55 words (or more or less) from the editors

"Pen Pricks" Now Available on Mobile Devices!

2008-08-29T17:08:00.001-05:00

C. M. and I are also pleased to announce that "Pen Pricks" can now be read on mobile devices as well! To visit the site either on your mobile device or on your PC or Mac, please click Pen Pricks Mobile.

We hope you are as excited as C. M. and I are by this mobile-formatted version of Pen Pricks! Please don't hesitate to let us know what you think or if you experience any technical problems by emailing us at pen.pricks.subs@gmail.com.

Thank you!

Elizabeth

Issue 10 Published Ahead of Schedule!

2008-08-29T17:04:00.001-05:00

Issue 10 of Pen Pricks has been published ahead of schedule due to C. M. and I being located in New Orleans. She and I will both be evacuating with our families because of the threat currently being posed by Hurricane Gustav. Therefore, we decided to go ahead and publish the September issue now instead of later in case neither of us have Internet access over the upcoming days.

Please keep us and any other areas threatened by the storm in your thoughts. Thank you!

We hope you enjoy the latest Pen Pricks!

Elizabeth

"Thanks for the Memories!"

2008-08-20T19:43:00.005-05:00

The August 2008 submission period was an incredible success! Each of the upcoming Fall Issues will contain approximately 20 micro stories. The first fall issue will be the September issue. C. M. and I cannot truly thank the contributors to Pen Pricks enough, and we both are fully aware that there would not be a publication called Pen Pricks if it were not for the readers and contributors. Thank you all for your continuing support!

Pen Pricks is closed to submissions until November 1, 2008. C. M. and I look forward to your submissions when the sub period reopens.

Open to Submissions

2008-08-01T01:07:00.003-05:00

Pen Pricks is currently open to submissions as of today. The August submission period will last until August 15, 2008. Micro-fiction accepted during this submission period will appear in the September, October, and November issues of Pen Pricks. Please visit the guidelines for further details. C. M. and I look forward to your submissions!

Issue No. 9

2008-07-01T01:47:00.003-05:00

The July 2008 issue of Pen Pricks has been published! This ninth issue contains forty one 55 word micro-tales by 35 authors. C. M. and I say "Welcome back!" to Pen Pricks' veteran contributors and steady readers, and "Welcome!" to Pen Pricks' first-time contributors and readers!

Pen Pricks will be closed to submissions until August 1, 2008. When submissions reopen, the new sub periods and publication schedule will be in effect. Therefore, micro-fiction accepted during the August submission period will appear in the September, October, and November issues of Pen Pricks. There won't be an August issue, so publication will resume with the September 2008 issue.

Thank you, readers and contributors, for all your support!

E.

Revised Submission Deadlines

2008-06-18T00:05:00.006-05:00

Pen Pricks will now be published on a seasonal basis. There will be Spring Issues, Summer Issues, Fall Issues, and Winter Issues. However, the publication schedule will not change as the issues will be published over three months. For example, the upcoming Fall 2008 Issues will be published during the months of September, October, and November.

The new submission deadlines are as followed:

February 1-15 (for the Spring Issues, which will be published March, April, and May)

May 1-15 (for the Summer Issues, which will be published June, July, and August)

August 1-15 (for the Fall Issues, which will be published September, October, and November)

November 1-15 (for the Winter Issues, which will be published December, January, and February)

Although submission periods will be opened only four times a year, Pen Pricks will continue to be published every month as long as readers keep reading and contributors keep emailing their submissions. The new deadlines will go into effect beginning with the August 1-15, 2008 submission period. Micro-stories accepted during the August submission period will be published during the months of September, October, and November. This new schedule means there won't be an August issue of Pen Pricks

For complete details on how to submit your work to Pen Pricks, visit the guidelines. If there are any questions, please email C. M. and I at pen.pricks.subs@gmail.com. Thank you to our readers and contributors. Please keep reading, writing, and sending in submissions!

E.

Changes on the Horizon

2008-06-10T13:19:00.003-05:00

Now that C. M. and I are satisfied with the look of the Pen Pricks site for now, we've decided to return our attention to Pen Pricks' submission periods. So it appears that we'll be reworking Pen Pricks' submission dates and already have an idea of the changes we would like to make. If we implement those changes, each issue of Pen Pricks will contain about 10-12 micro-tales instead of the current amount, which is about 30 micro-tales an issue.

Whatever changes we decide on won't take place until the submission period for the August issue, which will be July 1-15, 2008. To receive further updates or notification of the changes, please consider subscribing to Pen Pricks' mailing list. Thanks.

E.

Obligations

2008-06-10T13:05:00.003-05:00

Please don't ever feel like you need to submit dark 55 worders to Pen Pricks if dark fiction is not really what you enjoy writing. Don't feel obligated to send us dark fiction simply because dark fiction is one of the genres featured at Pen Pricks. We invite you to submit what you enjoy writing. Elizabeth and I will be happy to consider your submission, as always. And if you ever receive a refusal for any of your submissions, please don't be discouraged. Keep writing and submitting.

~CM~

Issue No. 8

2008-06-03T10:03:00.005-05:00

The eigth issue of Pen Pricks is now online. Thrity seven 55-ers by twenty four authors are presented for reading pleasure. Also with the publication of this issue, it appears that C. M. and I have finally grown comfortable with the look we've chosen for the site. So please stop by and spend time reading.

All visitors should be able to view the site regardless of the browser being used. If any technical difficulties should arise, however, please don't hesitate to contact us at webmistress@grimgraffiti.com.

Thank you to the readers of and the contributors to Pen Pricks!

Issue No. 7

2008-05-01T01:25:00.004-05:00

C. M. and I are pleased to present the latest issue of Pen Pricks! The May 2008 issue contains thirty two 55 word micro-tales by 21 authors. We welcomed several first time contributors to Pen Pricks as well as several veteran contributors, and thank them all for their support.

We hope that our contributors and readers are pleased with the site's new look, and that you all enjoy reading the current issue.

Until next month (or before then, if C. M. or I have something worthwhile to share),

This Post: 89 words

Moving Right Along

2008-04-23T15:16:00.008-05:00

The upcoming May issue is coming together fine and will be presented with a new look. C. M. and I hope readers and contributors will enjoy the newer site because we are planning on making the latest look the final version of the Pen Pricks site. At least for quite a while. ;)

The May issue goes live in 8 days. C. M. and I hope you'll all stop by!

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In the Beginning

2008-04-06T18:12:00.006-05:00

I admit that when Pen Pricks began, Elizabeth and I felt a bit obligated to publish every submission we received. We had to learn to toughen our editor's hides as we sought to present the finest of the 55 word fiction that entered Pen Pricks' submission email inbox. Rejection of some submissions became inevitable.

Not every submission will strike our fancy as much as another submission, unfortunately. But please don't let rejections stop you from writing. After all, your next submission just might find publication. So keep writing!

This Post: 88 words

Welcome!

2008-04-06T05:29:00.013-05:00

Pen Pricks Micro Fiction is an online magazine of 55 word fiction, and this is where the webzine's editors share their thoughts, opinions, and tidbits on the inner workings of Pen Pricks.

Each post will be approximately 55 words long. Why? Only because C. M. and I thought it would be fun and interesting.

This Post: 54 words