Special Call → weird little guys: flash poetry & prose contest

Submissions open October 17th through November 15th.

CASH PRIZE & PUBLICATION & ONE FREE ENTRY.

Yes, you read that correctly. An amazing, precious, anonymous goblin of a donor gave us $100 for this contest, so here’s what we’re gonna do:

  • 1st place: $69

  • 2nd place: $21

  • 3rd place: $10

  • Runner-ups: $4.20

Like we said before, you get one free entry. Buuuuuut if you want to enter again, you totally can! Just send $5 to our Venmo (@memezinelit) to send another piece and increase the prize pool. That’s right folks, we’re not keeping a dime.

Now for the nitty gritty ↓

For free entries, send one (1) piece as an attachment to memezinelit@gmail.com.

  • NO THEME

    • The contest is named “weird little guys” because we want it short and weird (it doesn’t have to be about some guy).

    • “Weird” means different things to different folks, so don’t overthink it. Send us your weird.

  • Please format as a .pdf

    • This helps us out by making your work accessible to all our readers

  • Length guidelines

    • Poetry can be one (1) page max, prose can be two (2) pages max (loosely)

    • If you have some funky hybrid work in that page range, we’d love to read it

  • In the email subject line, please include the title of your piece in quotation marks and genre

    • ex: “goblin mode” - flash fiction

  • A cover letter and short bio is welcome but not required! We’ll ask for your bio and payment details after acceptance.

  • Simultaneous submissions are fine and dandy. Just let us know if your work is accepted elsewhere.

  • For the contest, we are not accepting previously published work.

  • If you wish to enter again, the same rules above apply. Just send $5 to our Venmo @memezinelit and put your writer name in the payment note if it’s different from your legal name. Then send us another piece. That’s it!

As always, WE DO NOT ACCEPT work that is offensive to historically marginalized groups. Don’t be icky. Also, until the artificial intelligence overlords start crediting the writers and artists their bots pull from, we will not be accepting AI-generated work.

RESPONSE TIME: We’re aiming for a quick turnaround after the contest closes. We’ll spend November/December/January reading, sending responses, and building the issue, and then we’ll release the “weird little guys” contest issue in January/February.

Questions? Email us at memezinelit@gmail.com. We can’t wait to read your best weird little guy!

GENERAL SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

General submissions are CLOSED until 2025.

We like stuff that blurs the lines between art, literature, and content. Send any work (traditional or hybrid) that engages with our participation in the digital landscape. Send us your best…oh screw it, send us your worst too. We encourage you to read our “About” page if this is your first time submitting, thank yewww <3

Send one (1) piece as an attachment to MEMEZINElit@gmail.com

  • Send as a .doc, .pdf, .png, or .mp4

  • We prefer work on the shorter side (text <1000 words, video <1 minute)

  • In the email subject line, please include your author name + title in quotation marks.

    • ex: Chel Campbell - “What’s Going On?”

  • A cover letter and short bio is welcome but not required! We’ll ask for a bio upon acceptance.

MEMEZINE pays $4.20 for each accepted piece (must have Venmo or PayPal).

Simultaneous submissions are fine and dandy.

Due to the nature this project, it would be pretty silly if we didn’t accept previously published work. So yeah, it’s cool if your submission has appeared elsewhere. Just tell us that in your submission email so we can give credit where it’s due. If we accept your unpublished work, we ask that you grant us first serial rights until publication, and then all rights revert back to you.

Whether we accept or pass on your work for general submissions, please wait until the next open reading period to submit again.

WE DO NOT ACCEPT work that is offensive to historically marginalized groups. Don’t be icky. Also, until the artificial intelligence overlords figure out how to credit the writers and artists their bots pull from, we will not be accepting AI-generated work at this time.

RESPONSE TIME: General submissions typically receive a response less than one month during open reading periods. If you send something outside an ORP or special call, the response will take longer. If a month has passed and you have not received a response, please query!