Call for Submissions on Theme of "Ripples": Libretto Magazine

 

For Issue 15, with the theme RIPPLES, Libretto Magazine is pleased to announce it’s call for submissions. Libretto Magazine invites writers and artists to respond to the theme RIPPLES, the visible and invisible waves created by a single moment, action, or voice. This issue explores how small beginnings expand outward, shaping memory, identity, relationships, environments, and futures. Submissions may engage with personal, social, political, emotional, or ecological ripples, embracing subtlety as much as impact. Libretto Magazine welcomes thoughtful, imaginative work that traces movement, consequence, and connection across time and space.

Send in your experiences and desires, your resilience and patience for brighter days to return, as well as your dreams and despair in relation to the theme. We want voice. We want artistry. We want heart. The selection process is set to be thoroughly rigorous, therefore, endeavor to submit only your best work of art.

The submissions window opens: February 1—March 31, 2026

Submission Guidelines:

POETRY:

• Submit up to 3-5 poems per entry.

• Each poem can be of any length.

• Include all poems in a single document.

• Preferred format: Word document (.doc or .docx) or PDF.

• Use Times New Roman or Arial font, size 12.(Single-Spaced).

• Each poem should be titled and every new poem should begin on a new page.

• Include author’s name, and a biography of no more than hundred words, written in the third person attached on a single document, a profile picture of you in high-resolution, and your social media handle(s).

• Only send unpublished work.

• We accept simultaneous submissions, please do let us know if your submission has been accepted by another platform.

• Submission must be properly edited and sent through our submission form. Our editorial team reserves the right to edit your work if there is any need.

Submit your poetry submissions Here

NONFICTION/ESSAY:

• Submit one entry for nonfiction, essay or article.

• Length: 2,500 to 3,000 words.

• Preferred format: Word document (.doc or .docx) or PDF.

• Use Times New Roman or Arial font, size 12 (Double-Spaced)

• Include author’s name, and a biography of no more than hundred words, written in the third person attached on a single document, a profile picture of you in high-resolution, and your social media handle(s).

• Only send unpublished work.

• We accept simultaneous submissions, please do let us know if your submission has been accepted by another platform.

• Submission must be properly edited and sent through our submission form. Our editorial team reserves the right to edit your work if there is any need.

Submit your Nonfiction/Essay submissions Here

FLASH FICTION:

• Submit one short story per entry for flash fiction

• Length: 1,000 to 1500 words.

• Preferred format: Word document (.doc or .docx) or PDF.

• Use Times New Roman or Arial font, size 12. (Double-Spaced).

• Include author’s name, and a biography of no more than hundred words, written in the third person attached on a single document, a profile picture of you in high-resolution, and your social media handle(s).

• Only send unpublished work.

• We accept simultaneous submissions, please do let us know if your submission has been accepted by another platform.

• Submission must be properly edited and sent through our submission form. Our editorial team reserves the right to edit your work if there is any need.

Submit your Flash Fiction submissions Here

FICTION:

• Submit one short story per entry for fiction

• Length: 3,500–5,000 words.

• Preferred format: Word document (.doc or .docx) or PDF.

• Use Times New Roman or Arial font, size 12. (Double-Spaced).

• Include author’s name, and a biography of no more than hundred words, written in the third person attached on a single document, a profile picture of you in high-resolution, and your social media handle(s).

• Only send unpublished work.

• We accept simultaneous submissions, please do let us know if your submission has been accepted by another platform.

• Submission must be properly edited and sent through our submission form. Our editorial team reserves the right to edit your work if there is any need.

Submit your Fiction submissions Here

VISUAL ARTS/PHOTOGRAPHY:

• Submit original artwork or photography.

• Length: 10-15 artworks

• High-resolution images preferred (at least 300 dpi) with a note about the work you are submitting.

• Submissions should include a cover letter with a brief history/synopsis about each artworks.

• Include author’s name, and a biography of no more than hundred words, written in the third person attached on a single document, a profile picture of you in high-resolution, and your social media handle(s).

• Only send unpublished work.

• We accept simultaneous submissions, please do let us know if your submission has been accepted by another platform.

• Submission must be sent through our submission form.

Submit your Visual Arts and Photography submissions Here

ONE ACT PLAY:

• Submit original plays or scripts for one act play

• Length: 10 to 20 pages.

• The submissions should have at least 8-10 characters

• Preferred format: Word document (.doc or .docx) or PDF.

• Use Times New Roman or Arial font, size 12. (Double-Spaced).

• Submissions should include a cover letter with a brief synopsis of the play, and include the reading time, performance history and awards (If there are any).

• Include author’s name, and a biography of no more than hundred words, written in the third person attached on a single document, a profile picture of you in high-resolution, and your social media handle(s).

• Only send unpublished work.

• We accept simultaneous submissions, please do let us know if your submission has been accepted by another platform.

• Submission must be properly edited and sent through our submission form. Our editorial team reserves the right to edit your work if there is any need.

Submit your One Act Play submissions Here

BOOK REVIEWS:

• Submit original book review

• Length: Not more than 1,500 to 2,000 word

• Preferred format: Word document (.doc or .docx) or PDF.

• Use Times New Roman or Arial font, size 12. (Double-Spaced).

• Submissions should include a cover letter with a brief synopsis of the book you are writing a review on.

• Include author’s name, and a biography of no more than hundred words, written in the third person attached on a single document, a profile picture of you in high-resolution, and your social media handle(s).

• Only send unpublished work.

• We accept simultaneous submissions, please do let us know if your submission has been accepted by another platform.

• Submission must be properly edited and sent through our submission form. Our editorial team reserves the right to edit your work if there is any need.

Submit your Book Review submissions Here

SPOKEN WORD (VIDEO):

• You can submit 1-3 spoken word video entries.

• Keep your video between 3-5 minutes. Short, powerful, and to the point.

• Your piece should reflect the theme of this issue, which is “Ripples.”

• Record in a quiet place with good light. Make sure your face is visible and the sound is audible.

• Record the video in landscape (horizontal) dimension.

• Keep it simple—no need for heavy edits, filters, or visual effects.

• Deliver like you are speaking directly to your audience.

• Save your video in MP4 format (or a widely supported format).

• Ensure the video is of good quality (preferably HD).

• Submit within the deadline provided.

• Name the file: Spoken Word_ [Your Name] _Ripples

• By sending in, you allow us to share your video on the Libretto Publishers platforms (YouTube, Spotify, Audiomack, social media and website).

• Credit will always be given to the performer.

Submit your Spoken Word (video) submissions Here

Call for Submissions to Anthology: Strange Aeon: 2026 (Weirder Tales)

Strange Aeon: 2026 (Weirder Tales) is a continuation of the Strange Aeon anthology series. As always, I want good, solid stories in a cosmic horror/Lovecraftian vein.  I specifically say Lovecraftian rather than Cthulu because I’d like stories across the entire Mythos, including additions by the original group of Mythos authors like Robert Howard and Clark Ashton Smith. 

[1]. In fact, I’d like to use more stories that do not have specific Lovecraftian references and that move away from the traditional Lovecraft style and voice. Try to avoid pastiche and tell fresh new stories in your own settings. Style preference applies to gore and sex as well: think early Weird Tales, no excessive language or explicit sexual references. (You do not have to remove all profanity from your submission—I can read around it—but, if your story is accepted, you will be required to remove it from the final version.)

I am especially interested in stories of mad science, monster-based horror, weird western, and stories that “peel the onion.” Indeed, I cannot emphasize strongly enough the need for these categories. Victoriana and Lovecraft era period pieces will have a much harder time finding acceptance.

This year, I’m particularly looking for the stories that you typically cannot easily find a home for but that are, nevertheless, good stories. We’ve published a fair number of these in the past and I’d like to showcase them. Typically, these are stories that are either too long or plot driven for the average market or that are more melancholy than horrific—either strong voice, strong plot, or unusual concept. To go with these, I’m also looking for stories in the lesser used styles of the “Lovecraft circle” writers; westerns, dark fantasy, occult detectives, etc. Finally, I’ll be a little more open to what might traditionally be called Lovecraft pastiche just to round things out (although these stories will still need to be self-contained.)  

In brief, if it’s something that doesn’t fit in the normal submission boxes for most publishers, I’d like to take a look at it. That being said, please send anything you consider a good story. Feel free to query for any questions. If you are planning to write a story especially for this anthology, by all means query the idea first.

For this anthology I’m asking for non-exclusive rights and will happily take reprints. Simply tell me the publication history so that I can give proper copyright acknowledgment. I will prioritize original stories over reprints and older, more obscure reprints over more recent ones. Simultaneous and multiple submissions are acceptable; please do so in a professional manner. For multiple submissions, feel free to send all submissions attached to a single email. If you are in doubt about a story or story idea, feel free to query.

Though I am not especially interested in non-fiction or poetry, I will consider it.  At most, only one non-fiction piece and one work of (long) poetry will be used.

I’m not overly concerned about length. 5,000 to 10,000 words is preferable but I know that horror doesn’t always lend itself to a strict word count and I’ll look at any length. (I think the longest pieces that have been used have been just over 20,000 words and the shortest about 2,000.) I don’t care about submission formatting as long as it’s legible, clean copy. Electronically, I need the manuscript attached as an RTF, DOC, or DOCX file. Please submit to the email address:

mkeatonauthor (at) gmail (dot) com (Change (at) to @ and (dot) to . )

with the word Submission in the header.

The goal is a final book with ten to 15 stories averaging 5,000 to 10,000 words apiece. I will be accepting submissions no later than the end of April (or until the anthology is filled. If you are writing a story specifically for this anthology and are concerned about the “is filled,” feel free to query me in advance).  I will update these guidelines and notify any already accepted authors if the date has to be pushed back.  I plan to start making final decisions beginning in May. All submissions should have final confirmation of acceptance or rejection by the first week of May.

What's in it for the author? There will be a token payment of $20 and a compensatory copy for the author, or $35 for authors outside the USA. Contributors will get a bio to promote their own work. (I would like to avoid a specific word limit on bios; please respect the reader and the fact that every additional page raises the cover price. I reserve the right to edit bios for space.) Copyright will be retained by the author. Payment will be upon acceptance with comp copy to follow release of the anthology.  If, due to unforeseen circumstances, the anthology is canceled, the author is, of course, to keep the $20. [2]

Important Notes:

1]  Authors new to working in the Mythos may find this a bit confusing. Let me be clear: do not use characters, creatures, book names, or anything else from modern authors. Modern authors are under copyright. Lovecraft and the other members of his original “circle” are largely under public domain.  Please, do not accidentally infringe on anyone’s copyright. Always check first. In addition, gaming rules and supplements are also copyrighted works and should not be used. If in doubt, only use Lovecraft’s own work as a source just to be on the safe side. Better yet, create your own. This is always important when writing but especially in the murky pseudo-shared world of the Mythos where the lines are more difficult to see. If you questions have or concerns about this, a quick internet search should tell you what you need to know. (One exception is if you wish to include Cobalt Green milieu references. Any Cobalt Green tie-ins should be queried first but since I own the copyrights, I also have the leeway to grant usage rights. Nevertheless, I would still rather see your original ideas.)

2]  Since any publication, the first time, in any form, is by definition a use of First Rights, if you sell an unpublished work, even on a non-exclusive contract, then you have used your First Rights. And once First Rights (North American, World, Print, E-, or whatever other form they may be) are used, it's all reprints from there and most places are no longer interested.  I would love to see your work, but I don’t want you to lose out on another market because of confusion about the rights. As noted earlier, I am interested in reprints for this project. One of the goals of this anthology is to help writers and readers in this specific genre interest discover each other. For this, reprints work very well.

Call for Submissions: carte blanche

 

Call for Submissions: Issue 54

Submissions open March 1st to April 12th 

 

Creators are invited to submit previously unpublished pieces in the following genres: fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, translations (French to English), photography, and comics for carte blanche issue 53.

 

We acknowledge the intersectionality of individuals’ lived experiences and aim to provide a safe space for racialized and marginalized voices.

 

Individuals who identify as LGBTQIA2+, IBPOC, disabled, and those who live with mental health challenges or neurodivergence are encouraged and welcome to submit to us.

 

Please note that while Canadian and international creators are welcome to submit their work to us for consideration, as a result of our affiliation with the Quebec Writers’ Federation and Canada Council grant requirements, we may emphasize a focus on Quebec-based creators in a given issue.

 

general Guidelines 

 

Simultaneous submissions: We accept simultaneous submissions. Please indicate in your cover letter if you are sending your piece elsewhere and withdraw your submission via Submittable if it is accepted somewhere else. 

 

Unpublished submissions: We do not accept submissions that have been previously published, including on personal websites and social media. 

 

Frequency of submissions: We encourage you to submit to carte blanche no more than once a year unless solicited by an editor. 

 

Rights: We ask for first world serial rights and the right to archive your work on the website. Copyright reverts to the author upon publication. In the case of translated pieces, you must already have received permission from the original French publisher to translate the piece prior to submitting your translation to us. 

 

Payment: carte blanche pays an honorarium of $75 for each published piece. We hope to increase the amount in the future. 

 

Section-Specific Guidelines 

 

Comics: We’re looking for comics that have a story to tell, that explore the boundaries of narrative within the comics form. We’re open to all styles, subjects, shapes, and sizes, but keep in mind that your comic will be displayed on the web using a Squarespace image slideshow. Please submit your files at web resolution (72dpi) in one file (PDF or ZIP). If we choose to publish your piece, you will be asked to submit high-quality files for publication on our website and potentially in print-on-demand issues. 

 

Creative Nonfiction: We consider nonfiction narratives including memoir, personal essay, and literary journalism. Creative nonfiction submissions should be factual. Any changes to names to protect privacy should be indicated in an author’s note. Maximum 3500 words. 

 

Fiction: We accept all kinds of fiction. Maximum 3500 words (1 story can be up to 3500 words, 2+ stories must be 3500 words or under total). 

 

Photography: Tell a story in 12 photos or less. Together, your photos should create a narrative–whether abstract or concrete. You may include a text-based artist's note that will accompany your piece. Keep in mind that your photos will be displayed on the web using a Squarespace image slideshow. Please submit your files at web resolution (72dpi) in one file (PDF or ZIP). If we choose to publish your piece, you will be asked to submit high-quality files for publication on our website and potentially in print-on-demand issues. 

 

Poetry: We welcome poems in any form. As of 2021, we have instated a submission cap. Please submit early–we will not accept late submissions by email. Maximum 3 poems per submission. 

 

Translation: We accept English translations of poetry, fiction, and nonfiction written originally in French. Please include the original work on which the translation is based. If we choose to publish your piece, you will be required to provide proof of permission from the copyright holder of the original work to translate and publish the translation. Obtaining permission can take time, so please do so before you submit! 1500 words maximum. 

 

Submit your work here. 

Call for Submissions: The Tiger Moth Review

 

Thank you for your interest in submitting to The Tiger Moth Review. We publish twice a year in January and July.

Send us your work during our reading periods. Anything sent outside of our reading window will not be considered:

July issue: Submit between February and April. 

January issue: Submit between August and October.

We are looking for work that emphasises the connections between “human activity and the environment that produces it”, work that displays an “awareness of ecology and concerns over environmental disaster” (“Ecopoetics”, Poetry Foundation). We also want work that is hopeful, in spite of the ecological horrors that exist today. Send us work that is eco-conscious and critical, work that celebrates the beauty/ bounty of nature, work that is cognisant, curious and contemplative of the relationships between humanity, modernity, cultures and the environments in which we live in or imagine ourselves to inhabit.

Submission Guidelines

Submit all work to:

thetigermothreview [at] gmail [dot] com (Change [at] to @ and [dot] to . )

Title your email subject as follows: Full name_Genre_Title of work. Anything labelled otherwise will not be read.

Depending on your genre, please limit each submission to:

• Up to 3 unpublished poems (a non-English work & its English translation count as one poem submission)

• 1 unpublished short fiction piece (up to 5,000 words) or

• 3-5 unpublished photographs/ art in web format (72 ppi) + a short write-up contextualising the work [high res formats should be available on request]

All work submitted should be accompanied by a short author bio between 50 and 100 words, and a recent author photo in jpg.

Any work submitted outside of the reading period will unfortunately not be read.

Do not re-submit until you hear from us. We aim to respond within 8 weeks, usually sooner.

Please wait a period of at least twelve months (two issues) to submit again if your work is rejected by us. Repeat submissions that do not adhere to this guideline will no longer be read.

While we accept simultaneous submissions, do indicate in your email that this is a simultaneous submission, and write in to us immediately to withdraw your work once it has been accepted elsewhere.

Works submitted should engage with the themes of nature, culture, the environment and/ or ecology.

While the journal was founded to encourage the publication of and provide a platform for eco-conscious work from Singapore and the region, we will respond to the reality of the submissions we receive. We are proud to say that our contributors hail from all over the world, contributing to the diversity of voices about our earth.

The Tiger Moth Review is committed to create a space for minority, marginalised, underrepresented voices in society.

Call for Submissions on Theme of "Witnessing": Unearthed: Online Literary Journal

 

Call for Submissions for Spring 2026 | Witnessing

“The poetry of witness reclaims the social from the political and in so doing defends the individual against illegitimate forms of coercion.”- Carolyn Forché

“But is it enough that a poem “remembers” when we are now entrenched in an era of total recall?”– Cathy Park Hong, “Against Witness“

Unearthed invites submissions for an upcoming issue devoted to witnessing in a time of social and ecological rupture. We welcome work that refuses to look away from injustice and chronicles radical resilience.

In our age of “fake news,” AI-generated content, and media manipulation, what does it mean to bear witness now? And what does it mean to do so ethically, without falling into voyeurism? What can poetry of witness do, and what are its limits? What might fiction, photography, and art preserve, reveal, or refuse to let disappear? Submissions might reckon with grief, complicity, responsibility, care, and/ or survival. We are especially interested in: 

• Poetry of witness that confronts environmental and social injustice, climate catastrophe, extraction, extinction, and/or resilience — and documentary poetry that resists witness;

• Photography and visual work that records social and environmental change, labor, land use, and human and more-than-human relationships

• Hybrid, experimental, and cross-genre work that troubles the boundaries between art, testimony, and reportage

• Essays, lyric nonfiction, and field notes rooted in observation, direct encounters

• Art that listens to place, to history, to silenced or marginalized voices of both human and more-than-human entities

Submission Guidelines

Genre Guidelines

• Poetry: up to five poems (one poem on a page), submitted as .doc, .docx, or .pdf.

• Fiction: up to 4,000 words (double-spaced), submitted as .doc, .docx, or .pdf. Include a title and page numbers.

• Creative and critical non-fiction: between 500-4,000 words (double-spaced), submitted as .doc, .docx, or .pdf. Include a title and page numbers.

• Visual Art: up to ten items, formatted as .jpg, .tiff , .png, or .pdf with a minimum resolution of 300 dpi and at least five inches wide. Include titles for each piece.

• Video: up to two video products submitted in .wav, .wmv, .avi, or .mov. or a link to a previously unpublished vimeo, etc.

Cover Letter: In your cover letter, please include a short biographical statement of 100 words or less

How & When to Submit

Submission Deadline: March 27, 2026

Email your submission to:

esflitmag@gmail.com

with the subject line: “Witnessing 2026 Submission – [Your Name].”

We welcome simultaneous submissions but please notify us if your work is accepted elsewhere.

Call for Submissions: Farewell Transmission

 

ISSUE 6 SUBMISSIONS OPEN 3/1 THROUGH 4/1

For each issue, we typically have 6 spots in both fiction and poetry, and maybe 4 cnf. We’re down for anything, but it’s been a long winter so help us emerge. Let’s crawl out of the cold together. If you have some art, a review, hybrid, interview, anything that doesn’t fit the genres: send it to Rob.

We expect to publish first week of May.

Often there are a few pieces we don’t have room for, but can’t deny, so we offer a spot in across the wire. Please don’t expect a reply until a few weeks after the window is closed.

General Guidelines

Make yourself familiar with our work before submitting please. Yeah, we’re named after the song, but there’s more to it.
We welcome simultaneous submissions but ask that you let us know if the piece is accepted elsewhere. No previously published submissions, please.

Please do not submit PDFs; we only accept Doc or Docx files.

For images, please submit a .png or .jpg.

Creative Non-Fiction
Emily Costa:

cnfsubs.ft@gmail.com

Looking for creative non-fiction/autobiographical writing/maybe even autofiction (???) between 1500-2500 words. Make me feel something. Give me details. Your job, regional sandwiches, strange hobbies, shame, your hometown, toys, abandoned spaces, close encounters. I wanna learn, so tell me.

Fiction
Alan ten-Hoeve:

atwsubs.ft@gmail.com

Farewell Transmission welcomes fiction submissions under 3000 words. Please take a look at our archive for a sense of what we publish. We are interested in work that has a beating heart.

Poetry
Brandi Spering:

poetry.ft@gmail.com

There aren’t any limits to what can be considered poetry. It doesn’t have to look or sound like anything traditional— it might even be something you can’t condition into a specific category.

We’re flexible on length, but generally, please keep your submission to 1-3 pages. You can submit multiple poems within those three pages but we are looking for singular works, not collections. (It can be an excerpt but should be able to stand on its own.)


SATURDAY MORNING CARTOONS/ SPECIAL PROJECTS (OPEN)
Rob Kaniuk:

farewelltransmissionlit@gmail.com

Send 1-4 panel comic strip, video <3min, ekphrastic art/poetry or prose (up to two pieces of art per poem/prose <1K), real or fake reviews, hometown police reports, <800 column to Rob at the email above. have an idea? pitch.

Call for Submissions: Invisible City

 

Submissions

Submit writing and visual art that encourages us to see the world from a new perspective or angle. Urge us to consider something we may not have previously imagined. We’re eager to read your work.

Submissions are open!

Please familiarize yourself with our guidelines below. We compensate our contributors with a $20 honorarium per published piece.

General Guidelines

• We only consider previously unpublished works. No exceptions. Thank you.

• We do not accept submissions via email or postal service. You can submit your work to us through our submission manager. If you run into any technical difficulties while uploading your submission, please contact us at:

invisiblecity@usfca.edu

• We do accept simultaneous submissions. However, we ask that you notify us as soon as possible if your work is accepted elsewhere.

• We have a 5,000 word limit for all prose. Flash is welcome; for regular-issue submissions you may submit up to three flash pieces (less than 1,000 words each) in a single document.

• If you’re submitting poetry, please submit no more than three poems. The best things come in threes: Olympic medals, wishes, Cerberus heads.

• At this time, we do not accept novel excerpts, unless they can function as stand-alone stories.

• If we publish your writing, we ask you to please wait three reading cycles before submitting again. For example, if your work is accepted in the Spring 2025 cycle, you will be eligible for Spring 2028 submissions. This waiting period allows us to best honor our mission of giving space to new voices.

• We accept visual art submissions on a rolling basis. We do not mandate a waiting period following art publications.

• Please submit your art in either .PDF or .PNG format. If you would like to submit multiple pieces for consideration, you may upload a .ZIP file, or include a link to a portfolio.

• We will not accept photos of artwork taken by a smartphone— please scan any physical copies.

• We do not accept written submissions from current students at the University of San Francisco. Alumni may submit.

• All honorariums associated with an international address will be made by wire transfer. If you are an international resident, in order to be paid the honorarium you must have a bank account in your own name. The bank account cannot be in a family member’s, friend’s, or in any other person’s or entity’s name. Otherwise, the honorarium will not be processed. Also include the SWIFT or IBAN code associated with your country on the paperwork we require to complete the honorarium request.

• Please include content warnings when and where applicable.

Submit your work here.