Manuscript Formatting Guidelines

We only accept Microsoft word documents (.doc or .docx). We encourage authors to download and use this MS Word template, which contains the proper formatting as outlined below. (If you do not have MS Word, you can import the template into Google Docs and use their free word processing interface.)

Naming convention for your document should be as follows:

<YourLastName>-<StoryTitle>-<SparkIssue/Theme>

Example: Smith-ALoveStory-LoveUnleashed

In the upper left-hand corner of the document, include:

  • Your name as you would like it to appear in print
  • Your contact information (phone number, email address, and mailing address)
  • The title of your story
  • The word count (excluding the title, your name, and your contact information)

The body of your story should be:

  • Double-spaced
  • Size 12 black Times New Roman font
  • 1” page margins
  • Indented to 0.5″ using the ruler / paragraph settings (not a tab or five spaces)

Once you have your properly-formatted manuscript ready and have read our Submission Guidelines, click the button below to submit it.

Submission form

Note: We only accept submissions during the submission window. Please see our Upcoming Themes for submissions periods and deadlines.