SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
You must be a current student at Portland State University to be considered for publication. We are funded by PSU and serve as a creative outlet for its students. We are happy to point non-students toward local publishing resources, but cannot publish non-students at this time
Please only put your name and identifying info in the specified section of the form. All submissions are blind — only the managing editor will know the identity of the submitter until after selections have been made. This eliminates conflicts of interest and ensures a fair review of all work.
We accept only original, unpublished works. We accept simultaneous submissions, but please let us know immediately if your submission is accepted elsewhere.
Students can submit up to three (3) creative pieces of varying genres/mediums. For example, you could submit a) three poems or b) a poem, a short story, and a photograph — but please no more than three works.
When submitting multiple selections, each submission must be made separately. Do not include three separate works in one file. To clarify, this means you will have to go through the submission process more than once. Feel free to use the same cover letter if you are submitting more than once.
Please include titles for all works. We’ve received a lot of “Untitled” selections, and encourage you to take this opportunity to be creative.
On submission, you agree to grant Pathos Literary Magazine nonexclusive first publishing rights and nonexclusive first electronic publishing rights. This simply means that we get to publish your story first, in print and online, and then it’s all yours—but only once we publish it.
On submission, you allow the Pathos editorial staff to make reasonable corrections without consultation. We will never alter your voice or your content, but we do utilize a style guide, and sometimes typos happen. Given our short publication window, we are unable to consult with all contributors about most changes. However, any changes you, the contributor, may have in mind can be discussed upon acceptance.
PROSE CATEGORY
Although we welcome essays and short fiction up to 3,000 words, our sweet spot is between 100 and 2,500. We’d love to read your best flash and microfiction. You can submit using the form below or email your work as an attachment to pathosliterarymag@gmail.com.
POETRY CATEGORY
Submissions should not exceed 50 lines in length. Please submit via the form below. You may email other file types to pathosliterarymag@gmail.com. Other acceptable file types are .DOC, .DOCX, and .PDF. Written works with a visual element should be submitted via email. Please do not submit collections of poetry as one submission.
VISUAL ART CATEGORY
We accept drawings, prints, illustrations, photography, paintings, graphic design/digital artwork, and multimedia. For each work, please make sure that all files are high resolution (minimum 300dpi). Please email files to pathosliterarymag@gmail.com. Acceptable file types are .JPG, .PNG, and .PDF. Please include any specifications, captions, and/or other information you would like to publish with the piece in your email body.
REVIEW CATEGORY
As part of our mission to connect PSU students with the greater creative community, Pathos is now offering reviews for select complete student works (demo albums, chapbooks, full-length plays, etc.). To have your work considered for review, please submit a pitch letter. This should include a summary of your work, a description of your intended audience, and how a review by Pathos would help you. Please submit via the form below. You may email other file types to pathosliterarymag@gmail.com. If your pitch is accepted, please be prepared to provide copies of the content to be reviewed (either physical or digital). Reviews are published online only.
OTHER
If none of the above categories quite fit your work, please e-mail us at pathosliterarymag@gmail.com your submission. To name a few examples, Pathos is also interested in publishing musical scores, short plays, screenplays, and innovative creative work. Use your imagination! If you wish to submit art, or any type of piece that the form below is not compatible with, please email your work to pathosliterarymag@gmail.com. If you wish to submit writing, please submit below when submissions are open.