We are now OPEN for submissions until May 15th! We’ll be reading for our unthemed issue, Issue 11! So send us your best poetry, fiction, non-fiction/CNF, reviews/review-essays, translations, visual art, mixed media.
Starting this year in 2024 we’re going bi-annual!!! We will be releasing two issues per year, unthemed & another, themed!
General guidelines: Please greet the editors! Our names or “Hey editors” is fine :), include a word count for all fiction and non-fiction in the email body, and include a brief 3rd person bio including your pronouns and any social media handles you have (Instagram & Twitter).
Please continue below to find more specific guidelines for each genre.
ALSO: In an effort to expand accessibility for all differently-abled folks we will be adding an audio option to all of those who we accept for publication. In this option, either we can have a voice-over actor read your work or you can send us an mp3/wav. Include your preference in the body of the email.
Fiction – We want something short that kicks through the door and pushes against the literary grain. We crave gripping, haunting work that is hard to turn away from once we dig in. We accept both genre and literary work.
Flash Fiction – Up to 1,000. Flash fiction should be sent to varietypackflashfiction@gmail.com.
Short Fiction/Novellette – Between 1,001 and 9,000 words should be sent to varietypackshortfiction@gmail.com.
The preferred format is Times New Roman, double-spaced, 12-point font.
Non-Fiction – Send us your cultural criticisms, immersive journalism, memoirs, creative non-fiction (CNF), and essays.
Send up to 3 NF pieces, a maximum of 5,000 words to varietypacknonfiction@gmail.com. Please do not exceed 1,500 words per piece unless solicited by editor. Please include word count in the body of your email.
Preferred format is Times New Roman, double-spaced, 12-point font.
Poetry – For poetry, and to put it simply we are open to any and all forms, whether that is traditional, or experimental; four lines, or two pages; show us your anthems, your retellings, your resonance, your imagery, we want to see it all
Send up to 4 poems, to varietypackpoetry@gmail.com.
Preferred format is Times New Roman, single-spaced, 12-point font.
Reviews/Interviews – We are taking in-depth reviews, review essays, and interviews. We do not believe in ranking a literary work or posing negative criticisms on the work of writers. We welcome music reviews (either albums or live shows), book reviews, film reviews, TV reviews, art reviews, and theatre reviews.
ALSO this should be clarified, but due to the fact we only have one reviewer, at this time, we are not accepting works to review, but solely the reviews themselves, please keep this in mind when you submit, that WE WILL NO LONGER BE OPEN TO REVIEW UNSOLICITED WORK.
Please send us your most insightful reviews from 100 – 2,500 words (although aren’t sticklers for word count on these, depending on the content) for any review to varietypackreviews@gmail.com.
Preferred format is Times New Roman, single spaced, 12-point font.
Visual Arts/Comics/Mixed Media – We are now taking visual arts submissions for future on-site features as well as our issues. Send us your finest collages, illustrations, comics, napkin sketches, photographs and/or anything else you want to submit. Whether it’s a more traditional style or an experimental take we welcome all styles to our forefront.
Please send us your latest masterpieces at varietypackart@gmail.com.
SUBMISSIONS HOUSEKEEPING
Variety Pack takes pride in being a journal of inclusivity, so we will accept submissions from all walks of life. We do try to stray away from work with overtly graphic sex and violence, for obvious reasons. We have a ZERO TOLERANCE policy for racism, misogyny, xenophobia, homophobia, transphobia, ableism, fatphobia, or any other writing along those lines. ALSO please adhere to our formats and guidelines listed below. Please adhere to the dates we have open for submissions via our social media handles on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. Be sure to also check out our News/Announcements sections for updates too.
ANYTHING sent before and/or after our reading period is open, will be deleted and unread. None of us here want to discourage anyone from submitting their work, so please respect our deadlines as we work hard to make sure they’re posted.
To avoid the sight of spam/junk emails, please include the format of title and name (For ex: TITLE – H.R. PuffNstuff) in the subject heading. If it’s more than one piece you can just say how many pieces (For ex: Four Poems – Chester Maximillian; Three Flash Fictions – Amanda Smith)
In your email send us your work with either .doc, .docx, as your attachment (Please do NOT send your work as a PDF). Also, in your email include a cover letter, including your name (and/or preferred pen name), maybe a quick hello/standard greeting, and a brief bio under 150 words.
Simultaneous submissions are okay, but we do not accept previously published pieces.
Starting as of this reading period as well, with the exception of review submissions, if you’ve been published by us within the past year, you must wait another year to submit again.
We’ll NO LONGER be accepting multiple submissions in multiple categories. ONE CATEGORY TO CHOOSE FROM. We love to see other writers branch out into different genres, but we have seen the space this can also take up. Ex: say publishing someone who has a really great essay and has a poem published in the same issue, while we appreciate showcasing both talents it limits the space for new writers to find a home for their piece.
We usually respond to submissions between the end of our reading period and the week before the release date of any given issue.
Starting with our forthcoming 9th Issue… We are NOW a PAYING MARKET! WOOT! WOOT! $10 for poetry and visual art; $20 for prose.
Payment will be made via PayPal, Ca$happ, or Venmo!
We will not be able to pay for interviews/reviews at this time (We hope to change that in the future)
Any further questions please feel free to query us at submissions.varietypack@gmail.com