Call For Submissions

For a narrative nonfiction essay collection

"So there I was," C.D. Wright so often led, "hanging upside down over Hanoi by my jockstrap, when the call came over the radio 'turn in all athletic equipment'…"

From his classic opening line, So there I was... our dearly departed friend could lead us in so many directions, each one unfolding a tale that would, by the time he was finished, leave us laughing and just a little bit wiser.

Well not always wiser—some were just really good yarns.

Those stories are the inspiration behind our essay collection "So there I was..." which aims to gather the very best in first person stories about life, adventure, and the lessons we learn in the strangest places. When the wine starts flowing and you lean into the spotlight, what stories do you pull from the depths of your experience? So there you were...doing what, exactly?

And what did you learn from it?

Or do you know someone who tells good stories—the kind of stories you need to write down and shape just right, now, while you still can? Let them speak through your wordcraft.

We're looking for essays with well-developed voice, most logically written in the first person; stories that entertain, subtly guide and inform, inspire us, or better—all three.

The heart of C.D. Wright's best stories was an experience—a challenge, a setback, a triumph—that we could relate to though we knew nothing of the people involved, and weren't there when they happened. He wrapped those experiences in rich detail that drew us in, and then showed us something about our lives.

And that's what we're looking for in assembling this exciting new collection.

There is no submission fee, and only electronic essays will be considered—so you incur no printing fees or postage charges. We're writers too...we know how it goes.


Submission Deadline: July 1, 2016
Submission Fee: None
Max Word Count: 1,500 (query with a sample if over this limit)
Submit file to: Submissions Editor
Submission format: .doc file attached to an email that contains your name, address, and contact information. Kindly use Times New Roman, 12 point font, double spaced.

Simultaneous Submissions: Okay (tell us immediately if it is accepted elsewhere)
Previously Published: Okay (only if you expressly retained rights to it)
Rights You Grant Us: 1 time print and e-book rights; you retain copyright

Collection Editor: Dave Norman
Assistant Editors: f/64 Staff


We will acknowledge receipt of each submission. Submission acceptance will be in the sole discretion of f/64 Publishing. We will contact the authors of every accepted work with news of their acceptance in a timely manner, of course, and will endeavor to contact all authors of rejected work with polite closure. We're writers too, and appreciate knowing where we stand, so we pay that respect forward.