Call for Submissions: AGNI

AGNI 

We look for writing that catches experience before the crusts of habit form—poetry and prose that resist ideas about what a certain kind of writing “should do.” We seek out writers who tell their truths in their own words and convince us as we read that we’ve found something no one else could have written.

When to submit

Our online submission portal is open from September 1st through May 31st, with a monthlong break from 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on December 15th through January 15th. We welcome manuscripts by mail between September 1st and May 31st. (Submissions mailed to us in June, July, or August will be returned unread, provided sufficient return postage is included.)

Things to know when submitting

• Nearly everything we publish is unsolicited.
• We encourage submissions from writers of all identities, living anywhere, published and unpublished.
• We will not consider writing that has already been published in English, whether in a book, magazine, newspaper, or on an app, a website, a social media feed, or a publicly accessible online community.
• We consider only work written in English or translated into English.
• We require submissions to be the writer’s or translator’s own work, and must be told up front, in your cover letter, if any element was written in collaboration with others, taken from found materials, or developed using any computer algorithm or artificial intelligence.
• We are interested in personal essays, think-pieces, memoir, free verse, blank verse, visual poetry, prose poems, shaped or concrete poems, formal or structured poetry, short stories, and short shorts; we do not publish academic essays or purely journalistic writing.
• We do not publish genre romance, horror, mystery, or science fiction; however, we are open to writing that borrows elements from any of these.
• We will consider excerpts if they read as if they were meant to stand alone.
• We have no word limits, though space is at a premium and length sometimes affects our decisions.
• You can familiarize yourself with the magazine by ordering a recent print issue or perusing the writing that appears here at AGNI Online, which includes selected pieces from our decades in print, along with everything we’ve ever published exclusively online. The AGNI blog features posts by writers who have appeared previously in AGNI or AGNI Online.
• Each submission in the main genres—fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and hybrid—costs $3 when sent through our online portal. (Subfolio will briefly redirect you to Boston University’s secure payment page.) Reading fees help us remunerate the editors who spend time with your work. To avoid paying a fee, please see “Sending by paper mail” below. If both options pose a difficulty, please contact us, specifying your genre.

Some requests

• Do not ever email your work; we will not read or consider emailed submissions.
• Please send one story, one essay, or up to five poems at a time, and please submit only once during our September-to-May reading period.
• Please do not submit revisions of work we’ve already considered.
• Please do not query us about your submission until four months have passed. We work hard to respond within two, but we’re not always able. If you submit online, you can log in anytime to check status. “Received” means your work is under consideration.

Paper submissions

If you’d rather not submit through the online portal, please address your envelope to Fiction Editor, Poetry Editor, or Nonfiction Editor and mail to:

AGNI Magazine
Boston University
236 Bay State Road
Boston, MA 02215

There is no fee for work sent on paper. Please note that regular post is fine; there’s no advantage to using a faster or more expensive service.

• Do not mail your work in the months of June, July, or August.
• If you want us to reply by mail, please enclose a stamped, addressed envelope (SAE). If the envelope is large enough and you include sufficient postage, we will take reasonable efforts to return the manuscript; otherwise, it will be recycled. If you’d like to be notified by email instead, please include your email address and skip the SAE.
• Do not send your only copy; we cannot accept responsibility for your manuscript.

How to withdraw

You are welcome to submit the same work to other magazines simultaneously. If any part of your submission is accepted elsewhere, it’s essential to withdraw it from our consideration as soon as possible. ONLINE SUBMITTERS: Log in to your Subfolio account and click “Open” to the right of the submission. On the next screen, click “Withdraw Submission” to fully withdraw, or “Add Comment” to let us know which subset needs to be withdrawn. PAPER SUBMITTERS ONLY: Contact us with a brief withdrawal note.

Payments and rights

All submissions are considered for both print and online publication. (Blog publication is limited to writers whose work has previously appeared in AGNI or AGNI Online.)

We buy first worldwide serial rights and pay $30 per printed (or printed-out) page for accepted prose, and $50 per page for accepted poetry (50% more in each category for translations), up to a maximum of $300. We also give a year’s subscription to AGNI. In the case of print publication, each contributor receives two copies of the issue their work appears in, and we send up to four additional copies to friends or family.

In all cases, copyright remains with the author.

Submit your work here. 

Call for Submissions on the Theme of "Noise": The Suburban Review

Sound the alarm! The Suburban Review is seeking your most raucous and resonant work for issue #42: NOISE. So, what’s all the racket about?

We want love poems that go bump in the night, odes to birdsong, and sonnets inspired by protest chants. Send us artwork that marches to the beat of its own drum and comics that remix the classics. Have you penned a pop-punk manifesto, an uproarious essay, or a short story that’s bound to wake up the neighbours? Rock on! We’re all ears…

Australian submissions open from 10:00 a.m. 6th of April — 5:00 p.m. 3rd of May (AEST)

International submissions open from 10:00 a.m. 27th of April — 5:00 p.m. 3rd of May (AEST)

Extra subscribers week from 5:00 p.m. 3rd of May — 5:00 p.m. 10th of May (AEST)

We allow simultaneous submissions. If it’s been accepted elsewhere just email us at:

submissions@thesuburbanreview.com

with ‘Withdrawing submission’ as your subject line.

We only allow one submission per person (that means you need to choose if you want to submit fiction, non-fiction, poetry, comics, or art). To submit poetry (that’s a maximum of 3 poems), make sure all the poems are in a single document. We only accept .doc or .docx for prose and poetry, .pdf or .png for artwork. 

You do not need to be a subscriber to submit. However, if you are not already a subscriber, your rate will be less the cost of an annual subscription (which means a whole year of fabulous TSR content for you to enjoy!)

FICTION

2000-2500 words—no more than that! (payment $450)
1000-2000 words (payment $375)
500-1000 words (payment $300)

CREATIVE NON-FICTION

2000-2500 words—no more than that! (payment $450)
1000-2000 words (payment $375)
500-1000 words (payment $300)

POETRY

Suite of three poems—no more than that! (payment $550)
One poem over 30 lines (payment $375)
One poem under 30 lines (payment $300)

COMICS + ART

2 page comic B&W or Colour (payment $300)
1 page illustration B&W or Colour (payment $200)
1 page cover art (payment $300)

Submit your work here. 

Call for Submissions: Peatsmoke Journal

 

We accept previously unpublished poetry, fiction, flash, and nonfiction. Simultaneous submissions are fine, but please let us know right away if your work is accepted elsewhere. You can include a cover letter full of amusing tidbits about you or of fascinating trivia you learned from a podcast recently, but we are not interested in reading a list of the journals your work has appeared in. What is important to us is that you are sending us writing that feels urgent and necessary, work that is ready to go out for a stroll in the world. As a journal, we are committed to publishing diverse voices of all kinds.

We know how nerve-wracking it can be to check your inbox every morning, hoping to hear back from a journal, so we do our best to make our turnaround time as quick as possible. We will try to respond to every submission within two months, if not sooner. Please do not send more than one submission in any genre until you have heard back from us.

Unfortunately, we will sometimes need to charge for submissions. We are a small volunteer staff with a limited budget, and this charge will cover only our costs for running Submittable. However, we want to ensure that submitting to Peatsmoke remains accessible to all. We will provide as many free submission periods as we can throughout the year. If you are submitting during a paid submission period and are unable to pay the $3 submission fee, please send us an email at:

editors@peatsmokejournal.com 

letting us know, and we will waive your submission fee. Also, we offer free submissions for marginalized writers, as it is so important to us to support the words of those who have been traditionally underrepresented in the writing community.

Big News: We are now paying contributors!

We pay $10/per piece. We wish it were more, and hopefully it will be in the future. We would love to pay a million dollars/piece, since that is how much we feel you’re worth. We will also give your work a forever home on our website, sing your praises, and always love you! We nominate for prizes and anthologies, including Pushcart, Best of the Net, and Best Small Fictions. If published with us, we ask that you give Peatsmoke First North American Serial Rights and electronic media rights to your work. The copyright reverts back to the author upon publication, but we ask that Peatsmoke be acknowledged if the work is subsequently published in book form or reprinted in another venue.

We aren't looking for particular styles or types of writing, but here are some things we consider when reading:

Fiction

We’re into fiction that explores the human condition with empathy and curiosity. We love reading fully realized characters who are pushed and challenged, and clear, carefully-crafted sentences that bring them to life. Speculative and experimental work is absolutely welcome here.

Important: One story per submission between 1,001-7,000 words.

Flash

We love flash with strong sentence-level writing and compelling images that hold a moment and explode it, taking us to unexpected depths in a small space. We're excited to receive both flash fiction and flash CNF. If it's important to you that we know the genre you're submitting, please drop us a note in your cover letter to tell us. Realism, speculative, and experimental work, or a mix of all of these, is very welcome. Feel free to get weird — we’re here for it.

Important: An individual flash should be no longer than 1000 words. You may include up to 3 pieces in your submission.

Poetry

Nothing excites us more than a stellar combination of image and sound. We’re interested in how the two collide and inform each other and the work they’re doing. Images that have energy are the best images. Sounds and forms that follow content are the best sounds and forms. We want to be able to understand what’s going on in your poem by the weight and lilt of it in our mouths. We read everything aloud. We pay attention to line breaks. If we’ve seen it before, we don’t want to publish it. Please send up to three poems of any length.

Nonfiction

We love nonfiction pieces we can’t classify. If it’s a brief flash prose poem using academic language that’s also a sonnet, we want to read it. We most admire essays that (like poetry) emphasize image, that show the process of discovery. Please send only one piece at a time.

Artwork

Peatsmoke features artists in each issue, with art paired with each story and poem and displayed prominently on our main page. We are into any kind of 2-D art that appears well on a website, with the exception of comics. Send us your collage, your photography, your paintings, your drawings, your woodcuts, your etchings, your linotypes, your sand art — whatever it is, we'd love to check it out. For our consideration, please give us a submission of 5-10 images. Please send only one submission at a time, and wait until you have received a response before submitting again.

Sometimes it can take months, even up to a year, before we accept or decline, a submission, especially if we like your work. We pair art and writing, so finding a match can take time, but we realize the long wait can be frustrating. If you want an update, feel free to send our art editor, Shagufta, a message after it has been three months since you submitted. If you would like to have your submission opened for editing to replace art that was accepted elsewhere, let us know at any time.

Submit your work here.

Writing Competition: Cave Canem Prize

The Cave Canem Prize

The Cave Canem Prize supports the work of Black poets to overcome the obstacle of publishing their first book of poems. Awarded to one poet annually, the Prize recipient receives a monetary award, as well as having their manuscript published by one of our partner publishers, Graywolf Press; University of Pittsburgh Press; or University of Georgia Press.

Applications for the 2027 Cave Canem Prize are open April 1-30, 2026.

No entry fee. 

Award

Winner receives $10,000; publication through one of our partner presses; 15 copies of the book; and a featured reading with the selected judge, presented by Cave Canem.

 Eligibility

All unpublished, original collections of poems written in English by Black poets who have not had a full-length book of poetry published by a professional press. Cave Canem defines Black poets as any poet who identifies as a member of the African Diaspora. Submissions must be paginated with a font size of 11 or 12, and 60 – 75 pages in length, inclusive of title page and table of contents.

Black authors of chapbooks and self-published books with a maximum print run of 500 copies are also eligible to apply.

Please note that in the event that an applicant has submitted the same manuscript to other competitions and receives an award, they must disclose this information to Cave Canem. By applying, the Cave Canem Prize Winner agrees to be present in the continental United States at her or his own expense shortly after the book is published in order to participate in promotional reading(s).

Exclusions

Current or former students, colleagues, employees, family members and close friends of the judge; current or former employees and members of the board of Cave Canem Foundation or Graywolf Press; and authors who have published a book or have a book under contract with Graywolf Press are ineligible.

If any of the selected authors fall under the above exclusions, they will be disqualified and a replacement chosen. As the poetry community is small and the contest is judged without knowledge of the submitter’s identity, acquaintance with the judge or participation in a workshop taught by the judge are not disqualifying criteria. 

More information and entry portal here. 

Call for Submissions: Feel Literary Magazine

 

Thank you for submitting to Feel Literary Magazine. We look forward to reading your work!

Our submission periods are: November 15 – February 28 (Magazine Published in March)
April 15 – July 31 (Magazine Published in August)

Our response time is 1-2 months, but it may be shorter depending on submission volume.

Submissions are open to people 18 years or older.

Before submitting, please read our guidelines:

• Please only submit previously unpublished work (social media and personal blogs counts as published work).

• We accept simultaneous submissions, but please notify us via email:

feel.literary@gmail.com

if your work is accepted elsewhere.

• Should your work be accepted for publication, it may be lightly edited to correct minor spelling/punctuation errors, or to conform with “house style.”

• All work must be submitted in either Times New Roman or Arial Font, and in a doc or docx. format.

• Please submit no more than 1-3 pieces per submission period.

• Submissions with more than 3 pieces will not be considered.

Poetry: each poem should be no longer than one page.

Flash Prose: each piece should be no longer than 750 words.

By submitting to Feel Literary Magazine, you are granting the magazine the non-exclusive right to publish accepted work electronically and to archive it perpetually, as long as the site remains online.

Writers retain their copyright in all cases.

It is your responsibility to ensure that your work is your own and is not plagiarized.

If your work is subsequently published elsewhere, please acknowledge Feel Literary Magazine as the site of first publication.

While we are unable to pay contributors, we are happy to promote your publication on our Instagram and TikTok accounts, if granted your permission.

NOTE: We do not accept any work written with AI. We do not accept any work that perpetuates racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, etc. or otherwise hateful language or ideas. 

Submit your work here. 

Call for Submissions: Changing Skies

We read for both Hindsight and Changing Skies on a rolling basis. To be considered for the Changing Skies V print issue, please submit pieces by October 1st, 2026. We only accept through Submittable, where we charge no fee.

All submissions are considered for publication either in print or online. While we cannot offer payment, we send print copies to all published contributors. We also distribute journals annually at AWP conferences and locally here in Boulder, Colorado. All of our issues are available for free online as PDFs.

All submissions undergo a blind review process before being accepted.

We welcome submissions from everyone except current teaching faculty at the University of Colorado Boulder.

We only publish creative nonfiction writing, fact-checking as necessary.

Any necessary textual citation should follow Chicago Manual of Style footnote format.

AI-generated submissions will be rejected.

Hindsight publishes all forms of creative nonfiction (including narrative journalism, creative scholarship, and nonfiction poetry). Pieces for our Changing Skies issues must in some way address the natural world and/or the relationship between the natural world and humanity.

All submissions are considered for publication in print, online, or both.

We only accept the following file types:

Word files (.docx, .doc) for writing.

JPG's or PDF's for art or work including graphics.

For all prose, use double-spaced Times New Roman 12 point type, 1" margins, and indented paragraphs.

For prose in sections, indicate space breaks with a centered hashtag.

For all poetry, use single-spaced Times New Roman 12 point type, double spacing between stanzas.

For all poetry, please upload all pieces in one file (.doc, .docx), unless you are submitting separately to both journals.

Please remove your name from your piece, including file name, first page with title, headers, and pagination, to ensure anonymous reviewing. If your writing includes an identifiable name for you (beyond simply a common first name, etc.) please replace with "MY NAME" and we will restore your name in editing if accepting your piece for publication.

We accept simultaneous submissions, but please notify us immediately if your work is accepted elsewhere, through Submittable, and pull the piece. We publish only previously unpublished work and obtain First North American Serial Rights: all rights revert to you as soon as we publish your work first. We may then republish or excerpt your work unless you request that we not do so. 

Submit your work here.

Call for Submissions: The Metaworker

Submission windows for 2026:
April 1 to May 31
September 1 to October 31

Here at The Metaworker, we are looking for writing and art that offers a wide range of new perspectives, upends stereotypes and tropes, plays with form or style, or that otherwise surprises, challenges, or enchants. The pieces we publish may sometimes be a little rough around the edges but we enjoy them because they are one of a kind works. We accept any genre or style from people of all backgrounds.

We publish a new piece every Monday at 12pm Pacific. We also post on Fridays and sometimes Wednesdays, depending on how many submissions we accept or what fun projects we have going on (like our podcast episodes and newsletter).

Here’s a quick rundown of what you need to know:

• Include a bio written in 3rd person.

• Cover letter optional but appreciated.

• Simultaneous submissions are okay.

• Reprints published at least 2 years prior are okay.

• You cannot submit to more than one call simultaneously. Submit to EITHER general call OR micro call OR Art/Misc.

• Pieces will be published as-is. We do not accept revisions (unless requested) nor do we edit pieces (except for light proofreading).

• Response time: 3-6 months.

• If you’ve been accepted, please wait 3 months before submitting again.

Read below for details about our three calls.

Submission Requirements for General Call:

WANT: 

• 2 pieces max (aka 2 individual poems or prose pieces).

• 3,000 words total (with page numbers). If you send two pieces, the total word count of both pieces should not be more than approx. 3k words combined.

• Submit .doc .docx .txt or .rtf formats for prose.

• Send each piece in a separate file.

• Accompanying translations are okay to send alongside the English version.

• Any genres and styles.

• Works created by humans.

DO NOT WANT:

• Text written, co-written, or assisted by generative AI or LLMs. (Spell check and basic grammar check are okay.)

• Huge novel excerpts or 3+ pieces – these will be automatically declined.

• The only contact info we need from you is your email. Including other info (like address and phone number) in your submission documents is unnecessary for us.

• Submissions by email are not accepted (unless for accessibility reasons).

• Research papers or news articles.

• Racist, ableist, sexist, or other discriminatory works.

• Gore or sex for the sake of shock value.

• Fonts that are unreadable.

HARD SELLS:

• Political rants
• Cancer stories
• Wake-up stories / it’s all just a dream
• Death at the end (See former EIC Matthew’s article about this)

Submission Requirements for Micro Call:

WANT:

• You may submit EITHER micro prose OR micro poetry, but not both. 

• Micro Prose: up to 5 pieces, 10 to 300 words each

• Send all pieces in a single file.

• Pieces that make every word count!

• Strong sense of place or character.

• Pieces that leave an emotional impact and/or that are more than the sum of their parts.

OR:

• Micro Poetry up to 5 pieces, each 60 words or less

• Send all pieces in a single file.

• Surprise us! (With wordsmithery :P)

DO NOT WANT:

• Text written, co-written, or assisted by generative AI or LLMs. (Spell check and basic grammar check are okay.)

• Prose pieces that read like the setup of a joke, with the last sentence being the punchline.

Submission Requirements for Art & Miscellaneous Call:

• You may submit no more than 2 pieces of: Visual art, collage, or photography, but we do NOT accept AI art

• Web comics / illustrations / comic strip style pieces / graphic novel or picture book excerpts / plays and screenplays / hybrid works / etc.

• Experimental pieces (3,000 words max) that work well in an online format, such as: Audio pieces / monologues / spoken word

• Ergodic stories

• Multimodal stories that include gifs or hyperlinks

• Anything else up to 3,000 words that doesn’t fit neatly into one category–surprise us! (Check out our Wish List for more ideas.)

If you send two writing pieces, the total word count of both pieces should not be more than approx. 3k words combined.

For art, please include details about camera, lens, drawing/painting medium, collage materials, etc. and a short description of your piece, such as the location, what inspired you, how long it took to complete, etc.

Stick to .jpeg, .png or .tiff files. Audio/video should be in .mp3 or .mp4

Place EACH of your submissions in its own individual file. (separate docs for writing, separate jpegs for images).

More information and submission portal here.