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"MAYDAY presents new poetry, fiction, nonfiction, translations, cultural commentary, and visual art to an international community of readers. We publish artists that explore culture and history; politics regional and global; the past, present, and future."

"MAYDAY presents new poetry, fiction, nonfiction, translations, cultural commentary, and visual art to an international community of readers. We publish artists that explore culture and history; politics regional and global; the past, present, and future."

Vibe

Send us your best but less intimidating

Response Time

2 months / 54 days

Acceptance Rate

14% / 6.25%

  • Payment

    Yes: see Genres section for details

  • Fee

    No

  • Simultaneous submissions

    Yes

  • Previously published

    No

  • Expedited response

    No

  • Available in print

    No

  • Provides contributor copies

    No

  • Examples online

    Yes

  • Active on social media

    Yes

Accepted genres

8 genres

Fiction

Max words: 3000

Max pieces: 1

Please only send one full-length submission at a time or up to three flash fiction/short-short submissions, under 1,000 words each. We are i...

Flash Fiction

Max words: 1000

Max pieces: 3

Nonfiction

Max words: 5000

We seek personal, critical, and hybrid essays that move, engage, and transport us and our readers. We are sure to respond to many things, bu...

Poetry

Max pieces: 3

10 pages max

Review

Max words: 1500

We publish reviews (typically 1,000-1,500 words) of books either forthcoming or published in the last six months, preferably from small pres...

Interview

Max words: 1500

We’re interested in interviews with contemporary artists, writers, critics, and other notable cultural figures.

Translation

Poetry and prose from any language translated to English will be considered. Please include a brief translator’s note if you would like to p...

Art

Max pieces: 5

Please submit no more than five high-resolution JPEG files that include the title in the file name, along with a brief cover letter describi...

Fiction

Max words: 3000

Max pieces: 1

Please only send one full-length submission at a time or up to three flash fiction/short-short submissions, under 1,000 words each. We are i...

Flash Fiction

Max words: 1000

Max pieces: 3

Nonfiction

Max words: 5000

We seek personal, critical, and hybrid essays that move, engage, and transport us and our readers. We are sure to respond to many things, bu...

Poetry

Max pieces: 3

10 pages max

Review

Max words: 1500

We publish reviews (typically 1,000-1,500 words) of books either forthcoming or published in the last six months, preferably from small pres...

Interview

Max words: 1500

We’re interested in interviews with contemporary artists, writers, critics, and other notable cultural figures.

Translation

Poetry and prose from any language translated to English will be considered. Please include a brief translator’s note if you would like to p...

Art

Max pieces: 5

Please submit no more than five high-resolution JPEG files that include the title in the file name, along with a brief cover letter describi...

Statistics

We're able to provide them because you use our tracker!
You're the best!

Track submission

29

Total submissions tracked

54 days

Average response time

14% / 6.25%

Average acceptance rate

1 days

Fastest response time

111 days

Slowest response time

*Weird response times we excluded from calculations: 168 days

How to submit

Process

We use Submittable.

Cover letters

In lieu of a cover letter, include a bio of up to 100 words in the appropriate field, as well as any social media handles where indicated in the Submittable form.

Eligibility

No specific eligibility requirements

Formatting

For prose: Your submission should be double-spaced and in standard font and style. We prefer .doc files, but .docx, .rtf, and Open Office files are okay, too.

Rights for published work

Rights revert to author upon publication. Please credit MAYDAY with first publication if the work is republished elsewhere.

Additional info

Open year round Payment for work published at MAYDAY is according to the following flat rates: Book Reviews and Interviews: $20 Creative Nonfiction: $20 Culture: $20 Fiction: $20 (traditional stories), $10 (flash fiction) MAYDAY:Black: $50 Poetry: $10 Translation: $20 (stories), $10 (poems) Visual Art: $10

About the Magazine

Founded in 2009 | United States

First published by New American Press in 2009 and relaunched with an expanded editorial staff in 2020, MAYDAY presents new poetry, fiction, nonfiction, translations, cultural commentary, and visual art to an international community of readers. MAYDAY takes its name from the international distress call derived from the phonetic French m’aider (“help me!”). Recalling William Carlos Williams’ famous remark that “it is difficult to get the news from poems yet men die miserably every day for lack of what is found there,” MAYDAY features art that compels our attention by virtue of its urgency, something we find there that sustains us, excites us, reveals new ways of being and knowing in a complex and ever-changing world. While MAYDAY is a literary magazine, we recognize that great literature has often been genre literature. We publish artists that explore culture and history; politics regional and global; the past, present, and future. Send us writing that surprises us, introduces images and ideas in new and strange ways, that complicates our perspectives. Send us fiction, poetry, personal essays, translations, reviews, visual art, and cultural criticism that have achieved a balance of craft and story so compelling that we cannot look away. We must read more. We welcome writers working in English or in translation anywhere in the world, especially those who have been marginalized historically, including writers of color, queer and trans writers, disabled writers, and others who have suffered systemic discrimination. MAYDAY nominates for The Best of the Net, the PEN/Robert J. Dau Short Story Prize, and the Pushcart Prize.

Masthead

We currently list only main editors, more will be added later! If you are an editor, you can edit your masthead in our admin panel :)

David Bowen

Executive Director

Chase Erwin

Managing Editor

Emma Daley

Assistant Managing Editor

Nathan Winer

Assistant Managing Editor