Call for Submissions: Exist Otherwise

 

Submissions Are Open for Exist Otherwise

Deadline: May 31, 2026

For details about submission periods, see our Editorial Calendar.

• Please only submit original works, written/created entirely by human beings.

• E.O. does not solicit or publish work that is created by AI or LLM software.

• We accept work that has been previously published, but please let us know.

• Simultaneous submissions are fine.

• If we publish original work, we ask you to acknowledge that the work was first published with Exist Otherwise, but we do not require this.

• We require all work to be submitted through our Submission Form.

Our Interests

Identity

We are interested in works about identity, the self, and the personal. How do we, as unique individuals, navigate a world that doesn’t necessarily conform to us? What does it mean to be an individual in a society? How many are you? Are you a single person with a single identity, or do you have the capacity to embody multiple personas? How do you present yourself to the world? To your friends? Co-workers? Lovers? Are you even you?

Gender

We are curious about gender. What is it? How can we move away from the restrictions inherent in gender duality? How important is gender to our sense of self? Is gender fixed, fluid, or subject to change? Why is gender important? Is it?

Trauma & Recovery

What hardships have you endured? How have they shaped you? In particular, how have they shaped your sense of self? What obstacles or challenges have you overcome? What obstacles stand in your way? How has society pushed you down, and how have you gotten back up? Have you gotten back up? If not, what do you seek or need to be whole? If submitting potentially triggering content, feel free to include a warning.

Intuition & Dreams

What are they? Where do they come from? Are these two phenomena related? Do they inform or influence you or your work? Are they integral to your survival as a human being?

Before You Submit:

Theme & Prompt

Each issue of Exist Otherwise will have a theme. The theme will often be a quote from Claude Cahun, but not always.

Responding to the theme is optional.

What to Submit

Writing

We are no longer accepting fiction or scripts.

We accept the following types of written work: poetry, prose, essays, creative non-fiction, hybrid, or experimental writing.

Short works (under 100 words): You may submit up to three (3) works per issue.

Longer Works (300-500 words): You may submit only work one (1) per issue.

Photography/Art

We are looking for photography that tells a story. Your art doesn’t necessarily have to have people in it, but we’re looking for representations of, or responses to, questions of identity, gender, recovery, intuition, dreams, or any other aspect of human existence in the world. We rarely accept purely abstract imagery.

To increases your chance of having your photography accepted, you may want to browse the following archives:Recent Published Artwork
Accepted/Published Artwork from EO Issues 1-12
Claude Cahun & Marcel Moore Art Gallery

You may submit up to three (3) artworks per issue.

What Not to Submit

• Don’t submit work that you do not have the rights to.

• Erotica is fine, but nothing explicit.

• We appreciate horror as a genre, but it’s not what we’re looking for.

• No hate, racism, sexism, misogyny, transphobia, torture, gratuitous violence, or anything that aspires to cause harm.

How to Submit

What follows are our requirements for submissions of work to us. We will not typically reject a submission if it doesn’t meet these requirements exactly. However, any contributor who consistently submits work that is sloppy or hard to understand, is less likely to receive a notice of acceptance.

We require submissions to come from our Submission Form. This allows us to better keep track of them.

Writing Submissions Format

We accept works submitted in plain text, .rtf, .doc, .docx, or .pdf.

If your written work requires any special formatting, pdf is suggested.

Artwork Submissions Format

We love black and white or experimental photography, and photomontage, but we will consider any kind of art.

All submitted images should be 72-96 dpi and JPG. Please submit images with a MINIMUM long side of 1000 pixels. File size should not exceed 2 MB.

If your art is accepted for publication, you may be asked to submit a High Resolution version through our Artwork Details Form. Assistance with sizing and formatting is available after work has been accepted.

Special Note About Artwork: If your photo is accepted, you will be REQUIRED to provide Alt Text for each image.

Payment

• We pay $15 for each individual published work.

• Written works may not include art or illustration. Words only, please.

• Hybrid works are works which incorporate both writing and art. These count as an individual work. This is an example of Hybrid: Heads Up Dream for Peace.

• Art, of course, may include writing, but it must be part of the image.

• If you have any doubts about the above, please contact us BEFORE submitting your work.

• Payment is issued within 1-3 days of publishing.

We can only guarantee payment through Paypal or Venmo. If you are in the US, we can mail you a check. If you are unable to accept any of those, let us know ahead of time and we’ll try to work something out.