LIT is a literary magazine published by The New School Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing Program. Since its inaugural issue in 1999, LIT promotes innovative writing and art in digital publishing.
We accept fiction, nonfiction, poetry, hybrid, and art submissions.
LIT is currently open for submissions until December 15th.
Our portal for art submissions is always open.
At LIT Magazine, we appreciate books with personality. Whether it be a conversation about form, a debate about ethics, or an exploration of theme, we are interested in publishing book reviews that connect to the world in unique and meaningful ways. We are not interested in writing that reads like an advertisement or a press release, but rather, dives deeper into how the book interacts with the literary world, as well as the world at large.
Guidelines:
Submissions should be no longer than 2,000 words, 12 point font, double-spaced.
All submissions must include a cover letter with a short bio (written in 3rd person) and social media handles (if they are available).
Contributors must receive a reply from LIT before submitting new work.
Do not submit more than twice during any given submissions period.
At LIT, we view all forms of expression as 'translation' -- each is a new creative foray into the unknown, an attempt to express the inexpressible. Be it a piece by someone working in English or another 'language,' the creative process includes perception, absorption, and expression. The art of translation, unlike the visual or auditory arts, requires one additional step -- moving from one language to another -- because the dream of a universal language died with Babel. So we work with translators who have gone to the other side to bring back the voices of others we so need to hear.
We're looking for the global voices that so inspire you as a translator that you're willing to (or have) spent countless hours trying to get it right. We're interested in work that responds to life experiences -- undetermined by trends -- be they now or in the past, be they in reality or in the mind, because the author feels the urgency or the necessity to do so, an urgency and a necessity that you the translator share. This spans all languages, cultures, societies, peoples, localities, religions, spiritualities, understandings, perspectives, expressions, purposes, obsessions, etc., universalities. At LIT, we're eager to read your work and share it.
- We accept poetry, fiction, auto-fiction and memoir.
- Poetry submissions should be no more than 5 poems or 10 pages.
- Prose submissions should be no longer than 25 pages.
- Translators must attain the proper rights to publish the work they are translating.
- Only submit previously unpublished work.
- Submit all written work as a .doc, .docx, or .pdf file.
- We require a cover letter for translation that includes the description of the translation and brief biographies for the author and the translator, as well as any social media handles.
- We may ask you to consider combining your translations with the artwork of a national or local artist. Give some thought to which artist's work would go well with the author you've translated.
- We accept simultaneous submissions, but let us know as soon as it’s accepted elsewhere. Please wait until you receive a response for your submission before submitting again.
- Use standard formatting: put your page number somewhere on each page. If the submission is prose heavy, please double-space. Use a standard font.
- Submissions filed by professional coordinating services will not be considered, nor will submissions we’ve already rejected in the past.
- We are unable to provide monetary compensation for accepted submissions at this time. We are a team of volunteers, and all funds that we raise go towards administrative costs of running the magazine. However, contributors selected for upcoming print editions will receive physical copies of their work.
- All submissions will be read. Please allow 90 days for a response.
We accept jpeg images of painting, illustration, photography, collage, multimedia, and experimental work.
Submit your work with a cover letter that details the following:
- Full Name
- Website (or online portfolio)
- Location
- Contact Email
- A short bio (150-200 words)
- Social Media handles
- A minimum of 1 and maximum of 6 images of your work. Include title of each piece (if any) and medium.
Poetry submissions should be no more than 3 poems or 7 pages.
All submissions must include a cover letter with a short bio (written in 3rd person) and social media handles (if they are available).
All submissions should be uploaded in a single document, beginning with your cover letter.
Each page of the submission should have your name on it.
Contributors must receive a reply from LIT before submitting new work.
Do not submit more than once during any given submissions period.
Our reading periods are from approximately April to June, then September to December. Please understand that due to high submission volume, your submission may carry over from one period into the next.
Submissions filed by professional coordinating services will not be considered.
We’re interested in many types of fiction at Lit, up to and including work that can be called "experimental." But what we are most excited to publish are simply stories we haven’t read before.
This may seem obvious. However, our tastes in fiction tend toward the unconventional for a reason: we read hundreds of fiction submissions a year, and unfortunately we end up reading the same types of stories many different times. We often receives stories that fall into several common archetypes: the invincible-protagonist-with-a-heart-of-gold story, the bad break-up story, the university campus story, the middle-aged divorce story, and others. Therefore, the best submissions in this category will tell an uncommon story, or tell a common story in a different way, or in a different prose style. We believe that archetypal ground is best tread deliberately.
Short stories or independently coherent novel excerpts are considered. Flash fiction is also considered, but should ideally be submitted in multiples. We do not accept hard genre (fantasy, sci-fi etc), but do appreciate other forms of non-realist work. We do not accept young adult fiction.
- Only submit previously unpublished work.
- Submit all written work as a .doc, .docx, or .pdf file.
- Submissions should be no longer than 15 pages.
- We do not require cover letters, but if you insist, please keep it brief.
- We accept simultaneous submissions, but let us know as soon as it’s accepted elsewhere. Please wait until you receive a response for your submission before submitting again.
- Use standard formatting: put your page number somewhere on each page. If the submission is prose heavy, please double-space. Use a standard font.
- Submissions filed by professional coordinating services will not be considered, nor will submissions we’ve already rejected in the past.
- We are unable to provide monetary compensation for accepted submissions at this time. We are a team of volunteers, and all funds that we raise go towards administrative costs of running the magazine. However, contributors selected for upcoming print editions will receive physical copies of their work.
- All submissions will be read.
At Lit, we want to read non-fiction that is aware of itself.
The ideal non-fiction work understands the archival, narrative, and methodological approaches that the medium demands. We are excited the most by personal essays with a strong narrative voice. We want to read work that makes us feel confident in the author’s perspective, and that goes beyond the simple retelling of a true event. Creative non-fiction is also encouraged, especially if the author is comfortable in experimenting with the form. Standard essays on literary subjects are best left as homework assignments.
- Only submit previously unpublished work.
- Submit all written work as a .doc, .docx, or .pdf file.
- Submissions should be no longer than 15 pages.
- We do not require cover letters, but if you insist, please keep it brief.
- We accept simultaneous submissions, but let us know as soon as it’s accepted elsewhere. Please wait until you receive a response for your submission before submitting again.
- Use standard formatting: put your page number somewhere on each page. If the submission is prose heavy, please double-space. Use a standard font.
- Submissions filed by professional coordinating services will not be considered, nor will submissions we’ve already rejected in the past.
- We are unable to provide monetary compensation for accepted submissions at this time. We are a team of volunteers, and all funds that we raise go towards administrative costs of running the magazine. However, contributors selected for upcoming print editions will receive physical copies of their work.
- All submissions will be read.
Hybrid prose works generally experiment with non-traditional stylistic forms. This category is not just for works that defy casual interpretation, but also works that include elements generally reserved for non-prose writing.
At Lit, we are interested in hybrid prose that is aware of the tension between fiction and non-fiction, and wants to exploit, reify, and expand those terms, but not be contained by them. If it’s too prose-y to be a poem, but not clearly a short story or an essay, it might belong here. But this is not a category for the unsure – on the contrary, the best examples of hybrid prose are always the most deliberate.
- Only submit previously unpublished work.
- Submit all written work as a .doc, .docx, or .pdf file.
- Submissions should be no longer than 10 pages. Submissions that experiment with placement on the page can potentially ignore this rule.
- We do not require cover letters, but if you insist, please keep it brief.
- We accept simultaneous submissions, but let us know as soon as it’s accepted elsewhere. Please wait until you receive a response for your submission before submitting again.
- Use standard formatting: put your page number somewhere on each page. If the submission is prose heavy, please double-space. Use a standard font.
- Submissions filed by professional coordinating services will not be considered, nor will submissions we’ve already rejected in the past.
- We are unable to provide monetary compensation for accepted submissions at this time. We are a team of volunteers, and all funds that we raise go towards administrative costs of running the magazine. However, contributors selected for upcoming print editions will receive physical copies of their work.
- All submissions will be read.