Way Downstream: A Long-Form Prose Anthology fifth wheel press Gold Star Program Gold Star

As fiction and nonfiction writers, we’ve often experienced the thrill of finally finishing a piece and opening a new tab to start submitting . . . only to realize it’s too long for most literary magazines to accept, but it’s too short to publish as a standalone book. There are few markets for fiction and creative nonfiction that falls between 4,000-10,000 words, but we believe that some of the most bold, challenging, and intriguing new writing lives in this range.

That’s why we created Way Downstream, an anthology for stories and essays that are too long for most literary magazines. We were inspired by the Chesapeake Bay Watershed, which spans six states; 64,000 square miles; and hundreds of thousands of rivers, creeks, and streams on a long journey to the Atlantic. We want to celebrate prose that embodies the spirit of the watershed: work that ebbs and flows, twists and turns, bubbles through rapids, sings over valleys—and, ultimately, finds its way home.

Way Downstream: A Long-Form Prose Anthology will be published print and online by fifth wheel press in summer 2026.