Tolka A journal of formally promiscuous non-fiction

About

Tolka is a biannual literary journal of non-fiction: publishing essays, reportage, travel writing, auto-fiction, individual stories and the writing that flows in between.
Tolka publishes work that is formally promiscuous and which does not always fall into neat categories. We encourage writers to test the creative boundaries of non-fiction.
The Tolka river, from which we derive our name, comes from the Irish tolga: to overflow or to flood. Tolka aspires to provide the space for an overflow of new forms and styles of writing.
We have published some of the most innovative contemporary Irish writers, such as Eimear McBride, Brian Dillon, Roisin Kiberd, Niamh Campbell and Nidhi Zak/Aria Eipe. We also strongly promote new writers and new writing, and we publish writers from around the globe.

Country of Publication

Ireland

Publication Media & Frequency

Electronic Publication Electronic Publication: Unknown publication frequency
Print Publication Print Publication: Published 2 x per year

AI Policy

Unknown AI policy

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Statistics Synopsis

Slower: Tolka's overall average response time is slower than most magazines.
More Challenging: Tolka's overall acceptance rate is lower than most magazines.
Less Responsive: Tolka's overall rate of non-response is higher than most magazines.

Learn more about our statistics

Nonfiction Temp Closed

Audience:

Open to a broad Audience.

Lengths:

Article: 1,000 - 3,000 words.
Essay: 1,000 - 3,000 words.
Narrative Nonfiction: 1,000 - 3,000 words.

Styles:

Open to all/most Styles, including: Literary.

Topics:

Open to all/most Topics including...
Memoir.
Travel.

Payment:

Professional payment (5 or more US cents per word) Provides free copy/copies Professional payment. Provides free copy/copies. Details: EUR €500.

Submissions:

Method: Online form.
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.

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Social:
Bluesky @tolkajournal.bsky.social
Instagram @tolkajournal
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For the Editor(s):
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Tolka 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.

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Accuracy

We have received 16 reports from 14 different members within the past 12 months, not including pending responses (see below). The more responses reported, the more accurate the information.

Days Reported

40 min | 100.9 mean avg | 102.5 median | 177 max days (26.7 std dev)

Responses

68.75 %

Acceptances:

0.00 %

Rejections:

68.75 % (104.2 avg. days per rejection) | 0.0 % personal, 90.9 % form, 9.1 % unspecified

Non-Responses

6.25 %

Lost/Returned:

Never Responded:

6.25 % (177.0 avg. days before reporting submissions as never responded)

Withdrawals

25.00 % (76.8 avg. days per withdrawal)

Pending

1 response is pending (128 days waiting).

Other Information

Most recent response reported was received on 01 Sep 2026.
Responses have been received for submissions sent as recently as 28 May 2026.
Date compiled: 18 Sep 2026 02:20 UTC (less than a minute ago).
View report of recent responses from this project

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Before Submitting

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Dates

Last Updated: 10 Sep 2026

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