phoebe prides itself on supporting up-and-coming writers, whose style, form, voice, and subject matter demonstrate a vigorous appeal to the senses, intellect, and emotions of our readers. We choose our writers because we believe their work succeeds at its goals, whether its goals are to uphold or challenge literary tradition.
We insist on openness, which means we welcome both experimental and conventional prose and poetry, and we insist on being entertained, which means the work must capture and hold our attention, whether it be the potent language of a poem or the narrative mechanics of a short story. Above all, we seek to publish quality writing. Please review website publications, especially our latest online issue, for an idea of the caliber of writing we publish.
Our general guidelines are as follows:
- We accept submissions only via Submittable.
- We do not consider previously published work.
- We do not have a strict word limit for prose; however, work over 4,000 words will need to be extraordinary.
- Regarding flash prose, we are happy to accept up to three pieces of less than 1,000 words each. Please paste these together in a single document and submit them via the standard fiction or nonfiction portal.
- Poetry submissions may contain 3-5 pieces but may total no more than 10 pages.
- We welcome multiple submissions, but each should follow the guidelines above.
- We allow and encourage simultaneous submissions. If your submission is no longer available for publication, please use our online submission portal to withdraw it as soon as possible. If you need to withdraw a single poem or piece of flash prose, please add a note to your submission or email us at phoebeliterature@gmail.com.
- We strive to respond to submissions 30 days after the submissions period closes. If you have not heard from us 60 days after the submissions period closes, feel free to inquire about the status of your submission.
- Writers, we only accept Word documents (.doc or .docx) to ensure that our formatting is as accurate as possible. If you use a different word processor such as Google Drive, Pages or Open Office, please download your work as a .doc or .docx file before submitting.
- Visual Artists may use PDFs to submit multiple works of art, but should be prepared with a high-resolution version of their files upon their work's acceptance to the journal.
- If you’ve submitted to phoebe in the past, or if you’ve been published in our journal before, you are welcome to submit your work again.
- Contributors to the print editions receive one copy of the journal upon publication, along with our gratitude and respect.
- phoebe does not accept submissions from current or former students of George Mason University’s creative writing program or any other affiliates of George Mason University. If you have a question regarding your eligibility, please send us an email at phoebeliterature@gmail.com.
- Regarding our spring contests, the payment of a monetary prize is subject to U.S. laws and regulations, including those that prohibit payments to persons from or who reside in countries subject to U.S. sanctions.
phoebe welcomes and hopes to see literary and visual art from writers and artists of all races, ethnicities, national origins, religions, sexes, sexual orientations, genders, gender expressions, ages, abilities, military statuses, and other distinguishing identity traits. phoebe also welcomes and hopes to see literary and visual art from writers and artists of all genres, styles, and aesthetics. phoebe makes every effort to be open to all and closed to no one.
phoebe is now accepting submissions for its winter 2024 print issue, 53.1.
The phoebe fiction team is looking for short stories, flash fiction, and micro fiction that pack an emotional or intellectual punch and deliver an honest, affecting, and human reading experience. We find that fiction is at its best when it takes risks and pursues authenticity over convention. Send us your work with soul and urgency— the drafts that push narrative form and tell uniquely powerful stories! Pieces published in phoebe often work briskly, but longer works of exceptional quality can also find a home here. We look forward to reading your work!
General Guidelines:
- All entries should include a cover letter with the submission’s title and word count as well as the author’s contact information (name, mailing address, and email address) and a brief bio.
- We accept simultaneous submissions. However, if your submission is accepted by another publication or otherwise is no longer available, please use Submittable to withdraw it as soon as possible.
- You may submit multiple entries.
- Please submit only one short story or up to three flash fictions (works of fewer than 1,000 words) per entry.
- We do not consider previously published work or reprints.
- Please submit your work in standard manuscript format and as a Microsoft Word document (or compatible).
- We do not accept submissions through e-mail or physical mail. All submissions must be made through our Submittable forms.
- More submissions guidelines here: www.phoebejournal.com/submissions/
DEADLINE: October 15 at 11:59 p.m.
SUBMISSION SIZE: 1 piece per submission. We do not have a strict word limit for prose; however, fiction longer than 4,000 words will need to be extraordinary.
We strive to respond to submissions 30 days after the submissions period closes. If you have not heard from us 60 days after the submissions period closes, feel free to inquire about the status of your submission.
phoebe is now accepting submissions for its winter 2024 print issue, 53.1.
As poets, we love to see poems that are aware of themselves in relation to the world around them. Specifically, we like to read poems with an awareness of self and place, and how language, image, and form amplify both. We love poems that make smart use of lines. Send us poems that you are proud to have written, send us poems that tell a narrative, send us poems that leave the reader stunned. We look forward to reading your submissions.
General Guidelines:
- All entries should include a cover letter with the author’s contact information (name, mailing address, and email address) and a brief bio.
- We accept simultaneous submissions. However, if a piece in your submission is accepted by another publication or otherwise is no longer available, please use Submittable to send the editors a message about which piece(s) is no longer available or withdraw the submission as soon as possible.
- You may submit multiple entries.
- You may submit up to five poems per entry; however, poetry submissions may total no more than 10 pages. If you would like to submit more than 10 pages, please complete an additional submission.
- We do not consider previously published work or reprints.
- Please submit your work in standard manuscript format and as a Microsoft Word document (or compatible).
- We do not accept submissions through e-mail or physical mail. All submissions must be made through our Submittable forms.
- More submissions guidelines here: www.phoebejournal.com/submissions/
DEADLINE: October 15 at 11:59 p.m.
SUBMISSION SIZE: Up to five (5) poems submission.
We strive to respond to submissions 30 days after the submissions period closes. If you have not heard from us 60 days after the submissions period closes, feel free to inquire about the status of your submission.
phoebe is now accepting submissions for its winter 2024 print issue, 53.1.
The phoebe nonfiction team is looking for personal, lyric, and journalistic essays (and everything in between!) that embrace complexity and explore unique topics, ideas, and connections. We are excited by nonfiction that reveals larger truths about the self and the world through unique lenses, representing diverse identities and voices with intellectual and emotional honesty. We also appreciate essays engaging with research and history. Teach us something new! Submitted work should be stand-alone. On our pages, we aim for a mixture of brevity and breadth from both emerging and experienced writers. We approach all essays with care and respect, and we especially welcome essays with BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, and/or trans perspectives. :)
General Guidelines:
- All entries should include a cover letter with the submission’s title and word count as well as the author’s contact information (name, mailing address, and email address) and a brief bio.
- We accept simultaneous submissions. However, if your submission is accepted by another publication or otherwise is no longer available, please use Submittable to withdraw it as soon as possible.
- You may submit multiple entries.
- Please submit only one work per entry.
- We do not consider previously published work or reprints.
- Please submit your work in standard manuscript format and as a Microsoft Word document (or compatible).
- We do not accept submissions through e-mail or physical mail. All submissions must be made through our Submittable forms.
- More submissions guidelines here: www.phoebejournal.com/submissions/
DEADLINE: October 15 at 11:59 p.m. SUBMISSION SIZE: 1 piece per submission. We do not have a strict word limit for prose; however, nonfiction pieces longer than 4,000 words will need to be extraordinary.
We strive to respond to submissions 30 days after the submissions period closes. If you have not heard from us 60 days after the submissions period closes, feel free to inquire about the status of your submission.
Above all, we seek to publish quality art from artists at various stages of their careers, with an eye towards artwork that illustrates a narrative or conveys an emotion, as we believe in the importance of both visual and textual storytelling. See here for images we've featured in our journal. Since we want to incorporate more artwork into our digital and print editions, it's free to submit visual art. Furthermore, pieces chosen for the print issue will also be featured on our website.
To submit, please upload between one and five high-resolution images. Files should be uploaded as a .png, .tif, or a high-quality .jpeg with at least 300 dpi and a size of at least 1 MB. PDFs also are acceptable. All submitted artwork will be considered for phoebe's print issue 53.1, for both the cover image, as well as for featured art.