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.
Some caveats:
- 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.
- NonBinary Review accepts reprints, but we do ask for previous publication details so they can be credited.
- 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.
- If your work has recently been accepted for publication in NonBinary Review, we will not consider any submissions from you for the next TWO ISSUES (e.g., if we accepted your work for Issue #1, we will not consider your work again until Issue #4.)
Our pay schedule:
- 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.
Dear Horace Greeley
Our advice column 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
This 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
Zoetic 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.
IMPORTANT NOTICE
Zoetic Press does not accept AI generated content. If our editors judge that your content is AI-generated, it will be declined.
Only those categories below are currently open for submissions.
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.
NonBinary Review is currently open for submissions on the theme of MISTAKEN IDENTITY.
How often have you waved to a friend across a room, only to realize the person you waved to isn't who you thought they were? These benign little episodes of mistaken identity can be laughed off, but there are so many times and so many ways mistaken identity can be humiliating, criminal, traumatic, life-altering, transforming. Whether you are the one who made the mistake or the one who is being mistaken for someone else, there are so many ways it can happen, and so many ways to respond.
We want your weird, wonderful, bizarre, impossible stories of mistaken identity. We don't want "I accidentally met the love of my life because I mistook them for my friend" stories. More like "I accidentally stopped the Earth from being blown to bits because I mistook the alien invaders for mosquitos and sprayed them with bug spray." We want to be captivated by the unlikeliness of a story that probably could never really happen.
IMPORTANT NOTICE
Zoetic Press does not accept AI generated content. If our editors judge that your content is AI-generated, it will be declined.
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.
If your work was accepted for Issue #37: False Memories or Issue #38: Rituals, we're sorry, but we cannot accept your work at this time (see our general guidelines.)
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 currently open for submissions on the theme of MISTAKEN IDENTITY.
How often have you waved to a friend across a room, only to realize the person you waved to isn't who you thought they were? These benign little episodes of mistaken identity can be laughed off, but there are so many times and so many ways mistaken identity can be humiliating, criminal, traumatic, life-altering, transforming. Whether you are the one who made the mistake or the one who is being mistaken for someone else, there are so many ways it can happen, and so many ways to respond.
We want to see mistaken identity in art. This is a tricky one to pull off in a visual medium, and your work must clearly convey the idea of mistaken identity.
IMPORTANT NOTICE
Zoetic Press does not accept AI generated content. If our editors judge that your content is AI-generated, it will be declined.
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.
If your work was accepted for Issue #37: False Memories or Issue #38: Rituals, we're sorry, but we cannot accept your work at this time (see our general guidelines.)
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 currently open for submissions on the theme of MISTAKEN IDENTITY.
How often have you waved to a friend across a room, only to realize the person you waved to isn't who you thought they were? These benign little episodes of mistaken identity can be laughed off, but there are so many times and so many ways mistaken identity can be humiliating, criminal, traumatic, life-altering, transforming. Whether you are the one who made the mistake or the one who is being mistaken for someone else, there are so many ways it can happen, and so many ways to respond.
We want your weird, wonderful, bizarre, impossible stories of mistaken identity. We don't want "I accidentally met the love of my life because I mistook them for my friend" stories. More like "I accidentally stopped the Earth from being blown to bits because I mistook the alien invaders for mosquitos and sprayed them with bug spray." We want to be captivated by the unlikeliness of a story that probably could never really happen.
IMPORTANT NOTICE
Zoetic Press does not accept AI generated content. If our editors judge that your content is AI-generated, it will be declined.
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.
If your work was accepted for Issue #37: False Memories or Issue #38: Rituals, we're sorry, but we cannot accept your work at this time (see our general guidelines.)
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.
NonBinary Review is looking for cover art for its annual print-only anthology Heathentide Orphans.
This is, admittedly, a tough ask. Heathentide is a month-long holiday that goes from the full moon before the 25th of December to the full moon after - for 2024, it spans from 15 December 2024 through 12 January 2025. The concept of Heathentide recognizes that the world is a complex and diverse place, and that although humans share things like sadness, joy, curiosity, and pride, as a global people, we don't share culture, weather, geography, religion, or much of anything else. Heathentide celebrates those things we share, no matter who we are, no matter where we are.
We are looking for cover art that celebrates what we have in common. Something that hints at the transition from one year to another. Something that conveys clear emotion, even if that emotion is small (the beauty of a single drop of water on a leaf, the satisfaction of a job well done, the sadness at reaching the end of a good book).
IMPORTANT NOTICE
Zoetic Press does not accept AI generated content. If our editors judge that your content is AI-generated, it will be declined.
All submissions must fit the trim size of the finished book (5" x 8") 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 $50 for cover art.
NonBinary Review is currently open for submissions on the theme of EPIPHANY.
It's a flash of inspiration. It's a slow realization of something that was in front of you the whole time. It's seeing something familiar from an entirely unexpected angle. We have these sudden flashes of inspiration all the time - some as subtle as discovering you like tea with honey, others as momentous as realizing that your idea for a new invention could change the world.
We're looking for speculative takes on epiphany, from the realization that television is all real and true, to the discovery that the life you live in your dreams is your real life, and this one is the dream. We want to be just as surprised as your narrators by the things they discover and where those discoveries lead them.
We're NOT looking for "I realized I hated my spouse so I left and my life got better" stories, sexual coming of age stories, or anything else that doesn't fit the speculative genre.
IMPORTANT NOTICE
Zoetic Press does not accept AI generated content. If our editors judge that your content is AI-generated, it will be declined.
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.
If your work was accepted for Issue #38: Rituals or Issue #39: Mistaken Identity, we're sorry, but we cannot accept your work at this time (see our general guidelines.)
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.