Spellbinder is an international non-profit quarterly literary and art magazine which celebrates and offers a platform to artists, dramatists and poets, as well as writers of fiction and nonfiction.

The editorial team is particularly keen to promote the works of those who are at the beginning of their literary careers. However, they also welcome submissions from writers and artists who have been published before and feature widely-known creatives in each issue as well.

SUBMISSIONS ARE CURRENTLY OPEN IN ALL CATEGORIES.

We are currently open for submissions for the 25th Issue. Submissions will close on November 1st. This issue is due for Winter 2027.

A Welcome to All Writers and Artists Everywhere

Spellbinder welcomes writers and artists from every country, background, tradition and faith. We believe literature is enriched by difference and strengthened by curiosity.

We are committed to reading every submission fairly and respectfully.

As creatives, our shared willingness to explore difficult questions with nuance, empathy and imagination is what binds us together. We stand firmly against discrimination and bigotry in all its forms, including racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, antisemitism and Islamophobia.

If your work is rooted in generosity rather than certainty, we’re already interested.

What We’re Looking For

Strong storytelling comes first. We publish work that explores social reality, identity, memory, trauma, relationships and the shifting state of the world through fresh perception.

We’re particularly interested in work that inhabits thresholds: moments of transformation, uncertainty, contradiction and becoming. We love psychologically rich writing where realism brushes against the surreal, the uncanny or the conceptual, without losing sight of emotional truth.

We welcome poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, drama and visual art.

Before submitting, we strongly recommend reading our magazine. Browse selected work from previous issues, subscribe for full digital access or order a print copy.

Submission windows are announced on our website and Instagram. However, we accept pieces on an intermittently rolling basis that will be considered for the upcoming issue. 

Compulsory Submission Guidelines:

Please read these carefully. Submissions that do not follow these guidelines will not be considered.

• One submission per reading period.
• Submit to one category only.
• Poetry may include up to two poems in a single document.
• Artwork may include up to three pieces.
• We accept simultaneous submissions. Please let us know immediately if your work is accepted elsewhere.
• We only consider previously unpublished work. This includes personal websites, blogs, newsletters and social media. If your work appeared in a publication that has since ceased operating and is no longer publicly available, you’re welcome to query us before submitting.
• We do not accept AI-generated or AI-assisted creative work.

Formatting Requirements

Written work should:

• Be written in English.
• Be submitted as a single .doc, .docx or .odf file.
• Not be submitted as a PDF.
• Be named using the title of the work.
• Use 12 pt Times New Roman.
• Be 1.5 or double spaced.
• Include page numbers.
• Have the title centred.
• Use Chicago referencing where citations are required. Footnotes are preferred to endnotes, though either is acceptable.

• Poetry:
  • Up to two poems.
  • Maximum 40 lines per poem.
  • Submit both poems in one document.
  • Free verse, formal verse and everything in between are welcome.

Note: Spellbinder is published in A5, so exceptionally long lines may need to be adjusted in consultation with the poet.

After You Submit

We aim to respond within six weeks of the submission window closing.

Every submission is read by our editorial team.

If your work is accepted, we may suggest editorial changes. Editing is collaborative, and no alterations will be made without your approval. The final decision always rests with the author.

As a general rule, we publish no more than one piece by the same contributor in a calendar year.

If your work isn’t accepted this time, we kindly ask that you wait two submission cycles before submitting again. The fact that one piece wasn’t right for us says very little about the next one.

Rights

Spellbinder acquires first publication rights only.

All rights revert to the author after publication.

If your work is republished elsewhere, we simply ask that Spellbinder is credited as the place of first publication.