Palm Branch Publishing (PBP) Submission Guidelines:
Have you ever noticed how life has a way of taking hold and shackling us to our past? To an old wound? Or maybe to a previous mistake? Sometimes even to circumstances completely out of our control.
That’s the focus of our next collection of fictional short stories.
Spin a web of problems, desires, or needs for your protagonist that positions them down on their luck and struggling against all odds. Then put them on a path towards freedom.
We want to experience the physical, the psychological, and even the spiritual unloosing that comes when your character recognizes and embraces the power harnessed in friendship, familial bonds, their own inner strength, or whatever it takes to break them free from that thing that is keeping them in bondage.
At Palm Branch Publishing, we like happy endings. Not necessarily sappy or Halmark-y ones, but the kind that reveals or contains some element of discovery, reconcilation, or transformation.
We consider most genres provided the story adheres to all Submission Guidelines.
Submittals should be well-written and follow all guidelines. Accepted manuscripts will undergo a rigorous review by our editorial staff prior to publication.
Details to know before submitting:
- Submissions close at midnight on November 20, 2026
- PBP reserves the right to close submissions early
- Read ALL guidelines prior to submitting a story
- Submissions must be original works of fiction not previously published anywhere online or in print
- Stories generated using Artificial Intelligence are not permitted (e.g., Google Bard, ChatGPT, Jasper, Rytr, Saasbook, AI Dungeon, etc.)
- Stories should be at least 4,500 words but no more than 7,500 words
- No submission fee is required
- Simultaneous submissions will not be accepted (e.g., do not submit a story if it has already been submitted to another journal or publisher or if you plan to submit it elsewhere)
- Stories should be rated Parental Guidance (PG) and not contain sexually graphic material, descriptive violence, politics, or controversial tones/topics
- Stories should be formatted in Times New Roman, 12pt font, and double-spaced
- Each story submission should be copied into the body of an email containing the author’s full name and story title with the subject line: “PBP BOUND Story Submission” and emailed to submissions@palmbranchpublishing.com
- More than one submission is acceptable, but each story must be sent in separate emails
- Confirmation of receipt will be emailed within 72 hours
If your story is accepted:
- Palm Branch Publishing pays $105 per accepted story and two author copies (mailed after publication to U.S. addresses only)
- Authors must sign License Agreement prior to payment and publication of submitted story
- All accepted stories will be reviewed by PBP editorial team for additional quality checks in accordance with the PBP In-house Style Guide and the Chicago Manual of Style
- PBP reserves the right to edit and revise each story as necessary to fit overall theme
- Submitting a story implies acceptance of all terms
