The Disappointed Housewife

About

The Disappointed Housewife seeks fiction, essays, and poetry – along with unclassifiable writings, photos, and drawings – that stretch genre definitions, break the rules, challenge readers, and bend their brains, all while maintaining the highest levels of style and substance.
We think that literature has to evolve, that it should keep up with the world around it even if it doesn’t reflect it so much as use it. Taunt it. Remold it, when required.
We’re looking for stories that strike us as different, always with that idiosyncratic touch. Iconoclastic. Kind of bent. Humorous. Poems that find the metaphors we’ve been looking for but never quite landed on. Essays that take us away from the usual and into the world of the unseen and overlooked.
Above all, The Disappointed Housewife is a literary journal. We aren’t looking for genre material, though if your submission manipulates a genre in a literary way, we might just bite.

Want more insight into the editors' preferences? Read our interview with the editor(s).

Country of Publication & Year Established

United States

Established in 2017

Publication Medium & Frequency

Electronic Publication Electronic Publication: Published on a rolling basis

AI Policy

Human-created work only; no AI use allowed

197 members set this magazine as a Favorite.

Statistics Synopsis

Faster: The Disappointed Housewife's overall average response time is faster than most magazines.
Normal Acceptance: The Disappointed Housewife's overall acceptance rate is within a normal range for magazines.
Responsive: The Disappointed Housewife's overall rate of non-response is within a normal range for magazines.

Learn more about our statistics

Collapse section Fiction Open

Audience:

Open to a broad Audience.

Genres:

General

Lengths:

Flash Fiction: Up to 1,000 words.

Styles:

Open to all/most Styles, including: Literary.

Topics:

Open to all/most Topics.

Payment:

No monetary payment No monetary payment.

Submissions:

Method: Email.
Reprints: Reprints are NOT allowed.
Simultaneous submissions: Simultaneous submissions are allowed.
Media: Audio. Image. Text. Video.

Collapse section Nonfiction Open

Audience:

Open to a broad Audience.

Lengths:

Essay: Up to 1,000 words.
Narrative Nonfiction: Up to 1,000 words.

Styles:

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

Topics:

Open to all/most Topics.

Payment:

No monetary payment No monetary payment.

Submissions:

Method: Email.
Reprints: Reprints are NOT allowed.
Simultaneous submissions: Simultaneous submissions are allowed.
Media: Audio. Image. Text. Video.

Collapse section Poetry Open

Audience:

Open to a broad Audience.

Genres:

General

Lengths:

Poem: Unlimited number of lines; Up to 3 pieces.

Poetry Forms:

Open to all/most Forms.

Styles:

Open to all/most Styles, including: Literary.

Topics:

Open to all/most Topics.

Payment:

No monetary payment No monetary payment.

Submissions:

Method: Email.
Reprints: Reprints are NOT allowed.
Simultaneous submissions: Simultaneous submissions are allowed.
Media: Audio. Image. Text. Video.

Collapse section Visual Art Open

Favored submissions in this category will have literary elements, such as text portions, or will represent the literary work itself, such as photographs of poetry on unusual media. Collages, annotations, and facsimiles are encouraged.

Audience:

Open to a broad Audience.

Lengths:

Artwork: Unknown number of pieces.

Art Media:

Open to all/most Art Media, including...
Drawing.

Art Styles:

Open to all/most Art Styles.

Topics:

Open to all/most Topics.

Payment:

No monetary payment No monetary payment.

Submissions:

Method: Email.
Reprints: Reprints are NOT 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.

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For the Editor(s):
Request Interview
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Link to Duotrope

The Disappointed Housewife 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 project ranks among the 25 Fastest Fiction Publishers in our database.
This project ranks among the 25 Fastest Nonfiction Publishers in our database.
This project ranks among the 25 Fastest Poetry Publishers in our database.

Filter:

Group by submission

Include outliers

Accuracy

We have received 113 reports from 87 different members within the past 12 months, not including pending responses (see below). The more responses reported, the more accurate the information.

Days Reported

0 min | 3.4 mean avg | 3.0 median | 76 max days (54.4 std dev)

Responses

97.35 %

Acceptances:

8.85 % of submissions accepted (4.3 avg. days per acceptance) | 11.49 % of submitters accepted

Rejections:

88.50 % (3.2 avg. days per rejection) | 25.0 % personal, 59.0 % form, 16.0 % unspecified

Non-Responses

1.77 %

Lost/Returned:

Never Responded:

1.77 % (47.0 avg. days before reporting submissions as never responded)

Withdrawals

0.88 % (2.0 avg. days per withdrawal)

Pending

1 response is pending (1 day waiting).

Other Information

Most recent response reported was received on 07 Sep 2026.
Responses have been received for submissions sent as recently as 04 Sep 2026.
Date compiled: 12 Sep 2026 22:55 UTC (less than a minute ago).
View report of recent responses from this project

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Before Submitting

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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: 06 Aug 2026

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