SUBMISSIONS ARE open!

Submissions are currently open for Issue II!

Submissions will be accepted from October 1, 2026, at 12:01 a.m. ET through November 1, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. ET.

And this time, we have a theme: New Beginnings & Letting Go

For our second issue, we’re looking for work that captures the energy of starting over, breaking away, or burning it down—building something new, or maybe even realizing that “new” doesn’t always mean “better.”

For more submission information regarding Issue II, please go to our Call for Submissions: Issue II post or read our guidelines below.

We look forward to reading more of your work soon!

General Submission GUIDELINES

Thank you for your interest in submitting to After Midnight. We’re excited to read your work! We are committed to supporting diverse voices and publishing work that challenges, inspires, and expands our understanding of storytelling. We welcome submissions from writers of all backgrounds and experience levels.

Please submit unpublished works.

We allow simultaneous submissions—writers, please notify us and withdraw your piece if your work is selected for publication elsewhere. If you withdraw your work, you may submit another piece in the same genre.

Once an agreement to publish has been reached, authors grant After Midnight first publication rights and permission to publish the accepted work. All rights revert to the author after publication.

We do not accept work that has been generated with AI at any stage in the writing. If you submit stories written by AI, you will not be considered for publication.

Submissions are open to all writers. We would like to see more narratives from marginalized identities, and encourage them to submit.

We do not discriminate on the basis of age, ancestry, disability, family status, gender identity or expression, national origin, race, religion, sex or sexual orientation, or for any other reason.

Additionally, we do not tolerate discrimination in the writing we consider for publication. Work we find discriminatory on any of the bases stated here will be declined without complete review.

Our editorial team will respond to every submission within four weeks. Due to the volume of submissions we receive, we appreciate your patience during the review process.

Thank you for sharing your work with us. We look forward to reading your stories.

Please refer to the department-specific guidelines below. When ready, please navigate to the ‘Ready to Submit’ section. If you have questions, email submissions@aftermidnightlitmag.com.

Department-Specific GUIDELINES

What We’re Looking For
We welcome reviews that offer a critical perspective of literary works of any genre.

Please submit a constructive, critical book review that offers an articulate and nuanced perspective. Rather than summarizing the plot, please make an argument about the text. Consider analyzing how the author uses craft, literary, and/ or rhetorical elements.

We are more interested in books that have recently been published, but if you can make a case for why we need a review of a less-recent book, we are open to reading it.

Length: 700-1400 words

Formatting
– Specify title, author, genre, and year of publication at the top of your document.
– Include your name, title of your review, and your email address.
– Use size 12 font (Times New Roman, Arial, or Georgia) and double-space your submission.
– Submit as a Word Doc or as a Google Doc.

What We’re Looking For
We review literary nonfiction, but are open to a variety of genres and styles including memoir, lyric essays, personal essays, narrative nonfiction, speculative creative nonfiction, and experimental prose.

Please submit work primarily written in English, but some code-switching/meshing is warmly welcomed.

Length: 1000-5000 words

We respect your lived experiences; however, please refrain from sending work that has excessive gore or glorifies trauma. We want to see healing narratives! If you are unsure whether to submit, we encourage you to try.

Formatting
– Specify title and author at the top of your document.
– Use size 12 font (Times New Roman, Arial, or Georgia) and double-space your submission.
– Submit as a Word Doc or as a Google Doc.

What We’re Looking For
We are eager to read every genre of fiction!

Length: 1000-5000 words

We welcome experimental fiction, and we recognize that there is no one-size-fits-all guideline for experimental pieces. Our primary concern is the accessibility of our website, and we are happy to work with you to find a format that achieves readability on web, tablet, and mobile views while still honoring the spirit of your piece.

Formatting
– Specify title and author at the top of your document.
– Use size 12 font (Times New Roman, Arial, or Georgia) and double-space your submission.
– Submit as a Word Doc or as a Google Doc.

What We’re Looking for
Length: up to 1000 words

You may submit 1-3 pieces of flash fiction. If you are submitting multiple pieces, please submit them separately.

Submissions must be:
– Original and unpublished
– Written in English or translated to English
– Submitted as a Word document

Any genre is accepted within the flash fiction category, such as but not limited to:
– Literary fiction
– Speculative fiction
– Horror
– Fantasy
– Science fiction
– Romance
– Inspirational
– Experimental fiction
– Microfiction (max. 300 words)

Formatting
– Specify title and author at the top of your document.
– Use size 12 font (Times New Roman, Arial, or Georgia) and double-space your submission.
– Submit as a Word Doc or as a Google Doc.

What We’re Looking for
We are looking for creative pedagogical essays, sample syllabi, and engaging activities in K-12 and higher education. Essays on andragogy, or the practice of teaching adults, are also welcome. Our pedagogy department will also review thought pieces on critical issues/trends in education, like funding, personal educational experiences, hidden curricula, teaching philosophy, AI and students’ learning, and other trends not mentioned. Please note that we will not publish pedagogical essays that encourage or contain unexamined bigotry, stereotyping, or discrimination of any kind.

Note:
– If including a critical thought piece, please use URL links for source material or facts and figures.
– You may submit up to 1-3 pedagogical pieces total.

Formatting
– Specify title and author at the top of your document.
– Use size 12 font (Times New Roman, Arial, or Georgia) and double-space your submission.
– Submit as a Word Doc or as a Google Doc.

What We’re Looking For
We welcome and encourage diverse voices and forms of poetry. Please note that we will not publish poetry that encourages or contains unexamined racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, ableism, or any other form of bigotry.

We have a limit of two poems; submissions must be up to 5 pages maximum. If you are submitting multiple pieces, please submit them separately.

Note:
Please be cognizant that we are currently a digital-only publication, and certain formatting decisions and/or very long lines may appear differently (potentially incorrectly) on mobile devices and e-reader devices.

In your submission document, please format it so that each poem is clearly marked. Your poem titles do not need to be capitalized, bolded, or specially formatted (unless done so intentionally, by you). Ensure the font type and size are easily readable.

Formatting*
– Specify title and author at the top of your document.
– Use size 12 font (Times New Roman, Arial, or Georgia).
– Submit as a Word Doc or as a Google Doc.

Note: We welcome experimentation with formatting, structure, spacing, and visual styles. Poets are encouraged to explore creative approaches to presentation, provided the work remains readable and accessible to all readers.

What We’re Looking For
We invite artists, illustrators, photographers and other visual creatives to submit work for consideration. We are looking for artwork that embodies the concept of After Midnight Literary Magazine as well as the idea of “new beginnings”—work that captures the energy of starting over, breaking away, or burning it down, building something new, or maybe even realizing that “new” doesn’t always mean “better”—anything you can think of that is visually striking and reflective of the creative spirit of our magazine.

The selected artwork will appear as the cover of our upcoming online issue and may also be featured on our website and social media when promoting the issue. The artist will be fully credited wherever the cover artwork is featured.

We welcome a variety of visual mediums, including:
– Illustration
– Digital Art
– Painting
– Drawing
– Photography
– Collage
– Mixed media
– Other forms of original visual artwork

Guidelines
Please review the following specifications before submitting:
– Orientation: Portrait/vertical artwork is strongly preferred.
– Aspect Ratio: Approximately 2:3~
– Image Size: At least 1600 x 2400 pixels. Larger files are welcome.
– Resolution: High-resolution images are preferred. 300 DPI is recommended when available, particularly for traditionally created or photographed artwork.
– Files Types: JPG, JPEG or PNG for initial submissions.
– File size: Please no larger than 10MB.
– Artwork should be submitted without the magazine title, issue number, or any text incorporated into the image unless the text is an intentional part of the artwork.
– Please keep important visual elements away from the extreme edges of the image—minor cropping may be necessary for the website and promotional materials.
– Submissions must be the artist’s original work. NO form of AI will be accepted.

If your piece is selected, we may contact you for a larger or higher resolution version of the image.

We look forward to seeing your work and discovering the piece that will become the face of our next issue!

Ready to Submit?

Review the appropriate department guidelines above before sending your work. Use our submission form below.

Submit to After Midnight Literary Magazine

If you have any questions, please email
submissions@aftermidnightlitmag.com