Wild Roof Journal is an online art & literary publication that will feature work from a wide range of creative people—artists, writers, poets, and anyone else who is passionate about the creative process and self-expression.

In 2020, we began with the goal of providing a welcoming environment for artists and writers to share their work, offering opportunities for creative people to connect with each other and with audiences that would appreciate their work. Our continued vision is to grow through collaboration and a shared interest to expand poetry’s reach.

Over the past several years, we’ve built a creative community of emerging & established writers, visual artists, teachers, grad students, mental health professionals, travelers, hermits, vagabonds, vagrants, etc. etc. (you get the idea). In addition to quarterly issues published on the Wild Roof Journal website, we offer weekly Substack features, and a monthly (most of the time) podcast. And we're always open to other ways of collaborating that extend beyond these outlets.

Our issues are open-themed. We do have a particular interest for themes relating to nature & environment, including the intersection of "wild" nature and "civilized" society. Admittedly, these are some loaded terms, and we want to keep a lot of room open for your interpretations of them. Remember: Humans are nature too, with all their remarkable intricacies and confounding limitations (which is to say that we do not entirely consist of poems about trees and rocks but do think those things are very cool things to write poems about). *It's a balance*

Our emphasis is on presenting the most engaging and thoughtful artwork possible, not on adhering to strict rules & regs for subject matter or style.

The people behind the scenes of Wild Roof are fellow artists—we know the amount of time and energy it takes to produce a finished piece, and the challenges of getting it out into the world for people to see. 

If we were new writers, here is where we would submit our work for publication. This list also includes the first places we *did* actually submit to. We've been there, and we'd do it again.

Where We'd Submit as New Writers

Online publications putting forward exceptional short stories for Best of the Net.

Fiction Magazines That Nominate for Best of the Net

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

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

Identifies publications that put forward outstanding online work for this respected digital anthology established in 2006.

Literary Magazines That Nominate for Best of the Net

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

Digital publications nominating outstanding essays and creative nonfiction for Best of the Net.

Nonfiction Magazines That Nominate for Best of the Net

Online journals that specifically champion poetry for Best of the Net consideration.

Poetry Magazines That Nominate for Best of the Net

Wild Roof Journal

Submissions are currently open for our upcoming issues. Send us your best visual art (painting, drawing, photography, digital), writing (poetry, short fiction, flash fiction, essay), or hybrid forms. Here are our general submission guidelines:

  1-8 visual art pieces - keep file size under 10mb; we will ask for higher resolution images if needed for publication; .jpeg file type preferred
  1-6 poems (submit multiple poems in a single file)
  1-3 pieces of short fiction (approx. 1,000-3,000 words) or flash fiction (under 1,000 words)
  1-3 pieces of creative non-fiction/essay (total length approx. 3,000 words max.)
  We are also drawn to lyric essays, strong narrative voice, and memoir-esque pieces.
  .docx file type preferred (other than visual work)


If you like what you see, subscribe to our Substack. We feature guest posts from our contributors, interviews, lit mag submission listings, writing prompts, and more!    
_______________________________________________________ 
About Us: Wild Roof Journal is an online art & literary publication that features work from a wide range of creative people—painters, drawers, photographers, digital artists, writers, poets, and anyone else who is passionate about the creative process and self-expression. 
Our primary goal is to provide a welcoming environment for artists to share their work. The people behind the scenes of Wild Roof are fellow artists—we know the amount of time and energy it takes to produce a finished piece, and the challenges of getting it out into the world for people to see. We want to offer opportunities for artists to connect with other artists as well as to promote their work to a larger audience. 
We would like to keep our themes broad enough to offer a lot of room for interpretation. Our emphasis is on presenting the most engaging and thoughtful artwork possible, not on adhering to strict rules for subject matter or style.
 _______________________________________________________ 
Note for all submissions:  

  Simultaneous submissions are accepted, but please withdraw pieces from consideration if they are accepted elsewhere. If you have a previously published piece that you feel deserves our attention (and you have retained the rights), please acknowledge the previous publication.
  If your work is accepted, you agree to give Wild Roof Journal online publishing and archival rights; following publication, all rights revert back to the author/artist. We ask that you credit Wild Roof Journal if the work is published elsewhere in the future.
  By submitting, you agree that no ai was used in the creation of the work.

_______________________________________________________

Fiction, Creative Non-Fiction & Essay

Submissions are currently open for our upcoming issues. Send us your best visual art (painting, drawing, photography, digital), writing (poetry, short fiction, flash fiction, essay), or hybrid forms. Here are our general submission guidelines:

  1-8 visual art pieces - keep file size under 10mb; we will ask for higher resolution images if needed for publication; .jpeg file type preferred
  1-6 poems (submit multiple poems in a single file; .docx preferred)
  1-3 pieces of short fiction (approx. 1,000-3,000 words) or flash fiction (under 1,000 words)
  1-3 pieces of creative non-fiction/essay (total length approx. 3,000 words max.)
 

If you like what you see, subscribe to our Substack. We feature guest posts from our contributors, interviews, lit mag submission listings, writing prompts, and more!    
_______________________________________________________ 
About Us: Wild Roof Journal is an online art & literary publication that features work from a wide range of creative people—painters, drawers, photographers, digital artists, writers, poets, and anyone else who is passionate about the creative process and self-expression. 
Our primary goal is to provide a welcoming environment for artists to share their work. The people behind the scenes of Wild Roof are fellow artists—we know the amount of time and energy it takes to produce a finished piece, and the challenges of getting it out into the world for people to see. We want to offer opportunities for artists to connect with other artists as well as to promote their work to a larger audience.
We would like to keep our themes broad enough to offer a lot of room for interpretation. Our emphasis is on presenting the most engaging and thoughtful artwork possible, not on adhering to strict rules for subject matter or style. 
 _______________________________________________________ 
Note for all submissions:  

  Simultaneous submissions are accepted, but please withdraw pieces from consideration if they are accepted elsewhere. If you have a previously published piece that you feel deserves our attention (and you have retained the rights), please acknowledge the previous publication.
  If your work is accepted, you agree to give Wild Roof Journal online publishing and archival rights; following publication, all rights revert back to the author/artist. We ask that you credit Wild Roof Journal if the work is published elsewhere in the future.
  By submitting, you agree that no ai was used in the creation of the work.

_______________________________________________________

Visual Art

Submissions are currently open for our upcoming issues. Send us your best visual art (painting, drawing, photography, digital), writing (poetry, short fiction, flash fiction, essay), or hybrid forms. Here are our general submission guidelines:

  1-8 visual art pieces - keep file size under 10mb; we will ask for higher resolution images if needed for publication; .jpeg file type preferred
  1-6 poems (submit multiple poems in a single file; docx preferred)
  1-3 pieces of short fiction (approx. 1,000-3,000 words) or flash fiction (under 1,000 words)
  1-3 pieces of creative non-fiction/essay (total length approx. 3,000 words max.)
 

If you like what you see, subscribe to our Substack. We feature guest posts from our contributors, interviews, lit mag submission listings, writing prompts, and more!    
_______________________________________________________ 
About Us: Wild Roof Journal is an online art & literary publication that features work from a wide range of creative people—painters, drawers, photographers, digital artists, writers, poets, and anyone else who is passionate about the creative process and self-expression. 
Our primary goal is to provide a welcoming environment for artists to share their work. The people behind the scenes of Wild Roof are fellow artists—we know the amount of time and energy it takes to produce a finished piece, and the challenges of getting it out into the world for people to see. We want to offer opportunities for artists to connect with other artists as well as to promote their work to a larger audience.
We would like to keep our themes broad enough to offer a lot of room for interpretation. Our emphasis is on presenting the most engaging and thoughtful artwork possible, not on adhering to strict rules for subject matter or style. 

  Although we have categories for our submissions, we are absolutely interested in hybrid forms or work that defies easy categorization. If this describes your work, we encourage you to submit; if necessary, you may pick the category that’s most fitting and add a note to explain your work in more detail.

_______________________________________________________ 
Note for all submissions:  

  Simultaneous submissions are accepted, but please withdraw pieces from consideration if they are accepted elsewhere. If you have a previously published piece that you feel deserves our attention (and you have retained the rights), please acknowledge the previous publication.
  If your work is accepted, you agree to give Wild Roof Journal online publishing and archival rights; following publication, all rights revert back to the author/artist. We ask that you credit Wild Roof Journal if the work is published elsewhere in the future.
  By submitting, you agree that no ai was used in the creation of the work.

_______________________________________________________

Poetry

Here is a limited time opportunity to submit your artwork with no submission fee. We just ask that you "spread the word" of our journal in some way—follow us on Instagram @wildroofjournal (or Bsky @wildroofjournal or X @wildroofjournal), subscribe on Substack (wildroofjournal.substack.com) or YouTube, or simply send our link to someone who you think would like what we do. Lots of options!
For this submission, you may submit up to 5 visual art pieces as .jpg files. They do not need to be a cohesive collection, so feel free to add some pieces that are wide-ranging in subject matter or style. We're open to experimentation and unique perspectives.
If you'd like to get a better feel for our interests, check out our website: https://wildroofjournal.com. The "About" page is the place to go to get an overview of our philosophy.

"Spread the Word" Visual Art Submission (no fee)

Note: All submissions received in for this expedited call will include a PDF download of our Fall Issue #31. We hope the work of our amazing contributors sparks your inspiration & creativity! (Check the e-mail associated with your Submittable account to receive your PDF.)
In addition, we provide a personalized response for our expedited submissions. Although this is not detailed feedback, it is a way for us to share something that we appreciated about your work and give you a bit of insight into what caught our eye during the review process.

 
We're looking for work that will appear in our upcoming issues! Issue #32 is scheduled for Winter. Submissions from this call will be considered for that issue first. However, you'll still be considered for future issues once our Issue #32 allotment is reached. 
Send us your best visual art (painting, drawing, photography, digital), writing (poetry, short fiction, flash fiction, essay), or hybrid forms. Here are our general submission guidelines:

  Up to 6 poems (submit multiple poems in a single file; .docx preferred)
  Hybrid / visual poetry is welcome. Any images may be attached as .jpg files.
  Visual Art is welcome. If you create both poetry and visual art, you may attach a selection of your visual pieces within this submission as well.




If you like what you see, subscribe to our Substack. We feature guest posts from our contributors, interviews, lit mag submission listings, writing prompts, and more!  


 _______________________________________________________ 
About Us:
Wild Roof Journal is an online art & literary publication that features work from a wide range of creative people—painters, drawers, photographers, digital artists, writers, poets, and anyone else who is passionate about the creative process and self-expression. 
Our primary goal is to provide a welcoming environment for artists to share their work. The people behind the scenes of Wild Roof are fellow artists—we know the amount of time and energy it takes to produce a finished piece, and the challenges of getting it out into the world for people to see. We want to offer opportunities for artists to connect with other artists as well as to promote their work to a larger audience. 
We would like to keep our themes broad enough to offer a lot of room for interpretation. Our emphasis is on presenting the most engaging and thoughtful artwork possible, not on adhering to strict rules for subject matter or style. 

 _______________________________________________________ 

 Note for all submissions:  

  Simultaneous submissions are accepted, but please withdraw pieces from consideration if they are accepted elsewhere. If you have a previously published piece that you feel deserves our attention (and you have retained the rights), please acknowledge the previous publication.
  If your work is accepted, you agree to give Wild Roof Journal online publishing and archival rights; following publication, all rights revert back to the author/artist. We ask that you credit Wild Roof Journal if the work is published elsewhere in the future.
  By submitting, you agree that no ai was used in the creation of the work.

 _______________________________________________________

Poetry (Expedited Submission)

Wild Roof Journal offers an editor review of poetry. (If you would like the regular poetry submission, please see the current submissions on our main page.)
One of the things we like about creating an art and literature website it the interactions we have with the artists and writers--interactions that go beyond "accepted" & "declined" messages to engage with the creative process and vision behind the work itself. With this submission, you will get our writing editors' thoughts, suggestions, and overall feedback on your work.
These submissions will also be considered for upcoming issues. As with any submission, be sure to take a look at our current issue to get a feel for our aesthetic.
You may send your poetry (up to 5 poems / 8 pages max).
Note: If you are interested in a live review & feedback session via Zoom, click here to learn more. Since everyone's creative journey is unique, and everyone's goals are different, it's important to us to get a sense of how you want your writing to develop. If a live session sounds appealing to you, please e-mail us at wildroofjournal@gmail.com to tell us a little bit about yourself, and let's get to work!

Wild Roof Journal

Highlights

About

Featured Call

Fiction, Creative Non-Fiction & Essay

Appears in collections