Calling all readers! Electric Literature is always accepting applications for volunteer readers to join our editorial team in one of three capacities: 

1. Recommended Reading, EL’s weekly fiction magazine, publishes one story a week: a mix of original work, forgotten classics, and forthcoming excerpts, each with a personal foreword by today’s best writers. Readers must commit to reading ten stories per week, ranging in length from 2,000 to 8,000 words.
2. The Commuter, EL’s weekly magazine of flash fiction, poetry, and graphic narratives, publishes one piece of original work per week, as well as occasional forthcoming excerpts. Readers must commit to reading ten pieces of flash prose or poetry per week.
3. EL publishes a selection of original creative nonfiction nearly every day of the week on wide-ranging topics, including but not limited to culture, literature, industry, craft, and personal narrative. Readers must commit to reading ten essays per week, running in length from 2,000 to 5,000 words.

Electric Literature receives a large volume of submissions in all categories, and a committed corps of volunteer readers is essential to helping the editors find new, unknown, and/or overlooked talent.

All reader positions are volunteer and require a commitment to complete reading assignments on a weekly basis for approximately six months. Readers will work remotely and on their own schedules (as long as they meet the weekly deadline). Current readers are not allowed to submit their own work for consideration in the category they are reading in.

Responsibilities include:

• Reading ten pieces per week, ranging from 2,000 to 8,000 words for Recommended Reading and 2,000 to 5,000 words for essays. Submissions for The Commuter vary in length, but a poetry submission typically contains three poems or two to three pieces of flash fiction.
• Providing concise but thorough responses (one to two paragraphs) for each submission, with a clear YES or NO recommendation for each.
• Meeting weekly reading deadlines, and clearly communicating with editorial staff when scheduling conflicts arise.

The ideal applicant is:

• An avid and attentive reader
• A proactive and responsive communicator
• Self-motivated and able to meet deadlines
• Able to express themself clearly in writing
• A regular reader of the category who is familiar with its back catalogue
• An educational background in literature and/or professional experience in literary criticism, editing, and creative writing is a plus, but not required
• An active participant in their local literary scene, and an avid reader of contemporary writing

This is a volunteer position that requires a commitment of approximately six hours a week for six months, with an opportunity to renew. Readers will work remotely and on their own schedules (as long as they meet the weekly deadline). 

Current readers are not allowed to submit their own work for consideration in the category they are reading in. Discussion of submissions outside Electric Literature is strictly prohibited, and will result in immediate termination. 

For a sense of the kind of submissions you’ll be reading, visit our website and take a look at literary magazines and essays.

If you are interested in reading for Recommended Reading, please submit your resume and a two-paragraph response/critique of a story published in Recommended Reading. If your resume is selected, the application process will also include a reading test.

If you are interested in reading for The Commuter, please submit your resume and a one-paragraph response/critique of a piece of flash fiction or poetry published in The Commuter. 

If you are interested in reading nonfiction essays, please submit your resume and a two-paragraph response/critique of an essay published on our website. If your resume is selected, the application process will also include a reading test.

Applications will be accepted year-round, and we will review and take on new readers as needed.