Submission guidelines
Submissions for Features are open at all times (check our guidelines below).
Our next themed issue will be Climate — submissions are now open until 26 January 2025!
What to submit
We encourage genre-bending short stories, poetry and personal essays from the following genres (as a starting point):
—Sci-fi
—Fantasy
—Contemporary
—Magical realism
—Spec-fic
—Gothic
—Horror
—Mystery
Each issue will have a general theme for you to respond to. We encourage broad interpretations; obvious, implicit or merely a focal point.
Issue themes will be announced on our website when submissions open.
Written submissions
What to include in your submission:
—Your beautiful work
—A short author bio of 150–200 words, that includes a social media account (if you’d like to be tagged).
Please submit your work as either a Google doc (preferable) or a Word doc, with each work in the same document.
No PDFs or work in the body of your email please :)
Please ensure that the subject line of your emailed submission contains the type of work you are submitting (‘short fiction’, ‘poetry’ or ‘personal essay’). You can leave out your name, as this will help us to anonymise your work for review.
For example: ‘Poetry submission for issue 2’
Word limits
—Short stories: up to 2,500 words, submit no more than 2 at a time.
—Poetry: max 3 pages, no more than 3 poems at a time, all in a single document please.
—Personal essays: up to 2,500 words, submit 1 at a time.
Cover submissions
We take submissions for the cover image of each issue! If you would like your work to be featured on the cover, please email us your file and artist bio. As with any written submissions, copyright remains with the original creator. Original images only, please.
File types: JPG, PNG or TIFF (>72 dpi)
Copyright
Please submit your work while it’s fresh and juicy (so, nothing that has been previously published). Copyright always remains with you, the author. No simultaneous submissions, please.
Sensitivity
We don’t support any form of prejudice or social discrimination. While we don’t censor free expression, we understand that some topics can be sensitive or triggering for others. If your work contains sensitive material (e.g., explicit or graphic material) get in touch with us via email to discuss.
Features
Features will be published individually, dependent on capacity. We would like to feature two or three features per month. Our general submission guidelines still apply, as above.
We ask that submitters send only one piece of work at a time for consideration.
Word limits for Features
—Short stories: 1,000 words
—Poems: one page
—Personal essays: 1,000 words
Unsure whether your work is a good fit? Email us at circularpublishing@gmail.com