submission guidelines

find out below how to submit to both the sword and the shield

general guidelines

here are the guidelines that are applicable to all submissions, both in the sword and the shield categories (scroll down for the specific guidelines for each):

  • NO PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED WORK WILL BE ACCEPTED (this does not include previous pieces published on personal blogs/social media pages/newsletters). However! Simultaneous submissions are always accepted, just please let us know if you are accepted elsewhere so we can pull your work from our considerations.

  • If your piece is published, we ask for first North American serial rights (meaning you are free to submit your work to other venues after it has been published on our site).

  • NO AI SHOULD BE USED IN THE CREATION OF YOUR WORK. IF YOU USE AI WE WILL KNOW. TRUST US. WE SEE ALL. WE ARE OMNIPOTENT. WE ARE LIKE GOD. OR SANTA CLAUSE. DON’T TRY IT (no but really, we are being funny about this but it’s an issue and we are sick of it. Please don’t make us come after you).

  • While we are based out of the US, we love to see international pieces! Just please be sure that all work be submitted in majority English for the ease of our editors (some words or short lines in other languages are fine, but entire passages in, say, Uzbek unfortunately will not do).

  • Your work may be reformatted to suit the needs of the website. However, we will attempt to maintain the integrity of the piece as best as possible.

  • Please submit all work in PDF format.

  • You may submit one entry in one category (i.e., poetry, etc.) per open submission window.

  • PLEASE PUT YOUR NAME, THE NAME OF YOUR PIECE, AND THE CATEGORY INTO WHICH YOU ARE SUBMITTING IN THE TITLE OF YOUR FILE.

The (K)nightly will not tolerate hateful messages of any kind (i.e., racism, xenophobia, transphobia, homophobia, etc.); no gratuitous gore; no excessive sexual content. Swearing (in moderation) is generally okay, but no submissions containing slurs of any kind will ever be considered for publication.

submissions to the sword are currently OPEN and will close on 09.12.25.

the sword - submission guidelines

thank you for considering submitting to the (k)nightly's open call section, the sword! we accept submissions of poetry, fiction, short plays/play excerpts, and flash fiction. here are our guidelines:

please submit only ONE of the following during each open submission window:

~ 1-5 pieces of poetry that equal >800 words collectively (submitted in one document)

~ one (1) submission of fiction that is >2000 words total

~ up to 2 pieces of flash fiction consisting of >800 words collectively (submitted in one document)

~ one play (or play excerpt) of >5 pages, double-spaced in 12 point Times New Roman font

PLEASE PUT YOUR NAME, THE NAME OF YOUR PIECE, AND THE CATEGORY INTO WHICH YOU ARE SUBMITTING IN THE TITLE OF YOUR FILE.

we also ask that you submit a song that you believe aligns/inspires/resonates with your submission (to be used for publicity purposes).

once your submission has fulfilled the guidelines, please fill out the form below (and don’t forget to click submit!).

the shield - submission guidelines

thank you for considering submitting to the (k)nightly's prompt-based section, the shield! we accept submissions of poetry, fiction, and flash fiction. here are our guidelines:

please limit your shield submissions to ONE of the following during each submission window: 

~ 1-3 pieces of poetry (>200 words, in a single document)

~ 1 piece of flash fiction (>300 words)

~ 1 piece of fiction (>850 words)

PLEASE PUT YOUR NAME, THE NAME OF YOUR PIECE, AND THE CATEGORY INTO WHICH YOU ARE SUBMITTING IN THE TITLE OF YOUR FILE.

once your submission has fulfilled the guidelines, please fill out the form below (and don’t forget to click submit!).

submissions to the shield are currently CLOSED.