Crooked/Shift This project is believed to be defunct. (April 2015) About Welcome to Crooked/Shift, an online literary publisher dedicated to horror, humor, the absurd, and the strange. A less than class act to be published quarterly, featuring flash and short fiction, as well as prose poetry, essays, film and book reviews. Crooked/Shift is about the Literary Underdog. Our mission is to spotlight the very best of what commonly goes unpublished: works saddled deep within literary tropes that give the typical MFA editor pause—possibly to reach for the desk drawer Xanax or handgun. Our vision is of a world where literature doesn’t need to be quite…so…stuffy. Surely, there’s a space between quality and the modern standard for the delightfully macabre or the experimental satire or the deliciously poppy. There was certainly room for Poe. And Kafka. Burroughs, Hawthorne, Bradbury, and Pynchon. Hell, the Editor-At-Gods-That-Be recently gave Stephen King the National Book Awards Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters. Who says the subtext of a story is more important than the flesh eating alien parasite it's attached to? You? Well, perhaps you're in the wrong place. Country of Publication United States Publication Medium & Frequency Electronic Publication Electronic PublicationPublished 4 x per year Collapse section Fiction Believed Defunct Audience:UnknownGenres: General Open to all/most Subgenres Horror Open to all/most SubgenresLengths: Flash Fiction: Up to 1,000 words. Short Story: 1,000 - 7,500 words. Novelette: 7,500 - 12,000 words.Styles:UnknownTopics:None found.Payment:No monetary payment No monetary payment.Submissions:Method: Electronic submissions. Reprints: Reprints are NOT allowed.Simultaneous submissions: Simultaneous submissions are allowed.Media: Text. Collapse section Nonfiction Believed Defunct Audience:UnknownLengths: Review: No specific word count limits known. Essay: No specific word count limits known.Styles:UnknownTopics:None found.Payment:No monetary payment No monetary payment.Submissions:Method: Electronic submissions. Reprints: Reprints are NOT allowed.Simultaneous submissions: Simultaneous submissions are allowed.Media: Text. Collapse section Poetry Believed Defunct Audience:UnknownGenres: General Open to all/most Subgenres Horror Open to all/most SubgenresLengths: Poem: No line limits known.Poetry Forms:Prose poetry.Styles:UnknownTopics:None found.Payment:No monetary payment No monetary payment.Submissions:Method: Electronic submissions. Reprints: Reprints are NOT allowed.Simultaneous submissions: Simultaneous submissions are allowed.Media: Text. Always check guidelines for details and restrictions. If you aren't familiar with these terms, see our glossary. Go to publication's website Report: Correction/Update Support this Publisher: Make a Donation Crooked/Shift 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. This listing is inactive and does not have any submission reports for the past 12 months. Your Submissions This section is available to subscribers only. Join today! Before SubmittingWe cannot guarantee that the information on this page is correct. It is not unusual for publications to evolve or close without notice. We do our best to keep up, but it isn't always possible. Duotrope listings do not imply endorsement or recommendation of the project being listed. Before submitting, you should use your own judgment to determine whether the project meets your standards.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. DatesLast Updated: 22 May 2026 Cookie Consent: This site uses secure first-party cookies for essential, preference-setting, and statistical purposes. We do not use any marketing, advertising, or third-party cookies. Read our full cookie policy. Accept All Cookies Allow Essential Cookies Only