Mistake House Submission Guidelines
Mistake House Magazine welcomes submissions of fiction and poetry by student writers actively enrolled in graduate and undergraduate programs around the world.
We juxtapose the works of student writers with those of established professionals, whose profiles appear by invitation in our Soap Bubble Set section.
Editorial Mission and Calls for Fiction and Poetry
In our May 2020 issue, Mistake House Magazine rolled out a new tag line: a space between ordinary and odd.
The times we live in ask writers and readers, as Audre Lorde said, to “learn to work and speak when we are afraid in the same way we have learned to work and speak when we are tired.” Since its inaugural 2015 issue, Mistake House Magazine has been committed to publishing inventive, compassionate, and insightful creative writing and art. Simply, we offer an open invitation to send us work with heart and work that tells us something fresh about the ordinary and odd world we think we know.
We welcome variety in subject, form, and perspective, including all modes of literary writing from domestic realism to speculative fiction to experimental poetry and beyond.
Submitting writers should want their work to contribute to a larger dialogue in the world. Mistake House Magazine seeks to participate in the literary community’s urgent efforts to draw on moral courage to write about pressing issues in the world today. We believe that writing honestly about current human issues is a way to be involved and make a positive impact.
Works in Translation
While we publish all works in English, we welcome the opportunity to publish global submissions and will accept work in any language. However, since we do not have an editorial staff to handle translation into English, we ask that submissions in languages other than English be accompanied by an English translation. If accepted, Mistake House will publish both versions, the original and the author’s English translation, side by side.
A Call for Photography
Mistake House Magazine also considers submissions of original photography by students enrolled in graduate and undergraduate programs. In photographic submissions, too, we are particularly interested work expressive of documentary poetics. Submitted photographs should speak to our editorial mission and to the “space between ordinary and odd” in which we currently find ourselves.
The Basics
Please provide a cover letter—no longer than one page—including: a brief bio; the name of the college or university you attend and your degree program or major; your contact info: and a brief statement about why your submitted work is a good fit for Mistake House.
The submission fee of $5 helps to defray our operating expenses.
Mistake House acquires first North American publication rights. All rights revert to the author after publication, though we request acknowledgement of first appearance in this journal.
We accept the following as Word documents or PDFs only:
Fiction: one story, preferred maximum 5,000 words
Poetry: up to three poems, preferred maximum 40 lines per poem
We accept the following as 300 dpi jpegs or tiffs:
Photography: black and white or color, up to three photographs
Three Editor’s Prizes of $100 are offered annually: one for fiction, one for poetry, and one for photography. Prizes will be announced upon publication on May 1, 2025.
We look forward to reading and seeing your work.
