The First Line
To celebrate twenty years of publication, we're going to revisit the past. There are no new first lines for 2019. Each issue will be comprised of original works of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry based on past first lines.
Were you inspired by the fall 2008 first line (Roy owned the only drive-thru funeral business in Maine.) but didn't see the sentence until 2015? Or maybe you started writing a story for the spring 2005 issue (Life would be so much easier if I were a cartoon character.) but you never got around to submitting it. Or maybe you sent us a story that just missed the cut and you reworked it and want to try us again. Well, now is your chance to make up for missed opportunities.
All submissions must begin with one first line from Volume 6, Issue 1 to Volume 10, Issue 4: http://www.thefirstline.com/submission_Summer_2019.htm. Deadline is May 1, 2019.
Payment: We pay on publication $25 - $50 (US) for fiction, $5 - $10 for poetry, and $25 (US) for nonfiction. We also send you a copy of the issue in which your story or nonfiction appears. You'll receive your money and issue at the same time.