Thank you for your interest in Cobalt Press and Cobalt Review. We are not currently accepting full-length works. Please read each editor's submission guidelines below carefully.

Note that the 2023 iteration of the Cobalt Baseball Writing Prize -- Extra Innings -- will be our final round of the contest. We've loved celebrating our love of the sport with more than 2,000 submitters, and we can't wait to see what this tenth and final round brings!

We want to expect the unexpected. We are looking for extraordinary tales and the not so extraordinary, but most importantly, work that exhibits well executed writing, writing so amazing that it makes even the mundane interesting.

To give you a sense of the kind of writing that excites me, here are ten essays that I love:

All submissions of non-fiction should be 3,000 words or less. Writers are allowed (even encouraged!) to submit up to two pieces, so long as the total word count does not exceed the maximum. Please indicate your word count in the document, prior to the title of your piece.

Note: Please take the time to read the overall guidelines above. We promise that if you read them carefully, then we will read your submission carefully.

Some poetry submission guidelines(more like rules):

  • No more than four poems in a single submission, prettiest please, and only one submission at a time.
  • We're not likely to publish a 40-page poem online, but if you want to take the chance, maybe don't submit three more (just give us the one).
  • Check the list below. Our editors have curated a range of poems that represent the aesthetic they are seeking to create in Cobalt.
  • Expect long turnaround times. To quote that famous internet opossum:  "I am very small, and I have no money, so you can imagine the kind of stress that I am under." We publish poetry once annually. It may be 4-5 months before you hear from us, but of course, we'll aim for quick responses as much as possible.

The Ways to Donora’s Heart

Note: Please take the time to read the overall guidelines above. We promise that if you read them carefully, then we will read your submission carefully.

Although Cobalt is primarily focused on literary fiction, we will happily consider genre and experimental fiction as well. Types of fiction in which we are not currently interested include YA, “inspirational,” or erotica. This is especially true of stories that contain two or more of those elements at the same time. If all three, honestly, why are you still reading this?

Here are ten stories that resemble the range of stuff I'd love to find in my inbox:


A few Andrew-specific preferences:

Fiction submissions should be no longer than 2,500 words (please try to include the word count in your cover letter). My sweet spot is between 1,500 and 2,500 words, but I am often blown away by brevity.

If your story has even the slightest trace of Wes Anderson-ness to it, submit the heck out of it.

Authors may submit one work at a time (that is: one work per submission, one active submission at any given time). If I see a bunch of submissions by the same author, I'm likely to pass on all of them.

Please take the time to read the overall submission guidelines above. I promise that if you respect my time and effort, I will respect yours.

Thanks,
Andrew Keating

Cobalt