Lots of people have been using the “Ask Us Anything” form on the contact page recently, which is great! We love hearing from you guys, and we try to give a prompt reply. (If we don’t promptly reply, it probably means that we’re thinking really hard to give you the best possible answer.) Since there have been a few questions lately about what kinds of works we’d consider for the book, I figured I’d take the time to address some of that here. (If you haven’t read the submission guidelines yet, you can do that here.)

Will you consider really short works? Like a joke or a haiku?

Mostly we’re looking for short stories that fall in the range of 1500 to 7500 words, but we’ll read submissions that fall outside those ranges on either side. We published a couple very short pieces (fewer than 200 words each) in the first book, so it’s not inconceivable that we’d do the same again. But the shorter something is, the more clever and original it needs to be. In other words: If you expect us to pay you $200 for a haiku, then it better be the best haiku in the world!

Will you consider poetry?

The spectrum of poetry is vast and varied — ranging from book-length epics to epigrams of only a few words — so it’s hard to give a single answer that applies to all poems equally. We’re not specifically looking for poetry, and we didn’t publish any poems in the first book. If you have a really great idea for a poem, we’ll certainly look at it — but it will have to be the kind of poem that can stand on its own in a book that’s otherwise full of short stories. A poem with at least a bit of a story might be a good place to start.

Will you consider comics or other graphic narratives?

Before I answer this, I should mention that we are looking for illustrators. But separate from that, we will also consider original stories that are told with art or some graphic element. We know it’s a lot of work to do a full story in comic format, which is why this wasn’t part of the call for submissions. But if you’re hell-bent on the idea, then we’ll certainly look at it! If you are doing something with art, the book is 6 x 9 inches, and will be printed in black and white.

Note: You are also welcome to include graphic elements (like diagrams, maps, graphs, etc.) with an otherwise traditional story.

What about a play or hyperfiction or something else not mentioned yet?

Look, we’ll give full consideration to almost anything you send us. (Unless it requires us to pay for delivery or assemble it ourselves.) But keep in mind that we’re publishing a book here. A book that will be available in print and in a variety of electronic formats. So if your submission is something that might be better presented in a different format, we will probably ask ourselves if it makes sense to put it in a book.

We also have our podcast and our talent show (which featured music, skits and short videos), so we’re definitely not opposed to the idea of works in other media. But right now we’re looking for things to go in a book — so ideally whatever you send us should be done with that in mind!