Submissions!
Submission Guidelines
***General Submissions for Issue #8 are currently OPEN!!!***
***Submissions for Issue 8’s theme-page “Bright Lights, Dark City” are currently OPEN***
We are looking for original, unpublished work; however, we are also all about reprinting strong pieces that aren't done making their “rounds” (just let us know where reprints were originally published and acknowledge you currently retain the rights to them). Please do let us know if your submission (or part of your submission) has been accepted elsewhere ASAP by leaving us a “Note” via our Submittable page so we can omit said portion from consideration and give you a heartfelt “Congratulations!”
The Argyle accepts general submissions for poetry, short fiction, essays, interviews, reviews, and more.
Short fiction, CNF, & Essays – up to 3 pieces (approximately 3,000 words each). We can be a little flexible for longer pieces).
Poetry – up to 6 poems (no limitations, but rhyme at your own risk).
Interviews & Reviews – query us to pitch your ideas.
Articles - between 750 and 2500 words is the "sweet spot" (and pay careful attention to overuse of passive voice). The Argyle is open to articles about writing, art, and especially the intersections between writing, literature, the visual arts, and culture. Query us to pitch your ideas.
Digital Art - up to 5 submissions. Color and black & white accepted. Work that is strongly poetic and/or narrative works nicely. This includes multi-modal prose/verse submissions.
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Theme 07: “Bright Lights, Dark City”
Now that we have had a taste of the rural life (Theme 06: “Bucolia”), The Argyle now has a hankering for a taste of the “big city”…but with a twist. Our new theme for Issue No. 8 is “Bright Lights, Dark City,” so we would we will be accepting submissions of poetry, fiction, nonfiction, and digital art that center around urban life with all its glamors and all its pitfalls.
We want front row seats for the “rat race.” Accounts from casualties of urban sprawl. Mainly, though, we want glimpses of life underground that are strange enough to be true, which could inlcude (but are not limited to) existential crises in art galleries, the plight of sex dungeons during a nationwide bleach shortage, street vendors with questionably sourced ingredients, street prophets that can actually predict the future, socialites who run illegal cockfights in their poolhouses, and desperate writers that sell their souls to the devil for a spot in the Paris Review.
Give us the real. Give us the absurd. Give us a dazzling—but sobering—look at the dirty underbelly of city life. Above all, your submissions should reflect the humanity beneath it all. The triumphs. The failings. The ongoing struggle for more ____________ (fill in the blank).
Have fun with it!
Submission Guidelines:
Short fiction, CNF, & Essays – up to 3 pieces (approximately 3,000 words each). We can be a little flexible for longer pieces).
Poetry – up to 6 poems (no limitations, but rhyme at your own risk).
Digital Art - up to 5 submissions. Color and black & white accepted. Work that is strongly poetic and/or narrative works nicely. This includes multi-modal prose/verse submissions.
***Submissions for Theme 07: "Bright Lights, Dark City" close on May 31, 2026 @ 11:59 PM CST.***
The Argyle’s Disappearing Virtual Chapbooks Series
Every online issue will include at least one vanishing (mirco)chap of poetry, fiction, or non-fiction that will last only one issue (after which, it will disappear into the vastness of nothingness). We will also consider hybrid manuscripts. Published micro chaps will include:
Poetry - 8 to 10 poems
Fiction - 3 to 4 short stories (between 1,000 and 3,000 words each)
Nonfiction - 3 to 4 essays (between 750 and 3,000 words each)
Hybrid - content will vary
*Regular-length chapbooks will be larger in size (content will vary).
Successful submissions generally will follow a common theme (or vibe) and—more importantly—work as a collection. Individual pieces must uniquely shine on their own but also resonate with each other to create a singular, cohesive experience overall.
To submit a chapbook manuscript for consideration, please include:
Poetry - 12-15 poems
Fiction - 4 to 5 short stories (between 1,000 and 3,000 words each)
Nonfiction - 4 to 5 essays (between 750 and 3,000 words each)
Hybrid - Content will vary; however, submissions should contain enough material (for each genre represented) to curate a final product.
Submissions may include previously published material; HOWEVER, no more than 10% of the submission’s content may be previously published. Authors must also hold the right to reprint said piece(s) and include the name(s) of the publishers in their submissions.
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***No submissions created with AI (either partially or totally) may be submitted for consideration!***
Simultaneous and Previously Published Work
We encourage simultaneous submissions of your work. We do ask that if your submission (or part of your submission) is accepted elsewhere, you contact us ASAP via our submissions manager Submittable via “Messages” and let us know so we can remove said work from consideration.
We also accepted previously published work for general (and some “themed”) submissions. Submitters must possess the right to reprint their work and attest to that fact in their submission emails, also providing the name of the original publisher, so we can give the proper credit.
Submission Fees and Payment
General, Theme, and (Micro)Chap submissions to The Argyle are always free. Currently, we are not able to pay our contributors in anything but undying gratitude and virtual hugs; HOWEVER, we will gladly promote your work (submitted or otherwise) on social media. Just shoot us an email at contact@theargylelitmag.com with an update so we can spread the news.
Rights
The Argyle Literary Magazine asks for First Electronic Rights and Non-Exclusive Archival Rights. All other rights remain with the artist. Agreeing to have your work published in The Argyle also means you agree to have your work (or parts of your work) printed in digital/paper issues of the magazine (if produced) and future anthologies, as well as mentioned and/or discussed in any of The Argyle’s podcasts, social media postings, interviews, shindigs, and/or other happenings. Of course, we do ask if you reprint your work elsewhere that you credit The Argyle as the original publisher.
Again, we are all about reprinting strong work, so those submitting pieces for reprint must possess the rights to do so and attest to that fact in their submission emails. The Argyle Literary Magazine assumes no liability for unlawfully submitted material.
