The Knight’s Literary Magazine publishes poetry, flash fiction under 1,000 words, fiction of 1,000-4,000 words, and creative nonfiction less than 3,000 words. Read the complete guidelines here.
SQF: What is the mission of The Knight’s Literary Magazine?
Jason B. Crawford: We are here to help artists find a place within their field. We focus on giving like-minded individuals a medium for their work to be critiqued & published by people who want their voices to be heard. Truthfully, what we mean by this is, the publication world is tough. When you are a marginalized or “different” type of writer, it can be difficult to find spaces that will deem your work worthy. We want that work! We want the weird and the unruly!
SQF: What are the top three things you look for in a submission and why?
JBC: The first thing I look for is the uniqueness within the style of the submitter. How is this work stepping away from what we normally see within that medium?
The second thing is the purpose of the piece. We like to include pieces that invoke change in some way whether in mood or in government. How does the piece ignite feeling?
The third thing we look for is the flow of the work. How well does the piece flow from beginning to end? What ways or movements are made within the piece to connect the start to the finish?
SQF: What most often turns you off to a submission?
JBC: Mostly, overarching arrogance. If the piece seems like it was written for the high class to exclude anyone that is not in that class of writing, we don’t want it. Not every great writer has studied at NYU or the University of Michigan. Not every great writer has defended a dissertation on their work. We want the writers that remind us that we all have the potential to be great writers.
Also, too many typos in a document is bothersome.
SQF: Are you interested in submissions of certain genres? Perhaps asked another way, are there genres you’d like to see more submissions of?
JBC: Even though most of the staff focuses on poetry, I know the influx of poems we get as compared to our other mediums (Fiction, Nonfiction, Flash, Playwriting, Art) can be a bit disappointing. I say this only because we would love to see more of the other genres come across our desk. Of course we enjoy the poems piling in, but poetry is not the only thing this magazine does. Truthfully, we would highly enjoy more art in the inbox to give our issues more of a pop.
SQF: Many editors list erotica, or sex for sex sake, as hard sells. What are hard sells for your publication?
JBC: I think more than a hard sell we take a hard stance on racism, sexism, homophobia, ableism, transphobia, dismissal of mental health importance, things of that nature. We will never accept pieces from those standpoints, our anything idealizing this current administration.
SQF: What one question on this topic do you wish I'd asked that I didn't? And how would you answer it?
JBC: This has been one of the most interesting and thought-provoking set of questions I’ve ever answered, and I think we’ve covered a wide range of topics/ideas that should give our readers and submitters a better understanding of the magazine. Thank you so much for this and everything you do.
Thank you, Jason. We all appreciate your taking time from your busy schedule to participate in this project.
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