouraging to send out submission after submission with only form rejections to show—it can feel like you’re sending your poetry into a void not even sure if a human laid eyes on it. I highly doubt many journals at all reject pieces unread, but it can feel that way sometimes. The suggestions of other journals I make are ones that I feel you may enjoy reading or might want to try, based on your submission.
A little more specific about the magazine itself, Coastal Shelf is a quarterly literary journal publishing in March, June, September and November. We’re erring on the side of less is more and will be publishing a maximum of 15 pieces each issue—often fewer. Author payment will be a minimum of $30 for 2021. The journal nominates pieces for Pushcart Prize, Best American Poetry, Best American Fiction, Best of the Net, Best Microfiction, O. Henry and any other anthologies we can find. Submissions will ideally be responded to within two to six weeks, but if you haven’t heard from us within 6 months drop a note in submittable to check that we’re still breathing.
For an idea of what we like check out our first double issue or issue #3, and our Submission Guidelines. If you have questions or for queries contact us at coastalshelfmagazine |at| gmail |dot| com.
About the editor:
Zebulon Huset has published more than 250 pieces of poetry and prose since 2006 in journals such as The Southern Review, Fence, Meridian, Texas Review, Rosebud, Fjords Review, North American Review and many others. He’s served on the editorial boards of The Acorn Review, RipRap, and was the coordinating editor at The Seattle Review while he was getting his MFA from the University of Washington. His flash fiction submission guide was featured at The Review Review, and he also publishes Notebooking Daily, a blog that posts daily writing prompts, craft and publishing articles and much more—as well as its print companion Notebooking Periodically.