Independent publisher of experimental fiction since 1986

The Journal of Experimental Fiction (JEF) is an independent American press founded by novelist and editor Eckhard Gerdes in 1986. It publishes innovative novels, the numbered Journal of Experimental Fiction, and the annual Kenneth Patchen Award for the Innovative Novel.

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It is the claiming of the individual in a sea of conformity.

— Eckhard Gerdes

Who are you, today?

i..

Readers

Catalogue. Stories. Recommendations. Forty years of experimental fiction.

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Writers

The Kenneth Patchen Award. Submissions. What we publish, what we do not.

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Booksellers

Wholesale. Friends of the Press. Where to find JEF on shelves.

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40 Years

From the Backlist

Selected titles at 10–40% off through the anniversary.

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From the catalogue.

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2027 cycle · closed

Kenneth Patchen Award for the Innovative Novel

Submissions for the 2027 cycle closed 31 August 2026. Manuscripts sent now are held for the next cycle.

The Kenneth Patchen Award for the Innovative Novel is JEF's annual $1,000 prize and publication for the most innovative unpublished novel in English, named for the poet-novelist Kenneth Patchen (1911–1972).

The entry fee is $25, and the winner is published by the press that has been the home of innovative American fiction since 1986.

Submit for the next cycle See past winners →