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Kill Your Darlings magazine regularly publishes short fiction alongside commentary, essays, memoir, reviews, profiles and interviews that examine books and ideas, creative practice and the publishing industry.

Open:

  • We now accept fiction submissions year-round from KYD members (one active submission per person).

Coming up:

  • The KYD Creative Non-fiction Prize opens Monday 1 September 2025. 
  • Non-fiction pitches open on Monday 1 September 2025. 


Want to Make Your Pitch Stand Out? 

KYD has put together a short course called How to Pitch. This resource examines key pitching tips, how to develop your pitch and manage deadlines, and explores what kind of material the magazine looks to publish—all designed to improve your chances of publication. This online resource is available free for all KYD Members.


For upcoming projects, opportunities and other submission dates, visit our Write for KYD page.

KYD magazine now accepts short fiction submissions from members year-round. Minimum payment is $1000. We encourage you to read short stories we’ve published to get a sense of the kind of material we like!

Please follow these guidelines:

  • You must be a KYD member to be considered for fiction submissions. Memberships are $59.95.
  • Stories must be between 2000 and 5000 words.
  • Submissions should be in PDF or Word document format, size 12, double-spaced, Times New Roman font. Please leave your name off the document to assist with the judging process.
  • Stories, or substantial portions of these stories, must be previously unpublished.
  • Stories may be submitted/pitched elsewhere, but must be withdrawn if accepted for publication elsewhere. 
  • Submissions are open year-round. However, to manage efficient reading, please only submit one active submission at a time. 
  • Include a short cover letter with relevant biography (no more than 100 words).

We encourage writers from diverse backgrounds and all levels of experience to submit. All successful writers will be expected to undergo editing with KYD staff. Due to the expected volume of submissions, we will not be able to provide feedback on unsuccessful works. 

Interested in developing your writing? Check out our writing courses and manuscript assessments.

Please note that Submittable is a separate platform to the KYD website, so you’ll need to create a free Submittable account to submit your story.

Kill Your Darlings