It is free to submit; simply submit below your writing, poetry, photography and artwork to during our submissions openings. Check out our guidelines below and feel free to contact us with any questions!

Quick Jump:

What makes The Watershed Journal different?

Our submissions process is free and our selection process is inclusive.

We are looking for written, photographic and artistic submissions for our literary magazine, which is distributed at Watershed Books in Brookville, PA. We also distribute on our website through our quarterly Online Exclusives.

Part of what makes The Watershed Journal so special is our dedication to giving a voice to the people and places in our region of the Pennsylvania Wilds. We are particularly interested in visual or written storytelling that reflects this region in its diversity.

The other aspect of our mission that sets us apart from other literary publications is our goal of inclusion. Though we have a limited number of pages we can print, we also have a space for online exclusive content. That means if you don’t see your work in print, it has likely been published on our website as long as it meets our submission guidelines. Of course, we encourage you to submit early for the best chance to be published.

What are we looking for?

  • Poetry
  • Flash Fiction
  • Essays
  • Local journalism
  • Excerpts from longer works
  • Photography
  • Images
  • Artwork

We at TWJ are so proud to publish work from our immediate area and are looking for work from a diverse collection of backgrounds, perspectives, and styles.

Who Should Submit to The Watershed Journal?

The Watershed Journal’s production team runs our magazine on a basis of inclusion and strives to publish as many eligible, local submitters as the magazine can hold. Ours is a rural region, accustomed to exploitation and full of rich tradition. We are dedicated to serving this underrepresented region and giving a voice to the writers, photographers and artists who call our portion of the Pennsylvania Wilds home. 

Writers from the following Pennsylvania counties are eligible for print:

  • Cameron
  • Clarion
  • Clearfield
  • Elk
  • Forest
  • Indiana
  • Jefferson
  • McKean
  • Venango
  • Warren

Submission Guidelines

1) Maximum of 2 submissions per quarter for written work. (For photography or artwork, the maximum is 10 photos.)

2) Maximum word length 1500 words for written submissions.

3) Preference given to pieces that are appropriate for the edition’s season. Non-seasonal pieces are still quite welcome!

4) Preference given to early submitters- the Journal has a limited amount of pages and once the space is filled, we will close our submission window.

5) Editorial discretion will be used to balance poetry, essay, short story, flash fiction, journalism, visual art and photography.

6) We will not consider publishing depictions of graphic sex or violence, racial epithets, or gratuitous profanity.

(7) If you have submitted a piece before that was not selected, you are welcome to resubmit it for subsequent editions. We release any submissions that we do not use and do not automatically roll them over to the next issue.

(8) We do not retain any publishing rights to your works.

(9) We can only publish words and imagery of which the submitter has ownership. We will not consider stock or public domain imagery or quotes.

Now you’re ready to submit – do you need some help finalizing your submission?

  • Check out tips on Finding (and Keeping) a Beta Reader
  • Join Writer’s Block Party or a similar writing group on one of their monthly writer’s meetings. Enjoy good company and conversation as you share your writing and craft.
  • Attend one of our free Workshops, held quarterly.
  • Use your online resources – Grammarly is an online service that can help you catch common spelling errors. *We’re not getting paid for this boost, it’s just a nice tool:)

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