Submission Guidelines

How you incorporate the quarterly theme in your story is up to you.  We do ask that you make sure the theme idea is not an afterthought, but an integral part of the story.  We want truly want stories depicting underdogs rising to the occasion when it seems all hope is lost.

We are looking for polished manuscripts of about 3,500 - 7,500 words (not hard cut-offs, but not too much under/over please) in standard Shunn format. Please include your contact information, including full name and email address and any social media links you may have as well as any prior publications.

We're currently closed for submissions.  We will have an open call starting June 2023.

Submissions should be sent to info@theunderdogpress.com as an attached Word doc or docx.

Please format the email subject line and your submitted file name as “The Underdogs Rise – [Story Title] by [Author Name]”.

Accepted authors will be paid $.03/word and receive a contributor copy of the standard mass market paperback.

We are purchasing first world-wide print rights for three years from publication (reprints in “best of” yearly anthologies will be allowed).

We plan to notify all authors on the outcome of submissions by mid-December.

Reprints are not accepted for this anthology. Simultaneous submissions are accepted, but please let us know if the work is accepted elsewhere. Multiple submissions are accepted, but limited to three per author.

The Underdogs Rise will be published in 2023