At The Metaworker, we publish work that offers a wide range of new perspectives, upends stereotypes and tropes, plays with form or style, or that otherwise surprises, challenges, or enchants. New prose, poetry, art & more published every Monday at noon PST.

We are The Metaworker, an online literary magazine where great stories are forged.

Our mission is to publish great things to read. Send us the stuff you don’t think will be published anywhere else. We want new ideas, words that make us ponder, narratives that upend stereotypes. We don’t care if you’re an established writer or someone who’s never been published before, if you're a student or returning to writing after a career in something else, if you're 16 or 80, if you live in the United States, in India, in New Zealand, in Mexico – if you’ve got something you think needs to be shared with the world, submit it to us!

We publish fiction, non-fiction, poetry, art, and more on our website every Monday at noon PST, plus we sometimes post fun extras (like our podcast episodes) on Wednesdays or Fridays.
If you love what we’re doing, follow us on social media, consider donating, and invite friends! Come join us on Discord for some fun writing chats, too.

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The Metaworker Literary Magazine

General call

General

Welcome to our General category! 
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THIS MONTH'S THEMES:
"Inheritance – what we get from those who came before"
-OR-
"Alchemy and Botany"
Interpret these themes however you like, but make sure the theme is clear. That is, don’t just throw the words into a story and think that’s enough. We want to see how these themes inspire you.
Any genre is considered!
We encourage you to explore and play!
Surprise us with fresh perspectives and creative implementations.
Please pick ONE theme and submit only once in any category (Poetry, Art/Visual, Micro, Fiction, creative non-fiction, multimedia). Our standard guidelines (below) still apply.
We are so excited and can’t wait to read your submissions!
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WHAT WE WANT:
2 pieces max (aka 2 individual poems or prose pieces). 
3k words total (with page numbers).If you send two pieces, the total word count of both pieces should not be more than approx. 3k words combined.

Submit .doc .docx .txt or .rtf formats for prose.
Send each piece in a separate file.
Accompanying translations are okay to send alongside the English version.
Any genres and styles.
Works created by humans.

DO NOT WANT:
Text written, co-written, or assisted by generative AI or LLMs. (Spell check and basic grammar check are okay.)
Huge novel excerpts or 3+ pieces – these will be automatically declined.
The only contact info we need from you is your email. Including other info (like address and phone number) in your submission documents is unnecessary for us. 
Submissions by email are not accepted (unless for accessibility reasons).
Research papers or news articles. 
Racist, ableist, sexist, or other discriminatory works.
Gore or sex for the sake of shock value. 
Fonts that are unreadable.

HARD SELLS:
Political rants
Cancer stories
Wake-up stories / it’s all just a dream
Death at the end (See former EIC Matthew’s article about this)

Please see our website for the full submission guidelines: https://themetaworker.com/submissions/
 

Categories: Fiction/Nonfiction/Poetry
File types: .doc, .docx, .rtf, .txt
Number of Pieces: Up to 2 pieces per submission.
Single File: Not required; may include a separate file/link for each piece.
Anonymous submissions are not required.
Simultaneous submissions are allowed.
Reprints are allowed. (Please indicate in your cover letter if you are submitting a reprint. We are happy to consider reprints, but you MUST retain all copyright for the piece. If you do not know if you have copyright, contact your previous publisher.)
Multiple entries are not allowed.
AI-assisted works are not allowed.

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The Metaworker Literary Magazine

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General Call for The Metaworker - Fiction

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