Submissions open for Sand & Silt

Sand & Silt is a literary journal produced by the Salt River Local Arts Collaborative. We publish biannual digital and audio editions, with a print edition annually. 
Submissions are now open for our inaugural issue, which will be published this fall. Selected work will appear in our print, digital, and audio editions. Contributors will receive a free copy of the print edition.

Who Should Submit

We believe creative work is survival work, and that art is a form of repair. We publish work by emerging and established writers and artists who have lived at the edges of addiction, incarceration, trauma, recovery, mental health issues, poverty, and rural life. We feature locally rooted words and art from Kentucky’s Salt River region, but we welcome work from anywhere. We are especially interested in work by those in recovery or impacted by addiction; the formerly incarcerated; the working-class; Black, Brown, and ethnically diverse voices; LGBTQ+ and gender-expansive voices; and caregivers, laborers, and those holding intergenerational stories.

Please do not submit:
We are not interested in work that tears people down, performs suffering, or relies on exaggerated emotional language. We do not publish racist, hateful, or discriminatory material; explicit sexual content (no pornography); gratuitous or sensational violence; or previously published work.

Genres We Accept

  • Poetry (up to 3 poems)
  • Fiction (up to 5,000 words)
  • Creative nonfiction / essays (up to 5,000 words)
  • Multigenre and hybrid work (up to 5,000 words)
  • Visual art (up to 3 pieces of photography, illustration, collage, or mixed media that reproduces well in black-and-white)

Youth Submissions – The Riverbed

We proudly feature The Riverbed, a dedicated section highlighting young creators, ages 13 to 18. Please identify your work as a youth submission and follow the guidelines outlined below.

Submission Guidelines (Please Read Carefully)

  • Work must be original and unpublished
  • Writing must be submitted as a Word document (no PDFs); use Times New Roman, Arial, or Calibri font; 12 pt, double-spaced if prose, single-spaced if poetry
  • Include a short bio (50-75 words) written in 3rd person
  • One submission at a time in one genre; please wait for a response before submitting again
  • Manuscripts are read blind. Please do not include identifying information in the document itself
  • Visual art is also considered anonymously. Please do not include identifying information in the art work. Submit as TIFF or JPG/JPEG, 300 dpi.
  • Contributors will be asked to record their work for our audio edition, but are not required to do so. 
  • Deadline for submissions: July 31, 2026.

PLEASE NOTE: Submissions that do not follow guidelines may not be reviewed.

Rights & Reprint Policy

Upon publication, full rights return to the author. We ask that any future reprints acknowledge Sand & Silt as the original place of publication. We also retain the right to make editorial adjustments consistent with our style and editorial standards.

Submit Your Work