University of Louisville

A journal of innovative literary and visual art. Housed at the University of Louisvillle; powered by a love of genre-bending literature.

The journal is university-affiliated, so our publication cycles are determined by the academic calendar. We begin reading for our Fall issue in August and publish in December; we begin reading for our Spring issue in January and publish in May. We will never hold submissions for more than one semester.



creative nonfiction

experimental

Magazines seeking experimental, hybrid, offbeat, dissonant, and unconventional work that doesn't conform to traditional techniques, structures, or conventions. Editor picks from Wild Roof Journal.

Where to Publish Experimental Pieces

Publications with ultra-short stories under 400 words selected for this anthology series. The definitive collection for the microfiction form.

Lit Mags Featured in Best Microfiction Anthologies

Best Microfiction, edited by Meg Pokrass and Gary Fincke, celebrates the art of the extremely brief narrative. These publications have editorial teams with particular sensitivity to the craft.

Literary Magazines That Nominate for Best Microfiction

Miracle Monocle

The Calvino Prize is an annual fiction competition sponsored by the Creative Writing Program in the English Department of the University of Louisville. They will be awarded to outstanding pieces of experimental fiction.

Calvino Prize

General call

For creative nonfiction, please submit one piece of 500-10,000 words. We're looking for essays with aspects of personal narrative, reporting, and the lyric; we're also interested in flash. Please do not send excerpts of longer works unless the piece can stand alone.

Creative Nonfiction

For fiction, please submit one piece of 1,000-10,000 words. We make space for a broad range of stories—from flash to very long short stories—but we do not publish novellas, novels, or excerpts. We accommodate traditional realism and experiment alike.

Fiction

The editorial staff of Miracle Monocle, the award-winning online literary journal housed at the University of Louisville, is pleased to announce an open call for submissions to the sixth installment of its print micro-anthology series.
When night falls and the campfire burns out, what stories get buried in the embers and trails of smoke? Tales That Survived the Fire seeks to remember the myths and legends that have been passed down through generations; to resurrect forgotten heroes and gods, and to rewake the creatures that once haunted nightmares. From the Native American wendigo to the Filipino dwende, from the Irish banshee to the African Anansi, we invite mythologies, legends, and folklore that rarely reach Western readers. Although we welcome reimagined stories of Greek and Roman mythology, we encourage retellings of tales that have been sidelined and silenced in mainstream Western media. This anthology is for the readers and writers who are drawn to the stories of their ancestors, and for those who still believe that speaking these tales aloud can summon ancient spirits.
Please submit no more than three poems, pieces of flash, or short hybrid works; no more than three images in JPEG or TIFF format; and no more than one longer work of fiction or literary nonfiction. If you are submitting multiple short pieces, please include them in the same file. There is no fee for submission and we will remain open for entry until we reach our quota or until 3/1/2026. BIPOC contributors are especially encouraged to submit. We look forward to reading your work.

Tales that Survived the Fire

For two-dimensional art, please submit no more than 3 pieces. We are especially fond of work that incorporates text, but this is more of a preference than a demand. We are open to a wide range of approaches, but tend to favor uniqueness and oddity over a strict fidelity to realistic representation. Images should be at least 300 dpi, submitted in JPG or TIFF format. RGB or CMYK please.

Visual Art

For poetry, please submit no more than three pieces. (We'd prefer if you submitted multiple pieces within one document instead of creating multiple entries.) We like unique voices that encourage us to reevaluate ourselves and the world around us, poetry that makes the familiar seem unfamiliar. We appreciate work that takes risks and offers unexpected surprises.

Poetry

For the experimental and not-easily-defined, please submit no more than three pieces. (We'd prefer if you submitted multiple pieces within one document instead of creating multiple entries.) We’re interested in flash, microfictions, nano fictions, and the like. We’re also fans of hybrid and collaborative work. In other words, we like to play host to writers who straddle the lines between genres. Length is negotiable, though flash tends to turn into something else when it exceeds 1500 words. Send your genre Frankensteins our way; they’ll find a safe home here.

Miracle Monocle

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