How long do you take to reply to submissions?

The short answer is within 12 weeks. Choosing an EXPEDITED submission will move this to within 14 days. The fancy-pants answer: whilst we pride ourselves on our reactions- sometimes within earshot of a jab from some effin 24-carat dudo that looks like Mike Tyson, scrambling on The Egg Ropes- we receive a high volume of submissions so cannot always be speedy with our response. Sometimes we’re in that Tyson ball-park. We’re sitting on the sofa, eating chips and watching football and we’ll blink at submittable and see a sore-thumb flapping on the shores. It nods and we nod and we all keep eating chips and watching football. Other times we’re in the office with a Stiff Antoccino and we’re Rocking In The Waves Of The Sun, sucking the words through our pores like a thorny lizard. The words take time. We let them settle before revealing themselves as who would have thought it? This one said that. Typically then, we have no real typically.

When do you publish your issues?

We publish sporadically, because the quality of submissions is sporadic by nature. We can go large periods of time without accepting a piece and then accept a bunch in a day or two. For this reason, we don’t impose limitations on our publishing schedule: it would severely impact the quality of the magazine. Instead, we release each issue the minute we have everything ready for it. In this way, you see the work as soon as it’s ready! To give a more concrete idea of how frequently we publish, we can say that in our first year we published 6 issues, so we publish with a mean frequency of 2 months. Our deadlines reflect this sporadic nature too – they are frequently extended so that we can find you and your work.

What is your editing process like?

Expect a minimal style. We know the toil that typically goes into writing. It is likely you chose to send your work as a final product. Things tend to either work first time or not. Playing around too much with something can be an indication that something is fundamentally off. These are our views only. We know that other litmags like to wrestle with your work, nosy beggers.

What are your publishing rights?

We ask for first serial rights. It makes no sense for people to be going elsewhere to see you. We’re monogamous like that. Slutty is not immediate in our publishing minds. We will ask for 6-months with you. Then you can go and sleep with others, but please tell them about your first and superior time.

Do you publish first time / unpublished authors?

Absolutely. It’s one of our favourite things. We ask for cover letters and bios but we typically only read these after considering the work. You might have published in The New Yorker, but that was the past. Now, now, now. Invent yourself and then re-invent yourself.

Do you pay?

For a long-time we were able to pay our contributors. The difficult times at present means we are back to saving to pay our contributors: you can help us to do so by selecting add ons such as ‘Tip Jar’ on your submission.

What are the Terms and Conditions of The Blood Pudding 2026 Prize?

– Your entry has to be your own raw, original guts- no lifting from anyone else’s veins or copyright corpses.

– Co-authored pieces get the boot. We want singular voices that bleed alone.

– We want literature and art that crackles and pops. Fiction, nonfiction and poetry.

– Multiple entries per person? Absolutely. Flood us.

– The Blood Pudding editors make the final call on what fits our rotten, surreal aesthetic. Our decisions are final and we won’t be answering emails about it.

– Incomplete, corrupted or hate-spewing entries get composted immediately.

– The prize stays open until November 1st 2026. We reserve the right to keep the window bleeding longer.

– Winner(s) will be announced within 14 days od the deadline.

– The Blood Pudding claims exclusive workd rights to publish the winning piece(s) online and to represent foreign rights on your behalf. You’ll get a standard contract.

– The Blood Pudding can choose not to award the prize at all, or can offer multiple publications if the pudding is thick enough.

– The Blood Pudding reserves the right to adjust the rules or shift the schedule.

What are the Terms and Conditions of your ‘Personalized Response’ to submissions?

– Submission cost is set and displayed on Submittable

– Can only be selected once per submitter. Further selections will result in declination without notice.

– Submissions are considered as they arrive. We don’t enter discussion or correspondence.

– All payments are non-refundable

– All ‘Personalized Responses’ enter the same queue and will be dealt with independently of any expedited selections. Do not expect Expedited selections (including 24-Hour Response selections) to expedite your Personalized Feedback.

– Personalized Responses will be short. Expect a few sentences only and comments to be on basic concepts like voice, tone, arc, line-breaks, openings and alike.