Call for Submissions: The Commuter

The Commuter Prose, Poetry, and Graphic Narrative Submissions — OPEN July 17 to July 23, or until the submission of 375 is met for prose and poetry (no cap for graphic narrative)

Members of Electric Literature can submit year-round. Join today!

The Commuter is our home for poetry, flash, graphic, and experimental narratives. It publishes weekly on Monday morning, and has showcased the likes of Caroline Hadilaksono, Aleksandar Hemon, Jonathan Lethem, Lindsay Hunter, Tahirah Alexander Green, and Julia Wertz.

Please keep the following guidelines in mind:

• For Prose, submit one or more pieces, either standalone or connected, in a single document. The total word count should not exceed 1500 words. We encourage writers to push the boundaries of what is considered fiction.

• For Poetry, submit 4–6 poems in a single document, and please limit the page count to 8. Keep in mind that due to our digital platform, not all poems may render exactly as they appear in a PDF.

• For Graphic Narrative, we are interested in both traditional and non-traditional forms of visual storytelling. Submit up to 3 pieces of narrative illustration, comics, mixed media narrative, or genre-negative oddments. For comics, each piece should contain a minimum of 3 panels. The total page count of your submission should not exceed 20 pages.

• Please submit all genres in .doc, .docx, or PDF.

• Please submit only once per category.

• Work previously published in any form cannot be considered.

• Please include your email address.

• If your work is selected, we offer a total payment of $100.

• Writers with a submission pending with Recommended Reading may still submit to The Commuter.

All submissions will be accepted through our Submittable page. For a sense of the kind of work we publish, check out recent issues of The Commuter, our 280-character contest winners, and Recommended Reading’s 300th issue.

For candid advice from our editors on how to make your poems, flash, graphic, and experimental narratives stand out, watch our video "How to Get Published in The Commuter."