Collateral Journal

About

Collateral is an online literary journal run by people who are directly and indirectly impacted by violent conflict and military service. Many journals showcase work centered on deployment and the combat experience, but we provide a creative platform to highlight the stories of those existing in spaces surrounding combat, including the military family, veteran, service member, close friend, protestor, refugee, teacher, and advocate. These voices sometimes go unheard, and we’d like to capture the “collateral” impact of military service.

Voluntary Fees: This project accepts voluntary fees for "tip jar" and expedited submissions.

Country of Publication & Year Established

United States

Established in 2016

Publication Medium & Frequency

Electronic Publication Electronic Publication: Published 2 x per year

AI Policy

Unknown AI policy

39 members set this magazine as a Favorite.

Statistics Synopsis

Faster: Collateral Journal's overall average response time is faster than most magazines.

Learn more about our statistics

Collapse section Fiction Open

Rolling Submissions:

Next cutoff date is 01 March 2027* (approx. 167 days from now).

Audience:

Open to a broad Audience, including: Military personnel.

Genres:

General

Lengths:

Short Story: 1,000 - 5,000 words.

Styles:

Open to all/most Styles, including: Literary.

Topics:

Society/Culture: War/Military issues, See guidelines.

Payment:

No monetary payment No monetary payment.

Submissions:

Method: Submittable submission manager.
Reprints: Reprints are NOT allowed.
Simultaneous submissions: Simultaneous submissions are allowed.
Media: Text.

Collapse section Nonfiction Open

Rolling Submissions:

Next cutoff date is 01 March 2027* (approx. 167 days from now).

Audience:

Open to a broad Audience, including: Military personnel.

Lengths:

Essay: Up to 5,000 words; Up to 3 pieces.
Narrative Nonfiction: Up to 5,000 words; Up to 3 pieces.

Styles:

Open to all/most Styles, including: Critical, Literary, Personal.

Topics:

Memoir: See guidelines.
Society/Culture: War/Military issues, See guidelines.

Payment:

No monetary payment No monetary payment.

Submissions:

Method: Submittable submission manager.
Reprints: Reprints are NOT allowed.
Simultaneous submissions: Simultaneous submissions are allowed.
Media: Text.

Collapse section Poetry Open

Rolling Submissions:

Next cutoff date is 01 March 2027* (approx. 167 days from now).

Audience:

Open to a broad Audience, including: Military personnel.

Genres:

General

Lengths:

Poem: No line limits known; Up to 5 pieces.

Poetry Forms:

Open to all/most Forms.

Styles:

Open to all/most Styles, including: Literary.

Topics:

Society/Culture: War/Military issues, See guidelines.

Payment:

No monetary payment No monetary payment.

Submissions:

Method: Submittable submission manager.
Reprints: Reprints are NOT allowed.
Simultaneous submissions: Simultaneous submissions are allowed.
Media: Text.

Collapse section Visual Art Open

Rolling Submissions:

Next cutoff date is 01 March 2027* (approx. 167 days from now).

Audience:

Open to a broad Audience, including: Military personnel.

Lengths:

Artwork: 3 - 5 pieces.

Art Media:

Open to all/most Art Media.

Art Styles:

Open to all/most Art Styles.

Topics:

Society/Culture: War/Military issues, See guidelines.

Payment:

No monetary payment No monetary payment.

Submissions:

Method: Submittable submission manager.
Reprints: Reprints are allowed.
Simultaneous submissions: Simultaneous submissions are allowed.
Media: Image.

Always check guidelines for details and restrictions. If you aren't familiar with these terms, see our glossary.
* We do not know the time and/or timezone, so we cannot be more precise. Submit early to avoid disappointment.

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Collateral Journal Submission Statistics

The statistics in this section are compiled from submission reports sent to us through our submission tracker. They are not provided by the publication's editors/staff or by Duotrope's admins. Information in this section is updated a few times per day. Learn more about the statistics.

Filter:

Group by submission

Include outliers

Accuracy

We have received 3 reports from 2 different members within the past 12 months, not including pending responses (see below). The more responses reported, the more accurate the information.

Days Reported

34 min | 40.7 mean avg | 44.0 median | 44 max days (24.6 std dev)

Pending

4 responses are pending (15 min | 44.0 mean avg | 23.0 median | 115 max days waiting | 359.2 std dev) from 4 different members

Other Information

The editors will try to make a decision within 180 days.
Do not query on the status of your submission before 180 days have passed.
The most common submission tip paid: USD $5.00. (33.3 % reported giving a tip.)
Most recent response reported was received on 10 Feb 2026.
Responses have been received for submissions sent as recently as 28 Dec 2025.
Date compiled: 15 Sep 2026 09:44 UTC (less than a minute ago).

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Before Submitting

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Always read the full guidelines provided by the publisher.
Try to read at least one previous publication to get a better idea of what the editor would like to see.
Unless the publisher's guidelines state otherwise, always use industry standard manuscript formatting.
Be professional, patient, and persistent.

Dates

Last Updated: 05 Sep 2026

We check their guidelines for changes every four weeks, and we audit the listing twice a year.