We Welcome Your Submission
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.
Here’s what you need to know in order to submit your work to Persimmon Tree:
Fiction and Nonfiction
Poetry
Short Takes
Art and Illustrations
Forum
Fiction and Nonfiction
Poetry
Short Takes
Art and Illustrations
Forum
Fiction and Nonfiction
Please read and follow these instructions carefully. We regret that we cannot accept any submission that does not follow the guidelines as to what should be sent, when it should be sent, and to whom it should be sent.
We welcome previously unpublished pieces under 3,500 words, written by women over sixty.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. Multiple submissions are accepted. If you want to send more than one piece, put them in separate emails.
Simultaneous submissions are allowed, but please inform us immediately if any item in your submission is accepted elsewhere.
You must be subscribed to submit; click here to subscribe. Submissions and subscriptions are free.
Submissions should be in Word, 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.
Please send your submission as an attachment to us at: editor@persimmontree.org. Type the title of the piece, labeled fiction or nonfiction, in the subject line. Include a brief biographical statement (less than 50 words) and a headshot in your email.
We welcome previously unpublished pieces under 3,500 words, written by women over sixty.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. Multiple submissions are accepted. If you want to send more than one piece, put them in separate emails.
Simultaneous submissions are allowed, but please inform us immediately if any item in your submission is accepted elsewhere.
You must be subscribed to submit; click here to subscribe. Submissions and subscriptions are free.
Submissions should be in Word, 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.
Please send your submission as an attachment to us at: editor@persimmontree.org. Type the title of the piece, labeled fiction or nonfiction, in the subject line. Include a brief biographical statement (less than 50 words) and a headshot in your email.
Poetry
Persimmon Tree invites older women poets to submit their previously unpublished poems twice each year. In order to keep the number of entries at a manageable level, submissions are solicited on a regional basis.
The window opens April 9 for the submission to Persimmon Tree of poetry by women over 60 living in the western United States (Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming). It will remain open only until May 1. We regret that poetry submitted after May 1 cannot be considered.
You may submit up to three previously unpublished poems. Simultaneous submissions are allowed, but please inform us immediately if any poems in your submission are accepted elsewhere.
Submit your poems all together in a single Word document, single-spaced (double-spaced if that is how you wish the poem to appear), in 12-point type. Please be sure your name is at the top of each page of the document.
Email the document as an attachment to poetry@persimmontree.org. The subject line of the email should read “Poetry Submission Summer 2026.” Include in the email your name, street address, email address, and phone number, as well as a headshot and a short bio (no more than 50 words).
We regret that the volume of entries may make it impossible for us to acknowledge receipt of your poems.
The regional rotation for future issues will be as follows:
The window opens April 9 for the submission to Persimmon Tree of poetry by women over 60 living in the western United States (Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming). It will remain open only until May 1. We regret that poetry submitted after May 1 cannot be considered.
You may submit up to three previously unpublished poems. Simultaneous submissions are allowed, but please inform us immediately if any poems in your submission are accepted elsewhere.
Submit your poems all together in a single Word document, single-spaced (double-spaced if that is how you wish the poem to appear), in 12-point type. Please be sure your name is at the top of each page of the document.
Email the document as an attachment to poetry@persimmontree.org. The subject line of the email should read “Poetry Submission Summer 2026.” Include in the email your name, street address, email address, and phone number, as well as a headshot and a short bio (no more than 50 words).
We regret that the volume of entries may make it impossible for us to acknowledge receipt of your poems.
The regional rotation for future issues will be as follows:
- Winter 2026/2027: Central (the Midwest, the Great Plains, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Tennessee)
- Summer 2027: International (for poets living outside the US or in a US Territory)
- Winter 2027/2028: East (the coastal states from Maine to Florida, and also Alabama, Mississippi, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia)
- Summer 2028: West (Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming)
You must be subscribed to submit; click here to subscribe. Submissions and subscriptions are free.
Short Takes
Short Takes are usually short prose 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 read and follow these instructions carefully. We regret that we cannot accept any submission that does not follow these guidelines. In particular, make sure that the address on your email is correct.
Please read and follow these instructions carefully. We regret that we cannot accept any submission that does not follow these guidelines. In particular, make sure that the address on your email is correct.
Issue #79–Summer 2026–Mending the Breach–or Not
There are so many ways in which relationships–friendships, marriages, partnerships, loves, families–fall apart. Time itself can do it, or distance. We’ve all had arguments that left us not wanting to be the first to call or text, and sometimes those rifts have lasted for decades. The political divisions of the past few years have also created gulfs we either can’t or prefer not to cross. Write about one such severed relationship. It can be current or far in the past. You can write about why you don’t want to repair it–or why you’d like to but can’t–or, in the best of all possible worlds, how the relationship has been repaired. Try not to be judgmental–of yourself or anyone else.
Publication date: June 24
Short Takes Editor: Linda Barrett Osborne
Dates submissions will be accepted: May 20 to May 25
(Please do not submit earlier or later than those dates.)
Your submission must be previously unpublished and under 500 words. Submit it to us as a Word document; be sure your name, address, phone number, and email address are all in the Word document. Send us the document by an email addressed to shorttakes@persimmontree.org, and type “Short Take” in the subject line of the email.
Include a headshot and short bio (no more than 50 words) in the email.
You must be subscribed to submit; click here to subscribe. Submissions and subscriptions are free.
Publication date: June 24
Short Takes Editor: Linda Barrett Osborne
Dates submissions will be accepted: May 20 to May 25
(Please do not submit earlier or later than those dates.)
Your submission must be previously unpublished and under 500 words. Submit it to us as a Word document; be sure your name, address, phone number, and email address are all in the Word document. Send us the document by an email addressed to shorttakes@persimmontree.org, and type “Short Take” in the subject line of the email.
Include a headshot and short bio (no more than 50 words) in the email.
You must be subscribed to submit; click here to subscribe. Submissions and subscriptions are free.
Issue #80–-Fall 2026 — The Creative Spark
When did you first realize you wanted to become a writer, a painter, a composer, a weaver—a creator of any kind of art? You don’t have to be a professional writer, artist, or craftsperson to feel the urge to create. That spark hits people at various points in their lives. Were you inspired as a child, a student, on a break from work, or when retirement gave you more time? By your parents, a teacher, a spouse, a mentor, a child, a friend? Did a particular moment move you or was it the accumulation of feelings, ideas, images, or sounds over the years that suddenly called you to put pen to paper or brush to canvas? And how did you feel in the moments when you first expressed those ideas? Did you face setbacks? How did you overcome them? How do you live a creative life and still take part in the everyday world and how does your art make life meaningful?
Publication date: To be announced
Dates submissions will be accepted: To be announced
(Please do not submit earlier or later than those dates.)
Your submission must be previously unpublished and under 500 words. Submit it to us as a Word document; be sure your name, address, phone number, and email address are all in the Word document. Send us the document by an email addressed to shorttakes@persimmontree.org, and type “Short Take” in the subject line of the email.
Include a headshot and short bio (no more than 50 words) in the email.
You must be subscribed to submit; click here to subscribe. Submissions and subscriptions are free.
Publication date: To be announced
Dates submissions will be accepted: To be announced
(Please do not submit earlier or later than those dates.)
Your submission must be previously unpublished and under 500 words. Submit it to us as a Word document; be sure your name, address, phone number, and email address are all in the Word document. Send us the document by an email addressed to shorttakes@persimmontree.org, and type “Short Take” in the subject line of the email.
Include a headshot and short bio (no more than 50 words) in the email.
You must be subscribed to submit; click here to subscribe. Submissions and subscriptions are free.
Issue #81—Winter 2026-2027–New Year’s Aspirations and Illusions
As a new year approaches, resolutions start popping into our heads. I vow to lose more weight; I will finally clean out the attic. But why not be more daring this year? The new year offers a fresh start. It can be a time to imagine a new self. What would you like to do or change that is beyond the reach of the everyday? Train for a mini marathon? Up your level on the canvas or the piano? Write the novel that’s waiting inside you? Make a new friend? Find a new lover? The imagination is limitless. Of course, there is a difference between thinking and doing. What might hold you back? Are your new year’s resolutions realistic, or just illusions? You may not achieve everything you set out to do: how many of us really clean out the attic? But even small starts, small changes, can make life a little richer. Tell us what you aspire to and how you might make that happen.
Publication date: To be announced
Dates submissions will be accepted: To be announced
(Please do not submit earlier or later than those dates.)
Your submission must be previously unpublished and under 500 words. Submit it to us as a Word document; be sure your name, address, phone number, and email address are all in the Word document. Send us the document by an email addressed to shorttakes@persimmontree.org, and type “Short Take” in the subject line of the email.
Include a headshot and short bio (no more than 50 words) in the email.
You must be subscribed to submit; click here to subscribe. Submissions and subscriptions are free.
Publication date: To be announced
Dates submissions will be accepted: To be announced
(Please do not submit earlier or later than those dates.)
Your submission must be previously unpublished and under 500 words. Submit it to us as a Word document; be sure your name, address, phone number, and email address are all in the Word document. Send us the document by an email addressed to shorttakes@persimmontree.org, and type “Short Take” in the subject line of the email.
Include a headshot and short bio (no more than 50 words) in the email.
You must be subscribed to submit; click here to subscribe. Submissions and subscriptions are free.
Art and Illustrations
Please read and follow these instructions carefully. We regret that we cannot accept any submission that does not follow the guidelines as to what should be sent, when it should be sent, and to whom it should be sent.
Although the artists who are featured on our dedicated art page are chosen by our art editor, we welcome previously unpublished submissions of work in all media for display and illustration throughout the rest of the magazine. You are invited to send up to five samples of your work (in jpg format, 72 dpi) by email addressed to publisher@persimmontree.org. Include in the email, the title and medium of each work, a headshot, your name, postal address, phone number, email address, and a short biographical statement (less than 50 words). Submissions may be sent at any time during the year.
You must be subscribed to submit; click here to subscribe. Submissions and subscriptions are free.
Although the artists who are featured on our dedicated art page are chosen by our art editor, we welcome previously unpublished submissions of work in all media for display and illustration throughout the rest of the magazine. You are invited to send up to five samples of your work (in jpg format, 72 dpi) by email addressed to publisher@persimmontree.org. Include in the email, the title and medium of each work, a headshot, your name, postal address, phone number, email address, and a short biographical statement (less than 50 words). Submissions may be sent at any time during the year.
You must be subscribed to submit; click here to subscribe. Submissions and subscriptions are free.
Forum
Readers will be asked to contribute to each issue of the magazine their views on questions of moment to the Persimmon Tree community of older women writers and artists.
March 2026 Forum Topic: Challenging Chaos
Minneapolis, Sudan, Chicago, Gaza, censorship threats, Iran and Lebanon, storms, drought, the shattering of accepted norms, the exploding costs of everything important.
How, as creative older women, do we grapple with, and influence, this increasingly volatile world? Decades ago Edna St Vincent Millay wrote, in a famous sonnet:
I will put Chaos into fourteen lines . . .
I shall not even force him to confess
Or answer. I will only make him good.
I shall not even force him to confess
Or answer. I will only make him good.
Between March 17 and 6:00 pm EDT, Saturday, March 21, we are asking members of the Persimmon Tree community to build on the excellent ideas presented in earlier Forums. For this issue, put Chaos into no more than 200 words and share your ideas for challenging, as individuals and creative artists, his increasingly intrusive sway over our daily lives.
Attach your 200-word—prose only—Word document to an email and send it to editor@persimmontree.org with the subject line “Spring 2026 Forum”. Include your name, email address, street address, and phone number. We look forward to reading your entries and sharing as many of them in the upcoming spring issue as we can.
You must be subscribed to submit; click here to subscribe. Submissions and subscriptions are free.
Judy Ireland’s poems have appeared in Hotel Amerika, Calyx, Saranac Review, Eclipse, Cold Mountain, Coe Review, and other journals, as well as in two anthologies, Best Indie Lit New England and Voices from the Fierce Intangible World. Her bookCement Shoes (Evening Street, 2014) won the 2013 Sinclair Poetry Prize. She is also an amateur photographer. She is Co-Director for the Performance Poets of the Palm Beaches, Senior Poetry Editor for the South Florida Poetry Journal, and a teacher at Palm Beach State College.