RipRap

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Rip Rap Journal covers

RipRap is a literary journal designed and produced annually by a team of CSULB students from our MFA program as well as undergraduates. Our literary journal was called Hornspoon at its inception in 1951 until it was renamed Gambit and finally, in 1979, RipRap.

RipRap features both established and emerging writers from across the country as well as enlightening interviews of award-winning, published writers. New editions of the journal are published each May.

RipRap offers a humble invitation to talented and aspiring writers of all genres and is open to everyone. Specifically, RipRap publishes creative short fiction and nonfiction, poetry, and art such as photography, illustration and comics. The journal is especially interested in work that is innovative, forward-thinking, and as entertaining as it is thought-provoking.

RipRap accepts submissions from October 17 – December 17. See below for genre-specific guidelines:

All submissions are read blind by our editing staff and editorial panels. Your submission may not include any identifying information. Any submissions that contain personal information that reveals the identity of the author will not be considered for publication.

You may submit to more than one genre except for short fiction/nonfiction; only one submission will be accepted for consideration for those genres.

  • Flash Fiction | Sudden fiction, short shorts, miniatures, postcard fiction; call it as you will. If it’s short and sweet, and we love it, we’ll publish it. Up to two stories per submission. A word count between 500-1,000 per story.
     
  • Short Fiction and Creative Nonfiction | Only one story or creative nonfiction submission is allowed per reading period. If more than one story or essay is submitted, only the first one sent will be considered. A word count in the 2,000-7,000 range is preferred. Longer pieces (10,000 words max) must be especially high quality.
     
  • Poetry | Up to four poems may be submitted. Do not exceed a combined total of 8 pages. Submit as a single document. (No single poem should be longer than 5 pages.)
     
  • Plays | For playwrights, please submit no more than two ten minute genre scripts, each not to exceed 2,500 words. Subsequent submissions will be disregarded. Submit your work as a .doc, .docx, or .pdf, using standard fonts, and remove all author identifying information from your manuscript.
     
  • Artwork | Artwork must be original. No specific theme is required. Painting, illustration, photography, comic art, and even photographs of three-dimensional art will be considered (anything that looks good as a high-res JPEG). Up to three pieces may be submitted.

RipRap reads all submissions anonymously. Please do not include your name anywhere on the manuscript itself. RipRap does not accept previously published material. However, simultaneous submissions to other journals are allowed as long as RipRap is notified immediately upon acceptance elsewhere.

If one piece out of a single submission containing a collection of poems (or images, flash fiction, etc) needs to be withdrawn, but others in the collection are still available, please email us as soon as possible with the title of the piece and we will note it on your submission.

Declinations and acceptances are sent in early Spring. Published writers will receive contributor copies as payment in May.

SUBMIT HERE

RipRap will not accept email or hard copy submissions. Editorial notes may be provided as necessary for publication.

 

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RipRap No.46 Cover Image

Read issue
SPRING 2024, No. 46

POETRY
Chelsea Allen
Akshita Chaudhuri
Katherine Day
Matthew Feinstein
E.C. Gannon
Anyély Gómez-Dickerson
Krystle Griffin
Jubi Arriola Headley
Johnathan Jones
Inaayah Khan
Jessica King
Gregory McGreevy
Cyan Niehoff
Daye Phillippo
Dan Pinkerton
Bill Schrieber
Marcus Elias Woolfolk

FICTION
Shelby Perlis
Elizabeth Wittenberg
Grace Zhu

ESSAYS & NON-FICTION
Ariana Brazier
Rebecca Kuder
Priyanka Kumra
Jā. R. Macki

VISUAL ART
Lisa Braden
Katherine Day
Matthew Fertel
GJ Gillespie
Jose Trejo Maya
RUNA
Mirka Walter
Robin Young

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