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Masks Literary Magazine is here to support emerging writers and artists. We publish two print and online magazines each year and pay contributors. We are open to all forms of prose, poetry, and visual arts. We have no restrictions on the writers or content we publish, but we’re passionate about publishing new writers, new artists, and new perspectives.
We welcome work from people of historically underrepresented backgrounds — including writers who identify as BIPOC, LGBTQ+, women, disabled, multilingual, and other marginalized voices. If you belong to such a group, you may self-identify in your cover letter. The publishing world needs more diversity, so we’re making that happen.
Now for the nitty-gritty...
We welcome work from people of historically underrepresented backgrounds — including writers who identify as BIPOC, LGBTQ+, women, disabled, multilingual, and other marginalized voices. If you belong to such a group, you may self-identify in your cover letter. The publishing world needs more diversity, so we’re making that happen.
Now for the nitty-gritty...
How to Submit
Nothing abnormal here; we abide by standard submission guidelines.
Submittable is expensive, and we have no interest in charging submission fees. So to submit your work, email our editor in chief, L.A. Hawbaker (she/her) at lhawbaker2@colum.edu and use the subject line: GENRE: Title of Work (ex. FICTION: My Story). If submitting multiple poems or art pieces, use the subject line: GENRE: Title of First Poem / Art Piece.
In your email: Provide a brief cover letter that includes your name, contact information, and a third person bio. In order to create a safe space for our editorial staff, we appreciate content warnings in the cover letter when necessary. If you’d like to submit in multiple genres, you can send a separate email for each genre, though we ask that you only submit one time per genre per reading cycle. If you're a former contributor, please wait one year to submit again.
Response time: We know the worst part of the submission process is the waiting; we will try to get back to you within 4-8 weeks. If it's taking a little longer, that's most likely a good sign! We're passing your work around because we're interested. After three months, you may check in by shooting us a follow-up email to see where your submission is at.
Simultaneous submissions: Great news! We accept simultaneous submissions. However, if your work is accepted elsewhere, please do us a kindness; break our hearts gently by immediately letting us know that you're withdrawing your piece. We will be sad for us, but we will be thrilled for you.
What We Want
Payment: Fiction and nonfiction writers will receive a $25-$35 honorarium per piece (3,000 words or less), and poets will receive $20 per poem. Artists, photographers, and audio/filmmakers receive $25.00 per piece (no more than two). Our Featured Artist receives $100. Pay equity in publishing is important to us, so we are grateful to the Albert P. Weisman Award, which allows us to provide our contributors with compensation for their creative work. U.S. contributors will receive a complimentary copy of our print issue; international contributors will receive a high-res PDF.
MASKS knows editing is a collaborative process, and as such we will never publish anything that you haven't OK'd with us first. Before our issue goes to print, it is within your and our purview to pull a piece from publication in MASKS.
Occasional reprints accepted with acknowledgement of previous publications. For original, previously unpublished work, we ask for first- and one-time rights (we reserve the right to post your work in our online archives), after which all rights return to you, because this is your work.
Nothing abnormal here; we abide by standard submission guidelines.
Submittable is expensive, and we have no interest in charging submission fees. So to submit your work, email our editor in chief, L.A. Hawbaker (she/her) at lhawbaker2@colum.edu and use the subject line: GENRE: Title of Work (ex. FICTION: My Story). If submitting multiple poems or art pieces, use the subject line: GENRE: Title of First Poem / Art Piece.
In your email: Provide a brief cover letter that includes your name, contact information, and a third person bio. In order to create a safe space for our editorial staff, we appreciate content warnings in the cover letter when necessary. If you’d like to submit in multiple genres, you can send a separate email for each genre, though we ask that you only submit one time per genre per reading cycle. If you're a former contributor, please wait one year to submit again.
Response time: We know the worst part of the submission process is the waiting; we will try to get back to you within 4-8 weeks. If it's taking a little longer, that's most likely a good sign! We're passing your work around because we're interested. After three months, you may check in by shooting us a follow-up email to see where your submission is at.
Simultaneous submissions: Great news! We accept simultaneous submissions. However, if your work is accepted elsewhere, please do us a kindness; break our hearts gently by immediately letting us know that you're withdrawing your piece. We will be sad for us, but we will be thrilled for you.
What We Want
- Poetry (closed at this time): Poems should be no longer than what would amount to one single-spaced page, or 36 lines. We want single-spaced formatting, unless you'd prefer the poem be presented with different spacing when published. You may submit up to three poems as a single document. Please begin each poem on its own separate page. All poetry submissions are considered for our 2022 Poetry Award. Attach your poetry as a Word document.
- Prose (closed at this time): While we occasionally accept longer pieces, our typical word count is a maximum of 3,000 words. We know abiding by word count can be tough sometimes, so we'll take a look at longer pieces if they are marginally longer. We only have so much room on so many pages, so just FYI: shorter pieces are more likely to be accepted. For nonfiction, please attribute your sources where appropriate. All prose submissions are considered for our 2022 Prose Award. Attach your piece as a Word document. Please use standard manuscript format.
- Art/Photography (closed at this time): We'd love to see up to 3-6 images, and if they're united by a common theme or style, all the better. Your artist's statement is optional but welcome. It would also help us if each image has a title or caption, but untitled pieces are welcome too. All art and photography submissions are considered for our FEATURED ARTIST. If you are chosen as our Featured Artist, for a collection of four or more pieces you will receive $100.00, a front-page headline, and a profile/interview. Attach your art or photography as a JPEG please. Images should be submitted as individual files rather than embedded in a document, and we'd prefer to see them 750 pixels wide.
- Audio/film (closed at this time): Submissions should be no longer than five minutes. Please provide a link to the submission in your cover letter. Audio/visual works will be published exclusively online.
Payment: Fiction and nonfiction writers will receive a $25-$35 honorarium per piece (3,000 words or less), and poets will receive $20 per poem. Artists, photographers, and audio/filmmakers receive $25.00 per piece (no more than two). Our Featured Artist receives $100. Pay equity in publishing is important to us, so we are grateful to the Albert P. Weisman Award, which allows us to provide our contributors with compensation for their creative work. U.S. contributors will receive a complimentary copy of our print issue; international contributors will receive a high-res PDF.
MASKS knows editing is a collaborative process, and as such we will never publish anything that you haven't OK'd with us first. Before our issue goes to print, it is within your and our purview to pull a piece from publication in MASKS.
Occasional reprints accepted with acknowledgement of previous publications. For original, previously unpublished work, we ask for first- and one-time rights (we reserve the right to post your work in our online archives), after which all rights return to you, because this is your work.
