Submissions Open January 15, 2024 to April 15, 2024
Pangyrus publishes well-crafted, thought-provoking essays, poems, stories, and comics online and in two print editions each year (one anthology and one specialty book). We welcome work in any genre and on all topics.
Some of the work we accept will appear in our 12th print issue (Winter 2024-2025)! The theme for the issue is "Left Unsaid". We like the phrase's suggestion of mystery, innuendo, high stakes, and emotional conflict. Sometimes what's left unsaid is the cause of pain, sometimes it's the source of power.
Along with general submissions -- on the theme of "Left Unsaid" or not -- we are interested in a few specific categories: Zest!; In Sickness and In Health; Field Notes; Schooled; Generations; and The Sounding Board – themed pieces in every genre. For full descriptions of these categories please visit this section of our Submittable page. We encourage you to read us at pangyrus.com to get a sense of what we're looking for.
Accepted work will appear online. Only some work will appear in our print editions. Authors of ALL accepted work will receive a payment of $20 via PayPal or they may choose to donate the payment back to Pangyrus.
All submitted work must be wholly original and previously unpublished. Please DO NOT send revisions of your work after you've submitted it.
All messages from Pangyrus about your submissions will come to you via Submittable. Please make sure they aren't going into your spam folder. Here's what Submittable suggests:
https://submittable.help/en/articles/3221476-how-can-i-safelist-notification-emails-from-submittable
Thank you for submitting!
We are looking for high-quality nonfiction writing that connects exciting ideas, tells a compelling story, and offers a fresh perspective.
We favor two kinds of submissions: short, focused essays between 600 and 1500 words, and longer, more reported features of up to 7,500 words. Please send only one selection at a time.
The following are specific categories for Pangyrus. If you submit in one of these categories, please use the dropdown menu to let us know which:
Essays & Memoir
Any subject, any form: essays, memoir, reviews, cultural and political commentaries, travel, love, and living. If you think it would be entertaining or thought provoking for our readers, send it our way!
Craft and Career
As a journal deeply committed to finding new voices and developing new talent, we love insight into word work. Send us your essays on the creative process, on making a life as a writer and artist, and on overlooked essentials of craft.
Zest! (Food Writing)
We want writing that’s not only in good taste, we want writing that tastes good. Wow us with memories of that perfect dish — or the perfect disaster. Tell the story of a region, a history, a family, a love, a war, through meals shared and soufflés ruined.
In Sickness and In Health
Give us perspective on the way we live now, drawing on anything from personal narrative to reporting to the science (and art) of public health. Be political, be personal, be whatever you need to be to stay authentic to your lived experiences and observations. This is a time we need shared voices.
Field Notes (Science and Environment)
We’re looking for innovative perspectives from researchers, professors, engineers, clinicians, and onlookers who can shine a light on science in the modern world. Our goal is to bring your voice and recent findings from the bench to our readers’ living rooms. Give us an unexpected and expansive view into the forces and faces shaping the world we live in now — and into the resistance to them. At the moment, we are especially interested in women in science, environment and ecology, and in science affected by today’s political climate.
Schooled (Education)
We’re looking for stories and perspectives from all levels of education, personal stories from teachers, students, and parents. Take us deeper into theory, practice and policy. Tell us about life in and out of the classroom and on (and off) campus in the pandemic, about transformative moments, and about the state of democracy as reflected in our schools.
The Sounding Board (Politics)
We're looking for essays that probe the politics of the moment or the politics of the past. National or international, local or worldwide — give us your take on why these issues matter, what forces shape and define this problem, and where we go from here.
Generations (Family)
Whether it's our birth family, our given family, our chosen family, family is the heart and often heartache in our lives. We want to read about these most significant connections and the tangled emotions that go along with them. Word limit: 7,500.
We are interested in showing the range of poetry that exists in the contemporary moment.
First and foremost, we publish poetry in a wide range of styles and voices that moves us deeply and has us see the world in a new way.
In addition, our specific categories: Zest!; In Sickness and In Health; Field Notes; and Schooled are always open to poetry submissions. Please see the nonfiction section for full descriptions.
Please send a maximum of 3 poems contained within a single document. Because our volume of submissions is high, we ask that you submit only once per reading period.
We are looking for well-crafted, thought-provoking fiction. Stories that are original, passionate, and surprising, with strong narratives and an implicit understanding of people interacting with each other win us over. The tastes of our editorial team are far-ranging and eclectic. We welcome any and all work that displays the rare gift of storytelling, that pulls our readers into the narrative and holds them there until the end. New voices and diverse voices are also a keen interest of ours.
Our specific categories of Zest!, In Sickness and In Health, Field Notes, Schooled, and Generations are always open to compelling fiction as well. Please see the nonfiction section for full descriptions.
Word count: Submissions should be a maximum of 7,500 words. Because our volume of submissions is high, we ask that you send only one submission per reading period. Please, no previously published work.
We're looking for stories where the words and images work together to bring readers into places and emotional states they otherwise might not reach with the same immediacy.
We publish comics both online and in print, short form (10 pages or less).
General comics submissions are welcome as are pieces that explore our specific categories: Zest!; In Sickness and In Health; Field Notes; and Schooled. Please see the nonfiction section for full descriptions.