Guidelines

SUBMISSIONS ARE CLOSED

Thank you to everyone who submitted! For updates on when our next submission window opens, follow us on Twitter and Instagram.

MASKS Literary Magazine publishes both print and online. We do not charge submission fees, and we pay our contributors. We are open to all forms of prose, poetry, art, and photography. Please read our submission guidelines carefully. We know, there's a lot. However, submissions that do not follow our guidelines will, regrettably, not be considered for publication.

Now on to the nitty-gritty...

How to Submit

To avoid charging fees, we do not use Submittable (it's expensive!) — You can email your work as an attachment.

Use the subject line: GENRE: Title of Work (ex. NONFICTION: My Story). You may submit only once per submission cycle. If you're a former contributor, please wait one issue to submit again.

Please remove your name from your submitted document. We review submissions blindly.

In your email: Provide a brief cover letter that includes your name, contact information, and a short third-person bio. In order to create a safe space for our editorial staff, we appreciate content warnings in the cover letter when necessary.

Response time: We know the worst part of the submission process is the waiting, so we will try to get back to you within eight 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 sending 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.

Representation: We welcome the creative work of those from historically underrepresented backgrounds — including writers who identify as BIPOC, LGBTQ+, disabled, multilingual, and other marginalized voices. If you belong to such a group, you may choose to self-identify in your cover letter.

What We Want

Poetry: You may submit up to two poems as two separate Word documents. Poems should be no longer than what would amount to one page (around 25 lines). We want single-spaced formatting, unless you'd prefer the poem be presented with different spacing when published. All poetry submissions are considered for our 2023 Poetry Award.
Stories (fiction, nonfiction, and graphic stories): We only accept prose that is a maximum of 3,000 words. We know abiding by word count can be tough. However, we only have so much room on so many pages, so flash and shorter pieces are more likely to be accepted. Attach your piece as a Word document. Please double-space and use a standard 12-point font like Times New Roman. For nonfiction, attribute your sources where appropriate.

Graphic stories should be no more than eight pages; excerpts from longer works are accepted as long as they are a self-contained narrative. All fiction, nonfiction, and graphic story submissions are considered for our 2023 Story Award.
Art and photography: We'd love to see up to six images, and if they're united by a common theme or style, all the better. Attach your art or photography as a JPEG. Images should be submitted as individual files rather than embedded in a document. Your artist statement is optional but welcome. Please title each image file.

All art and photography submissions are considered for our SPOTLIGHT ARTIST and our FEATURED ARTIST. If you are chosen as our Spotlight Artist, you will receive a two-page spread. Our Featured Artist—for a collection of four or more pieces—will receive $100.00, the front cover, and a profile/interview.

You may submit low-res images to us. However, once accepted, we require a high-res PNG (a preferred width of at least 2400 pixels, 300 dpi). If the final image you send us is pixilated, we will not be able to print it, and we will regrettably have to withdraw the acceptance.

Payment and Policies

Payment: Fiction and nonfiction writers will receive a $25 honorarium per piece, and poets will receive $20 per poem. Artists and photographers receive $30.00 per piece (no more than two). Our Poetry/Story Award winners and 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.

Reprints and rights: Occasional reprints are 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 and on social media with an attribution to you. All other rights return to you, because this is your work.

Editorial: You will be asked to approve one or two rounds of editing; written pieces are copy edited to abide by our house style guide. Before our issue goes to print, if we are unable to come to an agreement over any possible edits, it is within your and our purview to withdraw a piece from publication.

AI policy: MASKS is not open to submitted work that uses AI processes of any sort. We will withdraw an acceptance of any works found to have included undisclosed AI processes.