Rhythm & Bones

a new literary magazine

We're all about what makes prose lyrical. We don't believe in writers sticking to a single genre. Give us your poetry, your hybrids, your prose that sings, your creative nonfiction. We want emotion - make us feel. Make the darkness beautiful.

Minimalism is sometimes called the "bare bones" of literature. That's what we want. Stories stripped down to the most necessary words. To the most vital, the very skeleton. But they must be a complete story, with a full arc.

We are now open for Submissions for Issue 4 & 5

***Please Note: Issue Two & Three are FULL.***

**Issue Four is quickly filling - upcoming April 2019**

*still considering Creative Non-Fiction & art/photography*

OUR ISSUE FIVE HAS A SPECIAL THEME: HUNGER.

Hunger can be sexual, self-driven (I.e. A hunger for power), etc. While we don't discourage your ode to food we encourage you to push the boundaries of what hunger is. Or means to you.

This is a wider category than most—we are willing to take both abstract cases of hunger (say, ravenous desire for advancement in a hierarchy or longing for a particular Macguffin) and the more visceral kind of appetite.

Think of the ouroboros—the serpent constantly devouring its own tail—as a metaphor for fruitless hunger.

Or the wendigo, devouring but never satisfied, growing taller until that skeletal cannibal scrapes the tops of trees with its armpits.

Or perhaps the fox-spirits of Korea, who only need to take a bite of human organs to assume their shape and memories.

Some of our recommendations for extra reading explore these themes and creatures.

Main Editor: Charlie Allison (Twitter: @cballison421) What we want: -Short, surreal fiction with a theme of consumption, hunger or cannibalism (or all three). -In contrast to previous issues, this edition of RHYTHM AND BONES will focus on short, surreal (fantasy, science-fiction, fabulist etc.) fiction rather than flash fiction and poetry. While we will be taking submissions in these categories, they will be appearing in smaller numbers to accommodate longer fiction. -Evocative language and vivid descriptors—think more Italo Calvino or Ursula LeGuin than Tom Clancy or Jeff Lindsay. -Hard limit of 3K words. -Standard manuscript format. ( https://www.shunn.net/format/story.html ) Submissions that do not adhere to thisformat will be rejected. Recommended reading: Not sure what to submit? Take a look at these foundational stories to get a some inspiration for your own work or simply enjoy beautiful writing: 1. Algernon Blackwood’s The Wendigo (Full text at Project Gutenberg)

2. Alyssa Wong’s Hungry Daughters of Starving Mothers (Nightmare Magazine)

Twitter: @crashwong 3. Yoon Ha Lee’s Foxfire, Foxfire

Twitter: @motomaratai 4. Bill Racicot's Mystery's Meat

Twitter: @sparkyalbatross

Please follow our regular submission guidelines for flash fiction/creative nonfiction/poetry submissions, but adhere to the theme for all.

**ALSO SEEKING: Artwork & photography surrounding the theme**

Submit to: rhythmnbonessubs@gmail.com. Include "Submission Issue 5" in your subject line along with genre (Fiction / Flash / Poetry ).

We will only be selecting a LIMITED number of flash fiction and poetry in this issue. Please keep this in consideration when submitting.

We will close submissions for this issue once we reach 300 submissions. Please bear with us as we read through them - this issue isn't due until next year so response times can be longer. Due to this, please do NOT send simultaneous submissions.

Keep Creating!

For flash, creative nonfiction, etc:

Please submit nothing more than 1,500 words to rhythmnbonessubs@gmail.com.

Attach your work as .doc, .docx, .pdf or copy and paste into the body of the email.

*We are also interested in artwork; please submit .jpg*

Visit us on twitter @BonesRhythmLit.

Thanks for your interest and we look forward to reading your work!

~ Tianna, Renee, & Charlie

Editors