About the Journal
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.
Masthead
Editor-in-Chief – Melissa Wade
Managing Editor – Timothy Johnson
Poetry Editor – Millie Tullis
Assistant Poetry Editor – Christian Stanzione
Fiction Editor – Zachary Barnes
Assistant Fiction Editor – Kevin Binder
Nonfiction Editor – Sarah Wilson
Assistant Nonfiction Editor – Lena Crown
Social Media Manager – Millie Tullis
Webmaster – Kate Keeney
Blog Editor – Leah Sumrall
Readers
Marcielo Ampudia, Kathleen Callahan, Ariel Campos, Meaghan Clohessy, Frannie Dove, Jenny Fried, Bareerah Ghani, Shaun Holloway, Julie Iannone, Ben Inks, Alaina Johansson, Kate Keeney, Emilie Knudsen, Chris McGlone, Martin Mitchell, Ivan Moore, Andrew Nosti, Farheen Raparthi, Stephanie Runyon, Erin Snyder, Kate Steagall, Leah Sumrall, Asa Sutton, Grace Taber, Kathy Vinogradoff, Andrew J. White
From the Editors
Poetry
We want to see poems interacting with the materiality of language, the unit of the line as part and whole, and an awareness of the reader and the larger cultural and historical contexts. We like poems that build on an awareness of place, the vastness of the interior and exterior; poems with a focus on experience, image, and economy of language.
-Millie Tullis and Christian Stanzione, Poetry Editor and Assistant Editor
Fiction
The phoebe fiction team is looking for short stories, flash fiction, and micro fiction that pack an emotional or intellectual punch and deliver an honest, affecting, and human reading experience. We appreciate weirdness and therefore prefer writing that takes risks over that which plays it safe but lacks urgency or soul. While we don’t have a strict word count, we publish around 45 pages of fiction each issue—pieces upwards of 4,500 words or 15 standard manuscript pages must justify their length to merit inclusion. We look forward to reading your work.
-Zachary Barnes and Kevin Binder, Fiction Editor and Assistant Editor
Nonfiction
We are excited by nonfiction that faces down risk, embraces complexity, and tests the bounds of form, craft and language in an intentional way. We look for essays from the lyric to the journalistic that engage in vibrant exploration and inquiry; we look for memoir and narrative writing that explores the complications and subtleties of those expansive modes. Above all, however, we want nonfiction that wrestles with ideas in order to reveal larger truths about life and the world through unique lenses, representing diverse identities and voices with intellectual and emotional honesty. Submitted work should be stand-alone. On our pages, we aim for a mixture of brevity and breadth, and we warmly welcome submissions from both emerging and experienced writers.
—Sarah Wilson and Lena Crown, Nonfiction Editor and Assistant Editor