Fall 2019 Rejections: Kenyon Review, Tin House Online, The Iowa Review, AGNI, Boulevard, Granta, Witness, and More Literary Journals

Welcome to The Rejection Quarterly, Fall 2019 edition.

Sharing rejections shares the effort behind submissions and makes celebrating acceptances even sweeter. What kind of literary journal rejections are you seeing? On the road to publication, why not “publish” the rejections themselves?

Here are the various rejections I collected from September 2019 – November 2019.

Encouraging Rejection from Tin House Online

42-day response time

Dear Arthur,

Thank you for sharing Imperfect Balconies with us. Unfortunately, we have decided to pass here, but we hope to see you around Tin House again. It’s a privilege to read your work.

Sincerely,

Alana Csaposs
Editor, Tin House Online

Rejection from Electric Literature

47-day response time

Dear Arthur, 

Thank you for sending us your work; while it was not a fit for Electric Literature, we appreciate the chance to consider it. 

Sincerely, 

Editors, 
Electric Literature

Rejection from Granta

119-day response time

Dear Arthur Klepchukov, 

Thank you for giving us the opportunity to consider ‘furl & unfurl’. Unfortunately, this particular piece is not right for the magazine. 

We wish you the best of luck with your writing. 

Yours sincerely, 
Granta Magazine 
www.granta.com

Rejection from AGNI

118-day response time

Dear Arthur Klepchukov:

Thank you for sending “Terminus.” After careful consideration, we’ve decided against publishing this submission. However, our staff is available to read anytime between September 1st and May 31st. Feel free to upload another submission through your account at agnimagazine.org.

Kind regards, The Editors

P.S. Without submissions like yours, we’d lose the sense of discovery that keeps AGNI fresh. Please click here and enter code [ redacted ] for a discounted subscription rate offered as a thank-you to our submitters: http://agnionline.bu.edu/subscribe.

AGNI Magazine
Sven Birkerts, Editor
William Pierce, Senior Editor

Encouraging Rejection from Nimrod International Journal

46-day response time

Dear Arthur Klepchukov,

Thank you for sending us your work. We appreciate the chance to read it, but, unfortunately, we will not be publishing your submission at this time.

You can be assured that your work has been read by editors who are dedicated to making thoughtful and aesthetically sensitive decisions—editors who wish they could publish all the sincere and well-crafted work that is submitted to Nimrod.  

Again, thank you for your submission. We would be happy to receive new work from you in the future. 

Manuscript Comments:
This has vivid details, but the dialogue is stagey.

Best,

Eilis O’Neal
Editor-in-Chief
Nimrod International Journal

Encouraging Rejection from Nanoism

3-day response time

Thanks for submitting. I’m going to pass on this one, but please do try me again.

Best,
Ben 

Rejection from Hobart

102-day response time

Dear Arthur Klepchukov, 

Thank you for sending us “Imperfect Balconies.” We appreciate the chance to read it. Unfortunately, the piece is not for us. 

Thanks again. Best of luck with this. 

Sincerely, 
Evan Fleischer 
Hobart 

Rejection from CRAFT

76-day response time

Dear Arthur Klepchukov, 

Thank you for giving us the opportunity to read “Mechanical Flowers” for consideration in our 2019 CRAFT First Chapters Contest, judged by Naomi Huffman. We do have to release work that we like very much—we’re sorry that your entry has not advanced into the next round. 

We’re grateful you chose to share your writing with us, and for your support. We wish you the best of luck with your manuscript and hope that you will send us work again. 

Sincerely, 
The Editors 
CRAFT

Rejection from The Baltimore Review

34-day response time

Dear Arthur Klepchukov, 

Thank you for sending us “Imperfect Balconies.” We appreciated the chance to consider your work for the Maryland Writers issue. Your submission was not selected for this issue (we received many submissions and could only accept a small number), but we wish you well with your writing and hope that your work will be a perfect fit for another publication. 

We do accept–and encourage–simultaneous submissions. See long lists of other publication possibilities at http://newpages.com/ , http://www.pw.org/literary_magazines?&perpage=* , http://www.everywritersresource.com/literarymagazines/ , https://www.facebook.com/groups/35517751475/, and http://www.thereviewreview.net/ . 

Thanks again. 

Sincerely, 

Barbara Westwood Diehl 
The Baltimore Review 

Encouraging Rejection from CRAFT

110-day response time

Dear Arthur Klepchukov, 

Thank you for sending “Imperfect Balconies” for consideration in CRAFT. We enjoyed reading your story, but can take so few pieces, with regret, we do have to decline good work. We’re sorry this isn’t the right story for us right now. 

We appreciate your interest in contributing to CRAFT, and wish you the best of luck with this piece. We hope that you will send us work again in the future. 

Sincerely, 
Editors 
CRAFT

Encouraging Rejection from Palooka

23-day response time

Dear Arthur, 

Thanks for giving me the chance to read “”Duskwing,” “Glimmering Sidewalks,” and “Counting”,” though I’m sorry to say we won’t be publishing the work. I appreciate you sending along more of your writing. Your style is unique, and I like the strength of your line and the sound of your voice; there just wasn’t enough “story” in these for me.

All best, 
Jonathan Starke, Editor
http://palookamag.com/submit

Rejection from Outlook Springs

205-day response time

Dear Arthur,

Thank you so much for sending us “The Blackboard Epilogues.” We appreciate the chance to read it. Unfortunately, the piece is not quite right for us.

Thanks again. Best of luck with this!
Sincerely,
JJP
Fiction Editor
Outlook Springs

Rejection from Pidgeonholes

16-day response time

Dear Arthur, 

Thank you for submitting “Glimmering Sidewalks” to Pidgeonholes. We gave the piece careful consideration, and while we are not accepting it for publication, we hope you find a better fit for it elsewhere. 

Many thanks for trusting us with your work. 

Kindest regards, 

Jennifer Todhunter 
Editor-in-Chief, Pidgeonholes 

Encouraging Rejection from Boulevard

16-day response time

Dear Arthur Klepchukov, 

Thank you very much for sending “within & without” to Boulevard. Although it was not selected for publication, it received positive feedback from our readers. Good luck placing this with another magazine. Please try us again! 

Sincerely, 

Jessica Rogen 

Boulevard

Rejection from The Iowa Review

33-day response time

Dear Arthur, 

Thank you for allowing us to consider your work. Though we find we are unable to use it, we consider it a privilege that you thought of us and regret that the volume of submissions precludes a more personal reply. 

Sincerely, 
The Editors 
Iowa Review

Rejection from Ninth Letter

23-day response time

Dear Arthur Klepchukov, 

Thanks for submitting your work to Ninth Letter. We’re sorry this submission wasn’t right for us. We appreciate your interest in our magazine, and wish you the best of luck placing your work elsewhere. 

Sincerely, 

The Editors 

Ninth Letter

Encouraging Rejection from Monkeybicycle

147-day response time

Dear Arthur Klepchukov, 

Thank you for sending us “[ redacted six-word story ]”. We appreciate the chance to read it. Unfortunately, it’s not quite right for Monkeybicycle so we’re going to pass. Do feel free to send us more of your work though. 

Thanks again, and best of luck finding a home for this piece. 

Sincerely, 

Monkeybicycle Staff 

---

Not enough rejection? See Rejection Wiki or Literistic’s Great Wall of Literary Rejection.