+++ Now Submit up to 3 Poems via email....  See below for details.

Rosebud Submission Guidelines

Thank you for your interest in Rosebud. We are open to outside submissions and we review material throughout the year. Although there are a few pointers below, the best way to get a feeling of what we do is to read an issue or two. You can either visit your local bookstore (we are available in Borders and Barnes & Noble), or better yet—subscribe or buy a sample copy directly from us.  (see page two). Also, check out our website at www.rsbd.net

Rosebud’s Submission Policy

Rosebud, Inc. is a nonprofit organization staffed by volunteers. To handle the growing thousands of submissions we receive every year, In 1999 we launched the Rosebud Fast-track Initiative (RFI) to streamline submission processing. To achieve this we charge a handling fee of one dollar. For a response to your submission in approximately 45 days from the date of receipt, please:  

* Put the letters RFI on the outside of the envelope, and circle it!
* FOR PROSE ONLY: Include a one-dollar handling fee or check for $1 made out to ROSEBUD. ($1 covers up to three stories,.)
* Include 1 to 3 stories and/or 1 to 5 poems
* include a self-addressed stamped envelope for our reply (we can recycle manuscripts) and/or manuscript return.

Send fiction and essays with SASE and $1.00 handling fee (if the piece is prose) to:

RFI  PROSE Submissions
C/O Roderick Clark
N3310 Asje Rd.
Cambridge, WI 53523

For Poetry please submit by email to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it (<click here)

Or snail mailed to:

Rod Clark

Rosebud Magazine

P.O. Box 459

Cambridge, Wi  53523

In the past two decades, Rosebud poetry editor Rod Clark has received as many as 150,000 submissions via letters.  In an effort to modernize and reduce waste of paper, Rosebud is going virtual."  You can now email up to three (3) poetry submissions. Please paste the poems into your email rather then attaching.  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

For an annotated sample story click here.

The Rosebud Fast-track Initiative (RFI) offers advantages to authors:

* Approximately 45 day response from date of manuscript receipt

* FOR PROSE PIECES ONLY: An acceptance or rejection notice or, in some instances, an indication why a given piece was not a match for Rosebud, and/or how you might better target future work.

A $1 handling fee (cash or check) must be included with mailed PROSE submissions. (Poetry submissions are without charge)  After January 1st, 2001, we will only read  prose  submissions with a $1 handling fee included.

We must be able to easily contact you by phone, e-mail or regular mail. Fiction and non-fiction submissions must be typed, double-spaced; poetry must be typed, single spaced. The writer's name should be at the top of each page. Only send hardcopy; if your piece is accepted be prepared to send an electronic file by e-mail or on disk. We use The Chicago Manual of Style and Webster's Dictionary (10th Edition) as editorial guides.


WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR IN PROSE:

We publish short stories and a very few essays. The ideal length for prose is 1000 to 3000 wds.  Send one to three of your strongest pieces. We like good storytelling, real emotion and authentic voice. On rare occasions we publish essays, but we do not publish conventional travel, political, or religious material, sentimentality, “inspirational” essays or nostalgia. Most of the stories we receive read like stories submitted to journals 50 years ago, and often are too generic and predictable to publish. Many start too slow and spend too much time up front telling us what the story is about. Get us interested first, then weave in exposition as you go.

WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR IN POETRY:

Send three to five one-page poems representing your best work. IF you send an SASE and sufficient postage we will return the poems. Otherwise, the paper will be recycled. You should be well-read, as much as possible, in contemporary poetry and criticism. Avoid excessive or well-worn abstractions, not to mention cliches. Present a unique and convincing world (you can do this in a few words!) by means of fresh and exact imagery, and by interesting use of syntax. Explore the deep reaches of metaphor. But don't forget to be playful and have fun with words. Never tell the reader what to think.

IF WE PUBLISH…

Rosebud purchases one time rights of original or previously published pieces; this means you are free to sell that same piece to another publication. For stories or articles, Rosebud currently pays a flat fee of $30.00, and three issues. At this point in time, Rosebud pays for poems in issues only: generally three, depending on supply. Aside from compensation, however, the benefit of publishing in Rosebud can be enormous. Your piece will be read across the U.S., Canada, and to some extent, around the world. Literary agents often ask us about writers they have seen in Rosebud, and sometimes we can make connections.  A significant number of Rosebud writers later publish collections or novels elsewhere.

For an annotated sample story click here.

HOW TO SUBSCRIBE:

A 3-issue subscription is $20; a 6-issue subscription is $35. Sample copies are $6.95 each. Checks should be made out to ROSEBUD. For subscriptions, renewals, and sample copies click here or contact:

SUBSCRIPTIONS
C/O Roderick Clark
N3310 Asje Road
Cambridge, WI 53523

HOW TO BUY A SAMPLE ISSUE:
Send a check or money order for $6.95 made out to ROSEBUD to:

SAMPLE ISSUE
C/O Roderick Clark
N3310 Asje Rd.
Cambridge, Wi 53523

WHY YOUR SUBSCRIPTIONS AND SUBMISSIONS ARE IMPORTANT

As writers, all of us are dependent upon magazines which publish our work. And, these magazines depend upon us. If we don't buy, read and promote them, they cease to exist. This is particularly true of periodicals like Rosebud that are open to submissions from new voices. We are a non-profit organization with no outside affiliation, grants or subsidies. Send in your manuscripts, but also send in your subscription. Let us work together to create a new kind of writing/publishing success.

Email questions (but not submissions) can be directed to  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

For an annotated sample story click here.