WE ARE CURRENTLY CLOSED FOR SUBMISSIONS UNTIL SEPTEMBER 2023
SEND US YOUR BEST POEMS, SHORT FICTION, NONFICTION, PLAYS, AND ART
Our staff is currently reading submissions for Volume 72 (to be published May 2023). The submission deadline is December 15, 2022. During our reading period, submissions are evaluated on a rolling basis. If you submitted when our reading period was closed (May 2022 - August 2022), your work may not be considered and we encourage you to resubmit. (For submissions to the high school contest, please scroll to the bottom of this page for details.) If your submission had been accepted elsewhere, please withdraw your submission.
We’re excited about receiving genre-defiant submissions including (but not limited to):
Poetry Comics, Prose Poems, Flash Fiction, Flash Essays, Lyric Essays, Graphic Novel Excerpts, Graphic Memoir Excerpts, Video Essays, Speculative Nonfiction
PDFs of our back issues can be found on our website: wp.towson.edu/grubstreetlitmag.
Editor's Statement
In our mission to challenge mainstream narratives, we encourage writers from underrepresented populations to submit their creative work: Black, Indigenous, Latinx, and other people of color, as well as differently-abled, neurodiverse, and people in the LGBTQ community. For Volume 72, we are especially excited about pieces with: dark vs. light imagery, trans and intersex experiences, feminist themes, climate change, works written in other languages that are translated into English, and familial or emotionally charged relationships. The staff of Grub Street is committed to supporting emerging writers in the development of their work and will work with submitters personally to help them realize their artistic goals.
Submission Guidelines
Only previously unpublished works (either in print or online) will be considered for publication. Please submit one work per file. Do not submit group submissions (i.e., if you submit five poems, do not put all five poems into one document. Please create five separate documents for each poem.) We read submissions in a blind-review process, so please remove all identifying information from your works. (i.e; title pages, headers, document file titles, etc) Genre-specific guidelines are as follows:
- Poetry: Up to five poems may be submitted for consideration. Please submit one poem per document. Documents should be .doc or .docx files only.
- Fiction: Up to two pieces of fiction may be submitted for consideration. Please submit one prose piece per document. Documents should be .doc or .docx files only. Please keep each fiction submission under 6,000 words.
- Creative Nonfiction: Up to two pieces of creative nonfiction may be submitted for consideration. Please submit one prose piece per document. Documents should be .doc or .docx files only. Please keep each nonfiction submission under 6,000 words.
- Visual Art: Up to five works of visual art may be submitted for consideration. Visual art should be at least 4x6 inches and sent as a .png, .raw or high-quality .jpeg file with at least 300dpi and a size of at least 1MB.
If you have questions or concerns about these guidelines that are not addressed in our FAQ, please contact us via email at grubstreet1952@gmail.com.
High School Contest
Maryland high school students: Please send your best poetry, fiction, and/or creative nonfiction to grubstreet1952@gmail.com. Put "HIGH SCHOOL CONTEST" in the subject line. You may submit in multiple categories. You may submit up to five poems, three stories, and three essays. Stories and essays should not exceed 6,000 words. (You may also submit to the journal proper, regardless of submitting to the contest.
We look forward to receiving your work and wish you the best of luck in your literary and artistic endeavors.
ART SUBMISSIONS ARE CURRENTLY CLOSED. Follow us @grubstreettu on Instagram to learn about our 2023 submission period dates.
Visual art should be at least 4x6 inches and sent as a .png, .tiff or high-quality .jpeg file type with at least 300 dpi.
Note: If your file is smaller than 1 MB in size it is likely that we will not be able to publish it, so please send us the highest quality file that you have.
Please limit your art submissions to a maximum of five. Submissions received in excess of this limit will not be reviewed.
FICTION SUBMISSIONS ARE CURRENTLY CLOSED. Follow us @grubstreettu on Instagram to learn about our 2023 submission period dates.
Please submit only one work per file, and please limit your submissions to five poems and two prose pieces per issue. Any works submitted in excess of this limit will not be reviewed.
NONFICTION SUBMISSIONS ARE CURRENTLY CLOSED. Follow us @grubstreettu on Instagram to learn about our 2023 submission period dates.
Please submit only one work per file, and please limit your submissions to five poems and two prose pieces per issue. Any works submitted in excess of this limit will not be reviewed.
POETRY SUBMISSIONS ARE CURRENTLY CLOSED. Follow us @grubstreettu on Instagram to learn about our 2023 submission period dates.
Please submit only one work per file, and please limit your submissions to five poems and two prose pieces per issue. Any works submitted in excess of this limit will not be reviewed.