tarry

a new literary magazine inspired by the Tarrytowns

tarry is…

an annual literary magazine of original short fiction, poetry, art and other creative works inspired by the people, history, and geography of the Tarrytowns.

At the turn of the 19th century, this area inspired Washington Irving to write some of our nation’s most enduring stories, giving a voice to Americana and forever shaping our country’s folklore.

tarry builds on that legacy to entertain, delight, and inspire—and to tell some good stories. 

submission guidelines.

Thank you for your interest in submitting to tarry! The best way to know what we’re looking for is by reading our inaugural issue, which you can find at Transom Bookshop in Tarrytown and other wonderful local bookstores. 

Want something a little more succinct? Ok, sure—check out our frequently asked questions. Other than the guidance there, we’d say that we love pieces that:

  • have a strong sense of place, whether that place happens to be where Irving lived and set his stories, or anywhere else;

  • are inspired by or offer a different take on some aspect of folklore;

  • offer a “slice of life” look at a particular place at a particular time, commenting or analyzing some aspect of either;

  • and of course, reflect on, illustrate or explore some aspect of the Tarrytowns’ past, present or future.  

This year, we’re excited to announce that contributors will be paid for their work! The payment amount will be determined after we finalize all selections.

Please review these instructions carefully—we will not consider submissions that don’t adhere to the guidelines.

  • You may submit up to

    • 5 poems (max 100 lines per poem),

    • 3 pieces of artwork (black and white preferred; no photography),

    • 1 short story (1,000- 7,500 words),

    • 2 flash fiction pieces (500-1,000 words each),

    • 1 essay (1,000- 3,000 words).

  • You may submit across multiple categories by completing the form multiple times.

  • Each piece must be submitted in a completely separate file (including poems) so they can be judged on their individual merit.

  • Submissions should be sent through the form below by March 15.

  • DO NOT INCLUDE ANY KIND OF PERSONALLY IDENTIFYING INFORMATION ON YOUR SUBMISSION FILES. This is super important as we are reviewing submissions anonymously to remove bias. Your name and email address will be captured in the submission form and hidden from the review process.

  • The piece title should be displayed clearly on the first page of each of file submitted; files should be saved as TITLE NAME.

  • For text submissions, send in DOC or DOCX format; artwork should be submitted as JPG or JPEG. 

  • Stick as close to standard manuscript format as possible. But again NO IDENTIFYING INFORMATION on the file. (That means no names, last names, or anything. The header on each page of the submission should only have the title and the page number.)

  • We cannot accommodate photography or artwork that requires high-resolution reproduction— all images except for the cover will be black and white.

  • If you think you have a good cover image in color, please submit!

  • Other important things to consider: 

    • Only original, unpublished work will be considered. 

    • Simultaneous submissions are ok; let us know ASAP if you get accepted elsewhere. 

    • Keep the submissions PG-13.

submission form.

faqs.

  • We love horror! But tarry is not exclusively for horror. Washington Irving’s works are more folk tales than anything else, and similarly, we have an expansive view of the types of stories, poems, and art we will publish. Horror is great, but so is literary, sci-fi, speculative, romance, or whatever comes to mind when you think of the Tarrytowns.

    Historical fiction (that is, matching Irving’s setting, style, time period, etc.) is totally fine, but we are not just looking for art contemporaneous to “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” for example. The story doesn’t have to be set here, either.

    However, we will not publish anything with gratuitous violence, or anything that is clearly designed to be offensive without any other aim than to shock.

  • Tarrytown and Sleepy Hollow (formerly North Tarrytown), located in Westchester County, New York; “upstate” New York; or the Hudson River Valley, depending on your orientation and proclivities.

    Some say that the towns drew their original name from the word “tarry,” which meant to linger or stay too long, specifically in local pubs or markets. We hope that you can “tarry” just a little bit longer with tarry. 

  • Nope! We are looking for stories and art inspired by or grounded in the past, present and legacy of the Tarrytowns. So, feel free to submit from wherever you find yourself. (It will probably help if you’ve been here before.)

  • You can! But we may not be able to publish in color, depending on the costs of printing. Anything you submit should work in black and white as well as color. 

  • Please do! If your submission is accepted we can work with you to support translation options if you are interested.

  • Currently, tarry is only offered in print format, as a unique discovery for those that visit the Tarrytowns. 

  • Editor-in-Chief; Fiction and Essay Editor
    Jeff Raderstrong

    Poetry Editor
    Elizabeth Tucker

    Composition
    Meghan Raderstrong

    Selection Committee
    Seth Dellon
    Jeff Raderstrong
    Meghan Raderstrong
    Chris Steib
    Elizabeth Tucker

issue 1

on sale now at transom bookshop and select local retailers

tarry issue 1 contributor list

Poetry

Molly Kirschner
Joshua Lillie
B. K. Fischer
Sristi Sengupta
Nicole Cusick
Angelica Mordecai
Michael Alcée
Rachel Aviva Burns
Elizabeth Mateer
Alison Damast Dolinger
Nicole Avila
S. R. Goodman
Linda MacCauley Freeman
Mark Holcomb

Essay

Nina Pajak
Elizabeth Tucker
Gregory Dworkowitz

Fiction

Keith Rosson
Tori Cronk
Kerry Steib
Krista Madsen
Alex Rosenberg
Samantha Cassetta

Artwork

Jeremy Boyfriend
Martin Munroe
Krista Madsen
Erwin Ong
Annie Tucker
Melissa Lohman-Wild
Dustin Glick

Cover Art

Jessica Porter

questions?