welcome,
feral storyteller
We are taking a brief break from publishing stories online to expand our workshop opportunities. Next submission window: September.
We accept the following: fiction, nonfiction, poetry, artwork, photography, collage, experimental/hybrid/nonconforming, film, and music.
Before submitting, read the goods below. We also strongly recommend checking out an issue of the Howler Daily to better grasp the kind of work we're looking for.
GENERAL GUIDELINES
publication basics
We publish new stories every week in our Howler Daily online magazine. We only accept submissions through Submittable. There is never a cost to submit. Submissions must be original, from the original creator. We only accept stories written by corporeal humans—no AI-written stories here. We no longer accept previously published work. Send us your fresh and shiny!
We curate content twice a year for Hymn & Howl, an online celebratory publication. You must submit to the Howler Daily to be considered for Hymn & Howl. We do not have a separate submission option for this biannual magazine.
We aim to publish accepted Howler Daily submissions within three months. Please wait four months after submitting before querying. Hymn & Howl is published twice a year as a separate magazine.
submission periods
At this time, we anticipate accepting stories during February, June, September, and December. Submissions may close early if numbers exceed our capacity.
considerations
The Howler Project does not share or publish work that is racist, queerphobic, xenophobic, fascist, exploitative, or hateful in any way. We also refrain from publishing creators whose work may not espouse these views but who personally do. We reserve the right to remove your work, without notice, from our organization if we become aware of improper behavior, plagiarism, or other stipulations not enumerated here.
Given The Howler Project's thematic areas, we ask that you approach possibly unsettling content respectfully. We reserve the right to include a note with your piece if it contains potentially triggering topics.
If we have already shared or published your work, we respectfully request that you wait six months before sending us more work.
If a piece was previously declined, please do not resubmit it unless directly encouraged to do so.
HOWLER DAILY
general requirements
We encourage you to read a few Howler Daily issues or Hymn & Howl Issue 2 before submitting. Though we love stories of all kinds, we strongly favor work that speaks to the human condition and moves us in an unexpected way. (Bonus points for existential dread.) We have two fundamental requirements:
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Tell a human story of some kind.
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Anchor your story in at least one of the following deeply human themes: loneliness, grief, loss, recovery, spirituality, creativity, beauty, growth, or connection.
Additional requirements are listed below for each category. Please, please, please submit only once and to only one category. We know submissions are free, and it's easy to go crazy, but we beg you not to give in. Multiple category submissions won't be published, anyway.
nonfiction, fiction, and poetry
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Work submitted to this category should contain words only. If your submission contains visuals and words, submit to another appropriate category.
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Submit only one (1) piece. (Yep, just one. Looking at you, poets.)
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Max 1,000 words.
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An English translation must accompany your piece if the original is not in English.
art and photography
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Work submitted to this category should contain visuals only. If your submission contains visuals and words, submit to another appropriate category.
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If you need multiple photos or works of art to tell your story, put them all in one file and include a note clearly stating your intent. In other words, just make sure we can understand what you've got going on. Also, we'd love to know the materials or equipment you used.
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You may submit a series of up to five (5) photos or works of art to tell your story.
experimental or hybrid
Work here is for experimental, hybrid, or nonconforming submissions. "Nonconforming" is such an exciting word, we don't want to limit creativity or possibilities with this category. We only ask for the following:
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Submit only one (1) submission.
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Be mindful of the 1,000-word max.
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Your experimenting and nonconforming should still have cohesiveness. Remember: You must tell a story of some kind.
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If you get real weird with it, include directions so we can keep up.
collage
Collages can contain words and visuals or only one or the other. We don't want to limit the possibilities here. Get creative. Be expressive. Do your thing.
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Submit only one (1) collage.
music and short film
Our music and short film submissions are currently on hold. We hope to begin accepting work in this category soon.
rights & releases
Your work belongs to you! Upon submission, you grant The Howler Project permission to publish and promote your piece. We will also maintain a copy online. If your work is accepted elsewhere, we’d be delighted if you acknowledged its home on The Howler Project.
Upon submission, your work is also automatically considered for Hymn & Howl, our celebratory, biannual magazine. If your piece is selected for publication by the Howler team, you will be notified by email with further information and the option to decline.
HYMN and HOWL MAGAZINE
requirements
Hymn & Howl is an online, curated magazine, registered with the Community of Literary Magazines and Presses.
It includes selected content from Howler Daily submissions, pitched pieces, solicited work, and favorite storytellers. Work is selected by the Howler team and made into an interactive experience on our website and a traditional printable issue.
To be considered for publication in Hymn & Howl magazine, submissions must adhere to all requirements listed above for Howler Daily. Previously published, displayed, or performed pieces are still candidates for this publication.
To be considered for Hymn & Howl, you must first submit to the Howler Daily. We do not have a separate submission option for the magazine.
rights & releases
If your work is selected for Hymn & Howl, you will be notified prior to publication. The Howler Project requires the right to maintain a copy of your work online and share it across social media. If we are the first publisher of the piece you submitted, we ask that you acknowledge The Howler Project in any future reprinting.
We require any previously published/displayed/performed work to have all necessary rights and releases secured for us to publish.
