Call for Submissions on Theme of "Agency": Fatal Flaw

Fatal Flaw is a triannual online magazine publishing unexpected, topical writing and photography that considers the world through a cracked lens. We seek work that finds poignancy in unexpected places, confronts the status quo and, most importantly, prompts discussion about the human condition in these uncertain times. Give us fractured inner monologues, messy reckonings, imperfect catharses. Show us the fatal flaw and the beauty inherent within it.

We publish poetry, fiction, flash fiction, nonfiction, photography, and visual art in themed issues. Reading starts anew with each issue. For announcements on current or upcoming themes, please be sure to monitor our website or social media.

We welcome submissions from writers of all backgrounds – from the emerging and unpublished to the established – and especially encourage submissions from those who identify as persons of color, multiracial, indigenous, LGBTQIA+, disabled, and anyone belonging to a community of underrepresented voices. We currently offer free submissions to BIPOC and other underrepresented writers and artists in all genres.

CURRENT THEME

Submissions are open for Volume 9! Submit your poetry, fiction, flash fiction, nonfiction, and visual art on Submittable.

Submission period: January 23-February 26 

Theme: AGENCY

When we take action, we maximize our sense of control. There is a power there, translating thought into deed. But with power comes consequence, and responsibility.

For the 9th volume of Fatal Flaw, we want to explore the concept of Agency.

As artists and thinkers, how do we exercise agency in our work? How does that agency reveal itself through a manifestation of our creativity–in the characters we create, the voices we summon, and the images we capture? What do we lose when we absolve ourselves of agency? And what happens when our agency is denied?

We want pieces that examine desire made real, an illumination of that space between action and inaction and what tips the scales. Fiction, nonfiction, and poetry that demonstrate personal salvation or a struggle for control. Visual art that throws into relief the most human of experiences: to take action, to live.Send us your most fearless, tenacious writing and visual art—we can’t wait to experience it.

More information and submission portal here.