Submission Guidelines

Submission windows for 2026:
April 1 to May 31
September 1 to October 31

Here at The Metaworker, we are looking for writing and art that offers a wide range of new perspectives, upends stereotypes and tropes, plays with form or style, or that otherwise surprises, challenges, or enchants. The pieces we publish may sometimes be a little rough around the edges but we enjoy them because they are one of a kind works. We accept any genre or style from people of all backgrounds.

We publish a new piece every Monday at 12pm Pacific. We also post on Fridays and sometimes Wednesdays, depending on how many submissions we accept or what fun projects we have going on (like our podcast episodes and newsletter).

Here’s a quick rundown of what you need to know:

• Include a bio written in 3rd person.
• Cover letter optional but appreciated.
• Simultaneous submissions are okay.
• Reprints published at least 2 years prior are okay.
• You cannot submit to more than one call simultaneously. Submit to EITHER general call OR micro call OR Art/Misc.
• Pieces will be published as-is. We do not accept revisions (unless requested) nor do we edit pieces (except for light proofreading). 
• Response time: 3-6 months.
• If you’ve been accepted, please wait 3 months before submitting again.

Read below for details about our three calls.

Submission Requirements for General Call:

WANT:

• 2 pieces max (aka 2 individual poems or prose pieces). 
• 3,000 words total (with page numbers).
  • If you send two pieces, the total word count of both pieces should not be more than approx. 3k words combined.
• Submit .doc .docx .txt or .rtf formats for prose.
• Send each piece in a separate file.
• Accompanying translations are okay to send alongside the English version.
• Any genres and styles.
• Works created by humans.

DO NOT WANT:

• Text written, co-written, or assisted by generative AI or LLMs. (Spell check and basic grammar check are okay.)
• Huge novel excerpts or 3+ pieces – these will be automatically declined.
• The only contact info we need from you is your email. Including other info (like address and phone number) in your submission documents is unnecessary for us. 
• Submissions by email are not accepted (unless for accessibility reasons).
• Research papers or news articles. 
• Racist, ableist, sexist, or other discriminatory works.
• Gore or sex for the sake of shock value. 
• Fonts that are unreadable.

HARD SELLS:

• Political rants
• Cancer stories
• Wake-up stories / it’s all just a dream
• Death at the end (See former EIC Matthew’s article about this)

Submission Requirements for Micro Call:

WANT:
You may submit EITHER micro prose OR micro poetry, but not both.

Micro Prose: 

• up to 5 pieces, 10 to 300 words each
• Send all pieces in a single file.
• Pieces that make every word count! 
• Strong sense of place or character.
• Pieces that leave an emotional impact and/or that are more than the sum of their parts.

OR

Micro Poetry

• up to 5 pieces, each 60 words or less
• Send all pieces in a single file.
• Surprise us! (With wordsmithery :P)
  

DO NOT WANT: 

• Text written, co-written, or assisted by generative AI or LLMs. (Spell check and basic grammar check are okay.)
• Prose pieces that read like the setup of a joke, with the last sentence being the punchline.

Submission Requirements for Art & Miscellaneous Call:

You may submit no more than 2 pieces of:

• Visual art, collage, or photography, but we do NOT accept AI art
• Web comics / illustrations / comic strip style pieces / graphic novel or picture book excerpts / plays and screenplays / hybrid works / etc.
• Experimental pieces (3,000 words max) that work well in an online format, such as:
  • Audio pieces / monologues / spoken word
  • Ergodic stories
  • Multimodal stories that include gifs or hyperlinks
• Anything else up to 3,000 words that doesn’t fit neatly into one category–surprise us!
  • (Check out our Wish List for more ideas.)
    
• If you send two writing pieces, the total word count of both pieces should not be more than approx. 3k words combined.
• For art, please include details about camera, lens, drawing/painting medium, collage materials, etc. and a short description of your piece, such as the location, what inspired you, how long it took to complete, etc.
• Stick to .jpeg, .png or .tiff files. Audio/video should be in .mp3 or .mp4 
• Place EACH of your submissions in its own individual file. (separate docs for writing, separate jpegs for images).

•  

Other stuff you should know:

• • • If your piece is accepted, you retain the copyright.
    • We currently do not pay for submissions. (But check out our Donate page because we want to change that.)
    • We accept reprints as long as you hold the copyright. Please indicate in your cover letter if you are submitting a reprint, as well as where and when it was last published.
    • Submissions you send us should be ready to publish. If there are grammatical or verb tense errors that severely impede reading, we may not accept your piece.
    • SIMULTANEOUS SUBMISSIONS: We accept them but LET US KNOW if you’re sending us one. If you receive an acceptance from another magazine, we congratulate you! But please do not email us to withdraw a submission. You should update your submission in Duosuma directly.
    • We nominate for the Pushcart Prize.
    • Since we’re an online publication, we do not accept snail mail submissions. You should REMOVE YOUR ADDRESS, PHONE NUMBER, OR OTHER SENSITIVE INFO from your submission. For cyber security reasons we actually recommend not sending your address, phone, etc. to anyone when you don’t need to. WE ONLY NEED YOUR NAME, CONTACT EMAIL, AND WORD COUNT. You can mention your general location if you’d like, since we’re a global magazine and it’s fun to see where our submitters hail from 🙂
    • Let us know your socials if you want to be tagged. 
    • We accept anything and everything. Take a look at our Wish List or listen to podcast episode #12  where we discuss what we’d like to see.
      • We accept literary as well as genre fiction.
      • We accept creative non-fiction, but we do not accept essays. (hint: if it reads more like a research paper or news article than a story, we won’t accept it.)
    • Controversial subject matter is acceptable so long as it’s not for shock value and is discussed in a thoughtful way.
    • Accepted submissions will be published approximately 3 months after your acceptance notification. You will be notified in advance of the date your piece will be published.
    • We accept submissions from people of all ages
      • Q: But what if I’m eighty?
      • A: We don’t care.
    • If you’re not sure you submitted to the correct call, never fear! We won’t reject you because of that, but please do your best to make sure you’re following the guidelines and submitting to the correct call.
    • If you get a rejection, don’t be afraid to submit again! We’re always happy to see repeat submitters in our inbox.
    • It’s “The Metaworker.”  Not “The Metalworker” or “The Meta worker”.

Now head on over to our Duosuma listing to submit, then go write some more!