phoebe prides itself on supporting up-and-coming writers, whose style, form, voice, and subject matter demonstrate a vigorous appeal to the senses, intellect, and emotions of our readers. We choose our writers because we believe their work succeeds at its goals, regardless of whether those goals are to uphold or challenge literary tradition.
We insist on openness, which means we welcome both experimental and conventional prose and poetry, and we insist on being entertained, which means the work must capture and hold our attention, whether it be the potent language of a poem or the narrative mechanics of a short story. Above all, we seek to publish quality writing. Please review our website, especially our latest issue, for an idea of the caliber of writing we publish.
We produce a print issue in fall/winter and an online issue in spring/summer. We’re generally open for submissions from late summer to early fall for the print issue and from mid-winter to early spring for the online issue. The online issue is comprised of the winners (and possibly several honorable mentions) of our annual contests in fiction, poetry, and nonfiction.
phoebe: publishing original work since 1971.
If you have any other questions, please send us an email at phoebeliterature@gmail.com.
phoebe is published by George Mason University’s Office of Student Media, which is dedicated to providing hands-on, experiential learning opportunities for students who aspire to a career in media production or journalism. If you would like to donate to the Mason Student Media Fund, click here to give now.
Editor-in-Chief – Taylor Schaefer
Managing Editor – Jacob Sharp
Poetry Editor – Tori Reynolds
Assistant Poetry Editor – Taylor Franson-Thiel
Fiction Editor – Connor Harding
Assistant Fiction Editor – Scott Hovdey
Nonfiction Editor – Faith Palermo
Assistant Nonfiction Editor – Austin LaVigne
Website Editor – Elena Macdonald
Social Media Editor – Nicholas Ritter
Layout and Design Editor – Bri Chapman
Incarcerated Writers Project Coordinators –
Katey Funderburgh & Maya Gudapati
Bareerah Ghani, Bodie Fox, Bri Chapman, Camille Rimbawa, Chris McGlone, Elizabeth Terrell, Elena Macdonald, Grace Wood, Ivan Antonio Moore, Jaime Goh, Jessika Bouvier, Judy Lesserman, Kale Connerty, Katherine Harnisch, Lee Krauss, Matti Ben-Lev, McKinley Johnson, Radhika Wheelock, Shabnam Bozzelli, Sophia Ross, Taylor Franson Thiel, Mac (Thomas) Mckenzie, Serena Grant
As poets, we love to see poems that are aware of themselves in relation to the world around them. Specifically, we like to read poems with an awareness of self and place, and how language, image, and form amplify both. We love poems that make smart use of lines. Send us poems that you are proud to have written, send us poems that tell a narrative, send us poems that leave the reader stunned. We look forward to reading your submissions.
– Tori Reynolds & Taylor Franson-Thiel, Poetry Editor and Assistant Editor
The phoebe fiction team is looking for micro fiction, flash fiction, and short stories that deliver an honest, affecting, and human reading experience. We find that fiction is at its best when it takes risks and pursues authenticity over convention. We encourage experimentation with modality and crave complexity, and we believe that part of what makes a piece excellent is its voice. We eagerly welcome BIPOC, (dis)abled, LGBTQIA+, and non-Western perspectives. Please send us your work that has soul and urgency— the drafts that push narrative form and tell uniquely powerful stories. Pieces published in phoebe are often briskly paced (fewer than 5,000 words), but longer works of exceptional quality can also find a home here. We look forward to reading your work!
– Connor Harding & Scott Hovdey, Fiction Editor and Assistant Editor
The phoebe nonfiction team is looking for personal, lyric, and journalistic essays (and everything in between!) that embrace complexity and explore unique topics, ideas, and connections. We are excited by nonfiction that reveals larger truths about the self and the world through unique lenses, representing diverse identities and voices with intellectual and emotional honesty. We also appreciate essays engaging with research and history. Teach us something new! Submitted work should be stand-alone. On our pages, we aim for a mixture of brevity and breadth from both emerging and experienced writers. We approach all essays with care and respect, and we especially welcome essays with BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, and/or trans perspectives. 🙂
– Faith Palermo & Austin LaVigne, Nonfiction Editor and Assistant Editor