The Bluebird Word is an online literary journal for poetry, flash nonfiction and flash fiction. We publish small issues (approximately ten pieces) on a monthly basis and alternate showcasing the selected works on the home page throughout the month.
General submissions remain OPEN, and we are currently reading for upcoming issues beginning in March 2026 and beyond. Please also consider our Winter Holiday Reflection Issue submission call. Open until Nov 15, 2025 (or until we reach 150 submissions). Thank you!
We are interested in showcasing work from emerging authors and eagerly accept contributions from writers across all cultural backgrounds and experience levels. We are looking for new and unpublished writing. We do not accept previously published work (i.e. from other online or print publications, personal blogs, websites or social media).
Please review our website to get a sense of what we publish. If your work is not selected, it may simply not be the right fit for our journal at the time. Full submission guidelines are posted on our Submit page. Simultaneous submissions are also okay, but we request you advise us and withdraw your submission immediately if accepted elsewhere.
All voices are welcome; however, The Bluebird Word will not tolerate writing which fosters or promotes discrimination, hatred or violence.
Please only submit to one category per submission using .doc or .docx attachments. We also kindly request you wait 30 days to submit new work after hearing back from The Bluebird Word about your submission.
Follow these guidelines:
- Up to three poems per submission
OR
- One flash nonfiction essay (up to 750 words preferred and maximum 1,000 words)
OR
- One flash fiction story (up to 750 words preferred and maximum 1,000 words).
AND
- Please include a third-person bio (max 50 words) with your submission.
Thank you again for sending your writing to our journal. We look forward to reading your work.
For the December 2025 and January 2026 issues, The Bluebird Word is looking for poetry, flash nonfiction, or flash fiction pieces that capture the essence, mood, and experience of the season. We welcome pieces with themes that center around wintertime, the holidays, and reflection as we close out one year and start a new one.
Guidelines:
- We will feature at least twenty pieces—and hopefully more—of new writing in the Winter Holiday Reflection Issue. Last year, we published nearly thirty pieces (of poetry, flash nonfiction, and fiction) in December 2024 and January 2025 (read the pieces from our December archive and also the January 2025 archive).
- Emerging writers (fewer than five published pieces across any genre) are encouraged to submit. You are welcome to add a comment that you consider yourself an emerging writer.
- Established writers are also cherished for their submissions.
- If you have been previously published in The Bluebird Word, please join us again. We welcome your new and unpublished work.
- You may submit in multiple categories (poetry, nonfiction or fiction). However, please only submit up to three poems, one flash nonfiction essay, and/or one piece of flash fiction.
- Poems do not have a line limit, although we prefer poems that do not exceed 50 lines. You're welcome to try something new. For example, do you write haiku, villanelles, or sestinas? Play around with various formats, if you'd like.
- Flash nonfiction and flash fiction submissions are preferred up to the 750-word range. Pieces cannot exceed 1,000 words.
- Please attach your submission in a .doc or .docx format. You may include separate attachments or all work in one attachment.
- Please use a clear font such as 12-point, Times New Roman, Calibri, Arial, or similar.
- Only new or unpublished work accepted. Nothing previously published (i.e. from other online or print publications, personal blogs, websites or social media).
- As a friendly reminder, The Bluebird Word will not tolerate writing which fosters or promotes discrimination, hatred or violence. Your piece will not be read further if it is determined this is the nature of your submission.
Please visit our website for detailed submission guidelines (i.e. what we do and do not accept) and to get a sense of what we have published in prior years.
We look forward to reading your work and wish you a healthy and happy upcoming holiday season.
The Bluebird Word is looking for crisp poetry, sharp and reflective flash nonfiction (under 1,000 words) or flash fiction (under 1,000 words) that brings to life your story with the right amount of brevity.
As of August 2025, we are reading general submissions that will be considered for monthly issues in 2026. Please visit our website for detailed submission guidelines (i.e. what we do and do not accept) and to view previously published work.
As a friendly reminder, The Bluebird Word will not tolerate writing which fosters or promotes discrimination, hatred or violence. We also do not accept previously published work (i.e. from other online or print publications, personal blogs, websites or social media). We want to showcase your new work that offers the reader a different perspective on life.