Zoetic Press publishes the best in speculative lit - experimental, interstitial, luminous. We welcome submissions from EVERYONE. The only requirement is that they be in English, or translated into English (we love a translation). If your writing is outstanding, no matter who you are, we have a place for it.
NonBinary Review, our award-winning themed lit journal is published quarterly. Each issue revolves around a specific theme, but we're asking contributors to go beyond the old familiar media tropes - we want speculative work that looks at our theme from unexpected angles.
We're looking for work we can read with our whole body - work that gives us goosebumps, makes us see the world differently, has the tang of authenticity, makes us sit up and listen, and smells like....something. This analogy got out of hand. What we're saying is that we're not looking for re-hashes of images or stories we've read before. We want contributors to explore every facet of our themes, really getting in between the cracks, in the corners, all the forgotten places that no one ever thinks to explore. We want to read work that makes us think "I never would have thought of this, and yet, it's so fitting!"
What we're NOT looking for is work that centers violence, rape, misogyny, racism, ableism, or degrading stereotypes of any kind. We know you're not that kind of writer, but we thought it should be said.
NonBinary Review accepts reprints, but we do ask for previous publication details so they can be credited.
Prose submissions (for which we pay 1¢ per word) should be 3000 words or fewer in length, double-spaced in 12pt Times New Roman font or similar.
Poetry submissions (for which we pay a $10 flat fee) should include no more than 3 poems, each of which may be up to 3 pages in length. Please include each poem as a separate file.
Art submissions (for which we pay a $25 flat fee) should include no more than 5 pieces. Each piece should be at least 300dpi, and at least 600 pixels on its smallest side. Any piece chosen for cover art will pay $50. We do not accept any submission that consists of links to an artist's website.
Please ensure that you are submitting to the correct category, as we have different editing teams for each. Submissions sent to the wrong category (e.g., poetry submissions sent to the prose category) will be declined.
Dear Horace Greeley invites writers to ask questions about writing, submitting, publication, and any other aspect of the literary life that baffle them, and we'll answer them online. We don't promise that we have all the answers, but we do promise that we're here for you!
Feedback for Poets of Color is just what it sounds like. People of color may submit ONE poem, up to 50 lines, for consideration. Two poets per month will be accepted, and the Poetry Editors will work with those two poets to edit, improve, and strengthen their work. Acceptances are done on the first of the month, although submissions are open year-round.
Heartbeats: Visual Verse invites poets to push the boundaries of poetry. We're looking for poetry that combines narration, music, and visuals to create a complete experience. We're not looking for a static reading or words scrolling down a screen - we want interplay between visuals and audio that create something more than the sum of its parts. Poets may submit work of up to 140 seconds in length. We pay a flat fee of $25 per accepted video.
Only those categories below are currently open for submissions.
While there is a published close date for submissions, we have an acceptance cap for each issue, and submissions will be closed once we reach that cap, so don't wait until the last minute.
The world is moving at lightning speed, and art is moving with it. So ready your pens and your cameras! Heartbeats: Visual Verse is where poetry meets movement, ink meets the screen. We're looking for submissions that platform original writing (narrated over original footage) that holds up its own in written form but has been developed into something more through the power of film. Think visuals that enchant us and spirit us away into your world. Think words that move, shake, scream. (Well, not literally — we don't want to lose our ears yet — but you get the point!)
We are not looking for videos based on previously published poets or videos that use any footage or audio that could be liable for copyright issues. We want your original work. We want pieces where the words and the visuals meld into each other and in so doing, bring forth something more than they could have as individual works. We want the stark movement of your words, the heartbeat of your visuals. Above all, we want something that is a sensory delight.
Heartbeats: Visual Verse accepts poetry (in video form) of up to 150 seconds in any language (as long as the video contains a translation) on any topic. We pay a flat fee of $25 after the work has been posted to our site.
Note: We are NOT looking for visual or concrete poetry (where words are arranged on the page to form images, sometimes accompanied by art). Please refrain from submitting videos that depict gratuitous violence, gore, and the like. We are seeking audio-visual poetry, so please submit your piece as either .m4v or .mp4 files with captions without credits of any kind.
Horace Greeley (3 February 1811 - 29 November 1872) was the founder of the New York Tribune, a United States congressman, and the man who is often misquoted as saying "Go West, young man." What he actually said was "Go to the West: there your capabilities are sure to be appreciated and your energy and industry rewarded."
We at Zoetic Press agree with Greeley — we want you to find a place where your energy and industry are rewarded. One of the most frustrating parts of being a writer is the submission process. Interpreting a journal’s description of their aesthetic or theme, parsing their formatting requirements, remembering their reading periods – it can all feel like a bit of a crap shoot. What’s your biggest complaint? What’s your fondest wish? What’s your best submission experience? Send us your questions – the things you’ve always wished editors knew about your experiences with their journals. Real editors (channeling Horace Greeley) will answer your letters – explain how literary journals work, think about how to respond to unusual situations, or just commiserate with your rotten luck.
Letters should avoid names of specific publications, and writers may be anonymous if they wish. All letters will be edited for length and clarity prior to posting, and might be combined with other letters asking similar questions.
Zoetic Press believes in using its platform to begin redressing the discriminatory discrepancies in the publishing industry. We welcome all poets of colour (to include anyone from an ethnically or racially marginalized and underrepresented community) to submit a single poem to which our poetry editors will offer feedback. The poetry editors will give you their thoughts on your poem, as well as developmental edits and comments on how it might be improved. We'd like this to take the form of a dialogue, a back-and-forth exchange, as we want to nurture your poem and your ideas for execution. If there is any specific area you would like editorial advice on (e.g commentary on imagery, use of form etc.) we'd love to know that in advance. Each poet may submit one poem of no more than 50 lines (although shorter is better) in an editable document format (no .pdfs, please). Your header should include the name of the piece, your name, and a valid email address (used to communicate with the poetry editors). Those submissions that don't follow guidelines will not be considered. Because of the labor-intensive nature of this undertaking, we will only be able to accept two poets per month.
Accepted applicants will be notified on the first of the month.
NonBinary Review is open for submissions on the theme of "lies for children."
“If you keep making that face, it’ll freeze that way.” “We found you under a cabbage leaf.” “If you drink coffee, it’ll stunt your growth.” “If you go to sleep with wet hair, you’ll catch pneumonia.”
Adults tell children some outrageous lies. Think back to your own childhood and explanations your parents gave you for things you didn’t understand or superstitions they perpetuated. Why do adults feel that children need credulity-straining fictions rather than objective truths? What things do we find so uncomfortable that we can’t explain them to children? How do those lies affect our relationship with the children we lied to, or the adults who lied to us? Some of these lies are benevolent (although kind of weird), but some can be trauma-inducing. We want to hear the stories behind those lies, and the consequences they engendered.
We’re NOT looking for fairy tales, re-tellings of children’s bedtime stories, tall tales, Santa Claus/Easter bunny/tooth fairy origin stories, or any other fictions that even children know are stories told for fun.
All submissions must have a clear relationship to our theme and be submitted as a jpg., .png., .tiff., or .psd file of 300dpi or greater (accepted pieces must be PRINT QUALITY). Submitters may include up to five pieces per submission, but each must be a separate file. NonBinary Review pays a $25 flat fee for visual art, or $50 for pieces chosen as cover art.
We have different teams evaluating poetry, prose, and art. If you submit to the wrong genre, your submission will be declined.
To submit Poetry, please use this link.
To submit Prose, please use this link.
NonBinary Review is open for submissions on the theme of "lies for children."
“If you keep making that face, it’ll freeze that way.” “We found you under a cabbage leaf.” “If you drink coffee, it’ll stunt your growth.” “If you go to sleep with wet hair, you’ll catch pneumonia.”
Adults tell children some outrageous lies. Think back to your own childhood and explanations your parents gave you for things you didn’t understand or superstitions they perpetuated. Why do adults feel that children need credulity-straining fictions rather than objective truths? What things do we find so uncomfortable that we can’t explain them to children? How do those lies affect our relationship with the children we lied to, or the adults who lied to us? Some of these lies are benevolent (although kind of weird), but some can be trauma-inducing. We want to hear the stories behind those lies, and the consequences they engendered.
We’re NOT looking for fairy tales, re-tellings of children’s bedtime stories, tall tales, Santa Claus/Easter bunny/tooth fairy origin stories, or any other fictions that even children know are stories told for fun.
All submissions must have a clear relationship to our theme and be submitted in 12pt Times New Roman, or they will be rejected. Submitters may include up to THREE poems per submission, but each must be a separate file. NonBinary Review pays a $10 flat fee for poetry.
We have different teams evaluating poetry, prose, and art. If you submit to the wrong genre, your submission will be declined.
To submit Visual Art, use this link.
To submit Prose, use this link.
NonBinary Review is open for submissions on the theme of "lies for children."
“If you keep making that face, it’ll freeze that way.” “We found you under a cabbage leaf.” “If you drink coffee, it’ll stunt your growth.” “If you go to sleep with wet hair, you’ll catch pneumonia.”
Adults tell children some outrageous lies. Think back to your own childhood and explanations your parents gave you for things you didn’t understand or superstitions they perpetuated. Why do adults feel that children need credulity-straining fictions rather than objective truths? What things do we find so uncomfortable that we can’t explain them to children? How do those lies affect our relationship with the children we lied to, or the adults who lied to us? Some of these lies are benevolent (although kind of weird), but some can be trauma-inducing. We want to hear the stories behind those lies, and the consequences they engendered.
We’re NOT looking for fairy tales, re-tellings of children’s bedtime stories, tall tales, Santa Claus/Easter bunny/tooth fairy origin stories, or any other fictions that even children know are stories told for fun.
All submissions must have a clear relationship to our theme, and be double-spaced in 12pt Times New Roman or they will be rejected. NonBinary Review pays 1¢ per word for prose with a limit of 3000 words.
We have different teams evaluating poetry, prose, and art. If you submit to the wrong genre, your submission will be declined.
To submit Visual Art, use this link.
To submit Poetry, use this link.
NonBinary Review is open for submissions on the theme of "old friends."
There's an old poem that goes "Make new friends / But keep the old / One is silver / The other gold." There's a reason why the idea of childhood friends is so popular in books, television, and movies: the idea of someone who's known us for most of our lives and still likes us enough to want to be around us is tremendously attractive. Old friends don't even have to be human - our pets, favorite books, geographical locations, cars, even food can be considered an old friend. But "old friend" isn't necessarily a good thing. We've all had friends who aren't exactly great influences in our lives, and the longer we know them, the more influence they can exert.
We're looking for speculative takes on old friends - the weird, the outrageous, the mysterious. We're NOT looking for buddy stories, sweetly nostalgic reunions with childhood school friends, or anything else that might appear on the Hallmark channel.
All submissions must have a clear relationship to our theme and be submitted as a jpg., .png., .tiff., or .psd file of 300dpi or greater (accepted pieces must be PRINT QUALITY). Submitters may include up to five pieces per submission, but each must be a separate file. NonBinary Review pays a $25 flat fee for visual art, or $50 for pieces chosen as cover art.
We have different teams evaluating poetry, prose, and art. If you submit to the wrong genre, your submission will be declined.
To submit Poetry, please use this link.
To submit Prose, please use this link.
NonBinary Review is open for submissions on the theme of "old friends."
There's an old poem that goes "Make new friends / But keep the old / One is silver / The other gold." There's a reason why the idea of childhood friends is so popular in books, television, and movies: the idea of someone who's known us for most of our lives and still likes us enough to want to be around us is tremendously attractive. Old friends don't even have to be human - our pets, favorite books, geographical locations, cars, even food can be considered an old friend. But "old friend" isn't necessarily a good thing. We've all had friends who aren't exactly great influences in our lives, and the longer we know them, the more influence they can exert.
We're looking for speculative takes on old friends - the weird, the outrageous, the mysterious. We're NOT looking for buddy stories, sweetly nostalgic reunions with childhood school friends, or anything else that might appear on the Hallmark channel.
All submissions must have a clear relationship to our theme and be submitted in 12pt Times New Roman, or they will be rejected. Submitters may include up to THREE poems per submission, but each must be a separate file. NonBinary Review pays a $10 flat fee for poetry.
We have different teams evaluating poetry, prose, and art. If you submit to the wrong genre, your submission will be declined.
To submit Visual Art, use this link.
To submit Prose, use this link.
NonBinary Review is open for submissions on the theme of "old friends."
There's an old poem that goes "Make new friends / But keep the old / One is silver / The other gold." There's a reason why the idea of childhood friends is so popular in books, television, and movies: the idea of someone who's known us for most of our lives and still likes us enough to want to be around us is tremendously attractive. Old friends don't even have to be human - our pets, favorite books, geographical locations, cars, even food can be considered an old friend. But "old friend" isn't necessarily a good thing. We've all had friends who aren't exactly great influences in our lives, and the longer we know them, the more influence they can exert.
We're looking for speculative takes on old friends - the weird, the outrageous, the mysterious. We're NOT looking for buddy stories, sweetly nostalgic reunions with childhood school friends, or anything else that might appear on the Hallmark channel.
All submissions must have a clear relationship to our theme, and be double-spaced in 12pt Times New Roman or they will be rejected. NonBinary Review pays 1¢ per word for prose with a limit of 3000 words.
We have different teams evaluating poetry, prose, and art. If you submit to the wrong genre, your submission will be declined.
To submit Visual Art, use this link.
To submit Poetry, use this link.