Persimmon Tree’s mission is to bring the creativity and talent of women over sixty to a wide audience of readers of all ages. We are looking for work that reveals rich experience and a variety of perspectives. Each issue of the magazine will include several fiction and nonfiction pieces, poetry by one or more poets, and the work of one or more visual artists. The magazine is published quarterly, in association with Mills College.
IMPORTANT SUBMISSIONS REQUIREMENT:
For your submission to be considered, you must be signed up on our email list. You can subscribe here:
Fiction and Nonfiction: We welcome previously unpublished pieces under 3,500 words, written by women over sixty. Submissions may be sent to us any time during the year. Several readers will review your submission, and we will respond to you within six months. Multiple submissions are accepted. If you want to send more than one piece, put them in separate emails.
Please send your submission as an attachment to us at: Submissions@persimmontree.org. Type the title of the piece, labeled fiction or non-fiction, in the subject line. Include a brief biographical statement (less than 50 words) in your email. The attached document must be saved in MS Word or a compatible program. If we can’t open it, it won’t be read. We will respond to you online.
Submissions should be double-spaced, with 12-point type and numbered pages. At the top of the first page please enter author’s name, address, telephone number, and email address.
Art: We welcome submissions of work in all media. Artists are invited to send no more than five samples of their work (as jpegs) and a short biographical statement (less than 50 words) for us to put on file. Submissions may be sent to us any time during the year. For your work to be considered, you should be signed up on our email list. You can subscribe in the box on the right side of this page. Please do not expect a response from us unless we plan to use your work.
Poetry: We accept submissions of poetry two times a year when we hold contests; we publish the winning poems submitted from poets who live in a specific geographical region. Please no simultaneous submissions for contests.
Poetry manuscripts must use the following guidelines to be considered:
(1) Previously unpublished poems by women over sixty should be emailed to the judge for that contest at the provided email address, not to Persimmon Tree directly. Poems must be in English.
(2) Include 1-3 poems in a single WORD attachment. No poem may be longer than a page; use 12-point type.
(3) In the subject line of the email message, type PERSIMMON TREE POETRY CONTEST and your last name. In the body of the message, include your name, phone number, email and postal mailing address.
If your submission does not follow these guidelines, it will be deleted. You will not be notified.
Poets whose work is selected for publication will be asked to send short bios and photos, and will need to be available for proofreading their poems. We will let you know if your poem(s) has been accepted or not.
Regions for Contests:
East Coast States (ME, VT, NH, CT, MA, RI, NY, NJ, DE, MD, DC, VA, NC, SC, GA, FL)
Western States (WA, OR, CA, AK, HI, NV, ID, AZ, UT, MT, WY, CO, NM)
Central States (TX, OK, KS, NE, SD, ND, MN, IA, MO, AR, LA, MS, AL, TN, KY, IN, MI, WI, IL, OH, WV, PA)
International Poets (not living in the US)
Next Contest:
West Coast States
Submissions Accepted: March 15 – May 15, 2020
Guest Judge: Devereaux Baker
redwillow@hotmail.com
Short Takes Contest: The Editors choose a different Short Takes topic for every issue. Short Takes are usually short pieces, fiction or non-fiction (250-500 words), but can also be topical poetry, sometimes even drawings or photography. We’re especially interested in hearing about your experiences, but you can include your thoughts, dreams, ideas and opinions. Humor and irony are always appreciated!
Please follow these guidelines:
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- Your submission MUST be on the topic for this issue; you’ll find the topic listed below. Pieces that do not follow this guideline will not be considered.
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- Please submit your Short Take as a Word attachment to an email. Address the email to editor@persimmontree.org. In the subject line of the email, type SHORT TAKES, the title of the piece and your last name. [Example: Short Takes, “Editing a Life,” Leonard]
- At the top of the first page enter your name, address, telephone, and email address. Make sure to include the topic and title of the piece. Without this information, we cannot get back to you if we use the piece.
You may submit to Short Takes as often as you choose.
We will contact you only if your piece is selected. Because our choices are determined by our need for balance and diversity, we cannot include all the good pieces we receive.
Submissions deadline: May 15, 2020
Topic: “Election Stories”
Thoughts on the Nineteenth Amendment: women win the vote: The Nineteenth Amendment granting all women the vote was passed by Congress on June 4, 1919, and ratified on August 18, 1920. We invite your thoughts, at any length, about this hundredth anniversary. We hope to put together a special segment with your submissions.
Please follow these guidelines:
- Please submit as a Word attachment to an email. Address the email to editor@persimmontree.org. In the subject line of the email, type NINETEENTH, the title of the piece and your last name. [Example: Nineteenth, “Catchy Title,” Leonard]
- At the top of the first page enter your name, address, telephone, and email address. Make sure to include the topic and title of the piece. Without this information, we cannot get back to you if we use the piece.
You may submit as many times on this subject as you choose.
Submissions deadline: May 15, 2020
When thirty-two-year-old Eric Boulanger returns to his Vermont hometown to care for his mother, he attempts to boost the town’s failing economy with a contest that will offer a free wedding. The winner is Bostonian Ryan Toscano whose fiancé has left to become a Jesuit, but whose outspoken Jewish grandmother insists she find a substitute in time for the gala affair. Eric’s well-intentioned brainstorm sets three millennials on an–at times hilarious at times painful–odyssey of self-discovery, one full of surprises amid deceptions, that forces them and an entire town to confront their notions of faith and death, love and acceptance. 
This is a cantankerous ad. I’m offering to sell you my beautiful work, but not online. You’ll have to come to a show in person.
The only full-length biography of Grace Paley, that joyful, funny, smart, and intensely interested woman, is now out in a new edition – with a new design, new cover, new preface, and many text edits. Working on Grace Paley’s Life Stories, Judith Arcana had unprecedented access to Grace, her family, and close friends; the result is a thorough exploration of the roots of her political consciousness, tracing her activism as it grew into her writing. A committed activist and globally celebrated author, Grace Paley sat down in front of rolling tanks and rearing horses, got arrested on the White House lawn, and traveled across the world to negotiate prisoner exchanges during the U.S. war in Vietnam. She was one of the great masters of the short story form, a model for everyone writing stories in any language, in any country. Though Grace died in 2007, her work as an activist and writer is alive in this book, teaching us what resistance means: Calling for liberation, peace, and justice; crying out to save the burning earth; demanding healthcare for all, and the right of women to determine the course of our lives. 
Congratulations to our contributors! We are so proud of them and so pleased that they let us share their work in our magazine.