How to submit

This is the part where most literary journals say “read our issues to see if we’re a good home for your work.” Check out our issues to date—but know that we’re growing and evolving our voice, and have very open minds. We don’t accept unsolicited, manuscript-length submissions.

General rules of thumb are that submissions should:

  • Fit the volume’s theme

In 2021, Pareidolia Literary published triannually. In 2022, we set ourselves some big goals, fell spectacularly behind in reaching them, and learned a lot along the way. To help manage the impact of our failed submissions experimentt (recovery still ongoing!) we plan to still publish the two issues we had submissions for, however later than we expected. We’d like to begin publishing at least PDF issues in 2023, and start being a paying market with print issues in 2024. Here’s how you can help us get there!

Current open submissions

Submissions will reopen no later than Jan 2023.

General Submissions Guidelines

Poetry (up to 3 per submission)
Short Fiction (up to 2 per submission, max. 1000 words)
Nonfiction, Memoir, or Essay (1 per submission, max. 2000 words)
Criticism or Review (1 per submission, max. 2000 words)
Visual Art (up to 2 per submission)
Audio/Visual media (1 per submission)

  • Make sure your work fits the volume’s theme.
    Feel free to elaborate in your short artist’s statement—but it has to be on-theme.

  • One category submission per writer/artist.
    Ex: One cannot submit both poetry and short fiction for the same volume, but you can submit multiple pieces in the category. (see limits above)

  • We accept previously unpublished work only.
    That is, unless the current submission cycle specifies otherwise. Simultaneous submissions to other publications are fine with us!

  • If your work gets accepted elsewhere in the meantime, let us know.
    Congrats! Please send us an email with the subject [Withdrawal Vol. #], include the title and category, and we’ll withdraw your submission.

  • We ask for first-time digital publication rights.
    Your work always belongs to you first. However, please     don’t publish a piece we’ve accepted before it appears in Pareidolia Literary. Once it’s been published, all rights revert back to the author. We kindly ask that if your piece is published elsewhere in the future, that you please credit Pareidolia Literary with its initial publication.

  • Visual/media art should be in high-res formats
    So we can showcase your work as you intended—not based on the limitations of technology.

  • Double-space fiction, poetry can be single-spaced.
    We need it for readability. Much appreciated!

  • We accept .doc /.docx, .rtf, or .txt files.
    If your piece requires special formatting, please also include a PDF so we can format it correctly. NOTE: Files with .doc or .docx preserve edit histories, so please remember to copy-paste into a new file to keep private info from making its way to us.

  • Please include any relevant content warnings.
    Please use your best judgement when sending us pieces with depictions of graphic or distressing themes and add a content or trigger warning in the body of your mail or document. This isn’t to make things difficult, it’s common respect.

  • Make sure your work is proofread and complete before submitting.
    Our team is extremely small, and we cannot at this time accommodate edits that may come up after submission, or process new versions that are sent after the initial submission.

  • We cannot accommodate providing feedback right now.
    We’re considering a tipping model for feedback in future.

Please allow up to 12 weeks for a response—unless the submissions cycle specifies otherwise.
We know this is a bit long, but we’ll work to improve our response time with subsequent volumes. We promise! You can, however, expect a confirmation of submission typically within about 3 days of receipt.


Special consideration is given to first-time authors and artists, those underrepresented in literature and the arts,
BIPOC/BAME and LGBTQIA+ creators, and people with disabilities.

Need more accessibility?

Send an email with your submission in an attachment to info@pareidolialiterary.com.

  • Use the subject line: SUBMISSION Vol. [#/name]: [category you’re submitting to]
    Ex: SUBMISSION Vol. 2: Poetry

  • Please include a short artist’s statement about how your piece fits the theme (max. 100 words) and a bio (max. 100 words) so we get to know you a little. These can be either in the email body or as an attachment. If you so wish, feel free to note any relevant social media handles, especially if you use Twitter—we want to hype our authors and artists!

Thank you, and we look forward to your submission!