phoebe publishes poetry, fiction, nonfiction, and visual art. Above all, we seek to publish quality work. Please review our website, especially our latest online 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.

Submission Guidelines

  • We only accept submissions via our online submission portal, Submittable.
  • We do not consider previously published work.
  • We do not have a strict word limit for prose; however, work over 4,000 words will need to be extraordinary.
  • Regarding flash prose, we are happy to accept up to three pieces of less than 1,000 words each. Please paste these together in a single document and submit them via the standard fiction or nonfiction portal.
  • Poetry submissions should contain 3-5 poems, totaling no more than ten pages.
  • We welcome multiple submissions, but each should follow the guidelines above.
  • Writers, we prefer that you submit your work as a Word Document, or another similar processing system, rather than as a PDF. Visual Artists may use PDFs to submit multiple works of art, but should be prepared with a high-resolution version of their files upon their work’s acceptance to the journal.
  • We allow and encourage simultaneous submissions. If your submission is no longer available for publication, please use our online submission portal to withdraw it as soon as possible. If you need to withdraw a single poem or piece of flash prose, please add a note to your submission and email us at phoebeliterature@gmail.com.
  • We strive to respond to submissions 30 days after the submissions period closes. If you have not heard from us 60 days after the submissions period closes, feel free to inquire about the status of your submission.
  • If you’ve submitted to phoebe in the past, or if you’ve been published in our journal before, you are welcome to submit your work again.
  • Contributors to the print editions receive one copy of the journal upon publication, along with our gratitude and respect.
  • phoebe welcomes and hopes to see literary and visual art from writers and artists of all races, ethnicities, national origins, religions, sexes, sexual orientations, genders, gender expressions, ages, abilities, military statuses, and other distinguishing identity traits. phoebe also welcomes and hopes to see literary and visual art from writers and artists of all genres, styles, and aesthetics. phoebe makes every effort to be open to all and closed to no one.
  • phoebe does not accept submissions from current or former students of George Mason University’s creative writing program or any other affiliates of George Mason University. If you have a question regarding your eligibility, please send us an email at phoebeliterature@gmail.com.
  • Regarding our spring contests, the payment of a monetary prize is subject to U.S. laws and regulations, including those that prohibit payments to persons from or who reside in countries subject to U.S. sanctions.

Publication Rights

Upon publication of your work in phoebe, we ask for the following:

 

1) First American rights for print publication of the Work in a future issue of Phoebe.

 

2) Indefinite non-exclusive rights for electronic publication of the Work at www.phoebejournal.com, as well as through Phoebe’s social media websites and newsletters.

 

3) Possible inclusion of the Work in a future anthology published by Phoebe Press.

 

All other rights remain the author’s.

See what our contributors have done

Best of the Net 2021 Nominees

Welcome to Bad Mom Club” by Marne Litfin, Nonfiction, Issue 50.2

Hooverville” by Natalie Casagran Lopez, Fiction, Issue 50.2

When the Sound of Bleating Calls You Home” by Stephanie Yu, Fiction, Issue 50.2

Best New Poets Nominees

Genevieve DeGuzman, “Close Encounter at Dance Party,” Issue 49.1

Daniel Neff, “Elegy for Camille Monet,” Issue 49.1

2021 Pushcart Prize Nominees

Nonfiction

Welcome to Bad Mom Club” by Marne Litfin, Issue 50.2
Memories of Ace, in Reverse Chronological Order” by Megan Falley, Issue 50.2
Another Word for Gone” by Jessica Rapisarda, Issue 50.2

Fiction

Hooverville” by Natalie Casagran Lopez, Issue 50.2
When the Sound of Bleating Calls You Home” by Stephanie Yu, Issue 50.2
North of Wilshire” by Isabella Welch, Issue 50.1

2020 Pushcart Prize Nominees

Manhunt” by Kira Homsher, Nonfiction, Issue 49.2

Air People” by Leslie Johnson, Fiction, Issue 49.1

2019 Pushcart Prize Nominees

Prose

Mac McCaskill, “Bones”
Fiction, Issue 48.1, January 2019

Jessica Kinnison, “Pal”
Nonfiction, Issue 48.1, January 2019

Tyler Barton, “The Idler”
Fiction, Issue 48.2, May 2019

S.G. Veil, “Porches”
Nonfiction, Issue 48.2, May 2019

Poetry

Laura Romeyn, “Overlook”
Poetry, Issue 48.1, January 2019

Larissa Szporluk, “Epiphyte”
Poetry, Issue 48.2, May 2019