PHIL LIT INC.

(Lit-Lover) Publishes Quarterly: Poetry, Prose, & Art. Micropress: PHIL LIT PARAGON & Lit Lantern Chapbook Prize. Literary Nonprofit & Public Charity. 

PHIL LIT™ is a 501c3 nonprofit and public charity, home to PHIL LIT Journal and PHIL LIT Books. PHIL LIT (literature-loving) exalts both philosophy and philanthropy:  human-loving vision rooted in care, craft, and imaginative possibility.

Our mission is to publish poetry, prose, and art. We especially align with work that uplifts the human spirit while remaining honest about the realities we face. We publish work that resists scarcity mindsets and fear-driven narratives without turning away from grief or the difficulties of being alive. We’re interested in how people live, thrive, express themselves, choose, believe, doubt, grieve, endure, and imagine otherwise.

As a journal, we welcome writing that engages philosophical, metaphysical, ethical, and existential themes without sacrificing beauty, craft, surprise, or risk. As a nonprofit, our philanthropy shows up in practice: free subscriptions, kindness, transparency, respect for writers’ time and labor via short response times, free open-reading submissions, and free poetry readings.

We believe literature is a vessel, and that words can become spells of idea: thoughts charged by sound, image, and feeling, capable of stirring the soul toward action. PHIL LIT is for readers and writers who ask: What does it mean to be? To know? To feel? To refuse? To repair? To imagine beyond what we have been given?

A targeted resource for short story placements with potential for Pushcart recognition.

Fiction Magazines That Nominate for the Pushcart Prize

A curated selection of publications that regularly submit work to this prestigious annual anthology showcasing 50 poems from emerging writers.

Literary Magazines That Nominate for Best New Poets

Publications that nominate work for this respected anthology series founded in 2015 by Tara Masih to celebrate fiction under 1,000 words.

Literary Magazines That Nominate for Best Small Fictions

A comprehensive guide to journals that regularly nominate work for the Pushcart Prize.

Literary Magazines That Nominate for the Pushcart Prize

These magazines have the fastest response times, so you won't be left hanging for months. No more endless waiting. Just, you know, regular waiting.

Literary Magazines with the Fastest Response Times

Highlights publications that regularly put forward essays, memoirs, and other creative nonfiction for Pushcart consideration.

Nonfiction Magazines That Nominate for the Pushcart Prize

Focuses specifically on poetry journals with established histories of Pushcart nominations.

Poetry Magazines That Nominate for the Pushcart Prize

PHIL LIT Journal

I am excited for the release of their issues, both as a reader and a writer. I've read some great poems here. Also, great aesthetic.

Send us your best poem. (One poem per entry)<div><br></div><div>One winner will receive a $300 cash prize, publication in the annual PHIL LIT PARAGON, Poetry Anthology, mailed contributor copy, promoted in our supported media outlets, and the opportunity to Judge the next cycle.  3 Finalists will be paid a $50 honorarium, published in the anthology and mailed a contributor copy. Shortlisted Poems will be considered for publication in the anthology.
<br><div>Eligibility: Open to all writers over 18yo. Simultaneous submissions are okay. Multiple submissions are accepted, but each submission must be a new entry. Please only submit one poem per submission.&nbsp;
<br></div><div>Guidelines
  Submissions must be in English OR accompanied by a translation by original artist.
  Simultaneous submissions are allowed, but please notify us immediately if your work is accepted elsewhere.
  We do not accept AI-generated writing.
  We do not accept work that has been previously published.
  New and emerging writers are encouraged to submit.
  Please refrain from submitting work that includes erotica, excessive gore, animal abuse, or hate speech. Such submissions will be immediately rejected.</div></div>

2026W ❄️ PHIL LIT Poetry Prize

Send us your best poem. (One poem per entry)
One winner will receive a $300 cash prize, publication in the annual PHIL LIT PARAGON, Poetry Anthology, mailed contributor copy, promoted in our supported media outlets, and the opportunity to Judge the next cycle.  3 Finalists will be paid a $50 honorarium, published in the anthology and mailed a contributor copy. Shortlisted Poems will be considered for publication in the anthology.

Eligibility:
Open to all writers over 18yo.
Please only submit one poem per submission.
Simultaneous submissions are okay, but withdraw if accepted elsewhere.
Multiple submissions are accepted, but each submission must be a new entry.


Guidelines
Submissions must be in English 
Simultaneous submissions are allowed, but please WITHDRAW immediately if it is accepted elsewhere.
We do not accept AI-generated writing.
We do not accept work that has been previously published.
New and emerging writers are encouraged to submit.
Please refrain from submitting work that includes erotica, excessive gore, animal abuse, or hate speech. Such submissions will be immediately rejected.

2027S ☀️ PHIL LIT Poetry Prize

General Submissions to our Winter Issue are now open until November 13th! (or until we hit our cap) FREE TO SUBMIT<div><br></div><div>We invite work that broadly and loosely interprets the following theme: Inheritance &amp; Impressions.</div><div><br></div><div>Please read our issues to get an idea of what we publish. Our current issue is always open and free to read, with the current volume available to free subscribers.</div>

(PROSE) General Submissions - Fiction

General Submissions to our Winter Issue are now open until November 13th! (or until we hit our cap) <div><br></div><div>FREE TO SUBMIT<div><br></div><div>We invite work that broadly and loosely interprets the following theme: Inheritance &amp; Impressions.</div><div><br></div><div>Please read our issues to get an idea of what we publish. Our current issue is always open and free to read, with the current volume available to free subscribers.</div></div>

(PROSE) General Submissions - Nonfiction

(POETRY) General Submissions

PHIL LIT is accepting featured artist submissions for 2026-2028 issues (12). We select one artist per season for the Cover Art + Artist Highlight Feature: a two-four page interview and promotional spread inside the issue. But all Art Submissions will be considered for interior publication if not selected for the cover/interview.
We welcome all forms of visual art, including but not limited to: Photography  • Painting  • Illustration  • Sculpture  • Textile art & needlework  • Mixed media  • Printmaking  • Collage   • Ceramics  • Experimental work, etc As long as your work aligns with PHIL LIT’s ethos—fearless, human-first—we want to see it.
What to Submit: Please include: portfolio link or website, 3–5 sample images that are available to be published for the cover and inside your folio, an artist statement, with name, date, dimensions, materials/medium/media, etc. & a short note on how your work aligns with PHIL LIT.
What Selected Artists Receive: Cover placement, a two-four page Artist Highlight Folio inside the issue, an interview or short statement published with your work, social media features & newsletter promotion, full credit and links to your portfolio/shop.
No fee to submit. All backgrounds and experience levels welcome.
STATUS UPDATE: (SUBMISSION >> INTERVIEW >> CONFIRMED)
#3 SPRING Mar 15th - Congrats Reiner Heidorn!
#4 SUMMER June 15th - Congrats Jack Bordnick!
#5 FALL Sept 15th - Congrats Belinda Zhang!
#6 WINTER Dec 15th- Congrats Jacob Cherry!
#7 SPRING -  Congrats Bird Delaney!
#8 SUMMER -  Congrats Ara Deinde!
#9 FALL - Congrats Aleks Atyasov!
#10 WINTER - INTERVIEW STAGE
#11 SPRING -  ACCEPTING SUBMISSIONS!
#12 SUMMER -  INTERVIEW STAGE
#13 FALL -  INTERVIEW STAGE
#14 WINTER - ACCEPTING SUBMISSIONS!

PHIL LIT Journal

Highlights

About

Featured Call

(PROSE) General Submissions - Fiction

Appears in collections