This is a journal of writing by veterans, service members, and military family members. We seek quality, literary writing on any topic.  

We accept submissions year round of fiction, poetry, and non-fiction (including memoir and profiles). If you want to write for us, you should be a veteran, a service member (active or reserve), or a military family member. Please tell us in your cover letter what your connection is to the armed forces.

Your submissions should be previously unpublished. For us “published” means published in print in North America, or published on the Internet in electronic journals, e-zines, academic websites, and other “public” or “official” websites. We do not consider posting on a personal blog or website published. If you have questions, ask.  

Submissions should also conform to these standards: 

•   Fiction, under 5,000 words (under 3,500 is preferred);
•   Non-fiction, should be true* and under 5,000 words (under 3,500 is preferred);
•   Poetry, up to three poems per submission.

The VWP acquires first-time North American rights. After publication, all rights revert to the author and may be reprinted as long as appropriate acknowledgement to O-Dark-Thirty is made. We cannot provide payment for publishing your work.

We will consider simultaneous submissions, but request that you inform us immediately if your work is accepted elsewhere.  

* What we mean when we say “should be true”: Call us old fashioned, but we divide the world of prose into fiction and fact. If your story is non-fiction, you are bound by pesky things known as facts. If you weren’t there, don’t say you were. Tell the truth.