We publish one issue annually in late spring. We open for submissions starting October 10th, 2025 and close on February 28, 2026, allowing for both print & digital production date in early May.
At Levitate we are committed to creating a high-quality Literary Magazine filled with unique and thought provoking works. Levitate is and always will be a passion project dedicated to its artists; we value our community above all and work to ensure that every piece is cared for. Levitate accepts many different art forms such as fiction, poems, short stories, personal essays, letters, comic strips, and photography. We look for all the most creative and original submissions. We do not allow hate speech, bigotry, meaningless dramatic gore, NSFW, or AI generated submissions.
Please upload one prose piece, up to two individual poems, or up to four artworks per submission. When submitting to Levitate, we ask that include a short bio in your cover letter.
While we ask that you do not submit multiple times to the same genre, we do accept simultaneous submissions across genres if only once. If you submit in more than one genre, please include that information in your cover letter.
The title of your submission should be the title(s) of your piece(s). Submissions that fail to follow the guidelines will not receive the same careful attention that is given to correctly submitted work.
* Issue 10 will contain a special themed dossier on the theme of Lost & Found. If you choose to submit to this special section, we ask that your work pertains to your interpretation of that theme. The standard Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction, and Visual Art sections, however, are open to all themes and subjects. *
Contributors located in the United States will receive one free physical copy of the issue. International contributors will receive a PDF copy of the issue.
Genres:
(Please see each genre submission folder for specific guidelines)
Fiction should be no longer than 5,000 words. We also welcome flash fiction, which we define as anything less than 1,000 words.
Creative Nonfiction should be no longer than 4,000 words.
Poetry submissions should include no more than 2 poems, with no poem longer than 2 pages (no more than 4 pages in total).
Visual Arts submissions are open to all mediums (including sculpture), but no more than 4 pieces. Please submit images as jpeg or tif, 300dpi.
Please do not send excerpts from novels, novellas, or complete collections.
We will not consider previously published work.
Submissions open October 10th, 2025 at 12:00AM and close February 28, 2026 at 11:59PM.
If your work is selected, we ask for First North American Serial PRINT and ELECTRONIC Rights for publication.
We look forward to reading your work!
Fiction Guidelines
- We do not accept excerpts. Only complete stories are allowed.
- No excessive gore or erotic content.
- No fan-fiction (for copyright purposes)
- All works must be in Times New Roman, 12 pt. font, and double-spaced.
- There should be no fewer than 300 words in one document and no more than 5,000 words.
- All works must be submitted in the form of a word document or a google doc
- Content warnings must be included for potentially triggering content.
- Please include an author bio and a small summary of your work.
- Plagiarism is not accepted, nor is AI. Please make sure your work is fully original.
- We do NOT accept hate speech or bigotry.
We are looking for creativity and originality, as well as interesting use of language and narrative. Stories that fit our theme and use it in an interesting way are appreciated, as well as submissions that show a strong use of voice and imagery. We believe that fiction is a way to explore the world and its issues through a lens of fantastical elements, and we want your work to reflect that!
Our guidelines are as follows:
● A minimum of 250 words and a maximum of 4,000 words in one document as a
Word document with a title.
● Standard font, Times New Roman, double-spaced,12 point
font size.
● Titles should be centered.
● Include a brief bio with your submission (should not exceed 200 words).
● Add trigger warnings in the beginning if applicable.
● Do not include excerpts of writing.
● No erotica or anything NSFW. Mild sexual themes are allowed, but nothing graphic or written solely for gratification. Editors will use their own discretion when deciding whether to accept or reject a piece.
● Submissions can include violent or triggering content for the purpose of conveying one’s lived experience. If the editors believe a work was written simply to shock people, it will likely be turned down.
● We do not accept submissions written with GenAI
We want strong storytelling in submitted pieces, paired with unique perspectives and developed ideas. There should be appropriate use of convention that has intention to further the story through scene, characterization, and reflection. We accept all types of nonfiction as long as they meet the conventions listed above--including experimental! We look forward to reading your work!
Artists are encouraged to submit in any medium, including drawings, paintings, photographs, sculpture (any material), ceramics, prints, graphic narratives (2 pages).
- Please identify the medium(s) that you used in creating the work.
- Include the titles and a short artist’s statement describing the work, as well as a brief bio.
- Artists can submit up to four pieces (four pieces equal one submission).
- Any artwork that is in any three-dimensional form (sculpture, ceramics, etc.) must be photographed and categorized as a three-dimensional form. If you are submitting a picture of a three-dimensional figure, it is optional to take multiple pictures at multiple angles in order to get a better understanding of the original piece (it will count as one entry).
- Any graphic narratives submissions can be no more than 2 pages long
- Please submit your work as .jpeg or .tif (300dpi).
- We do not include commercial art, fanart, or artwork that is disrespectful to others, and no explicitly sexual content. (if there is gore or extreme violence please add a trigger warning.)
- No AI generated, traced, or stolen artwork. (Inspiration work must be submitted with the art title and artist name that they got inspiration from.)
*If you are interested in the Dossier theme (Lost & Found) please submit your artwork in that category*
For our 10th issue of Levitate Magazine, our theme for the dossier section is "Lost & Found".
The things that are Lost & Found to us are incomprehensible and often undefinable. In this issue, we ask you to return to the places you've left behind, explore the places you have yet to go, and unearth everything buried in between. Give us your liminal spaces and unknowns. Allow yourself to miss the things you cannot name. The theme of Lost & Found is whatever you need it to be.
Respond to the theme in any way you see fit (including fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, visual art, or mixed-genre work), but please identify the genre of your submission and follow the length guidelines for that genre, though your work will be submitted under this category.
Please review our guidelines for each genre below:
Poetry
● Submit up to 2 poetry pieces (no single poem can be longer than 2 pages) as a Microsoft Word or Google Doc with a title. All poems should begin on a new page (Maximum of 4 pages per person).
● Untitled pieces are not preferred, but can be accepted for artistic reasons.
● Work is required to be in a 12-point standard font (i.e., Arial or Times New Roman), single-spaced. Alternative fonts and text styles cannot be guaranteed, but can be requested.
● Include a 2-4 sentence artist statement with your submission regarding your piece and your artistic identity.
● Work based on images must include the image of inspiration on the same document
as the piece and the source. (i.e., Title, Artist, Year Made)
Fiction Guidelines
- We do not accept excerpts. Only complete stories are allowed.
- No excessive gore or erotic content.
- No fanfiction.
- All works must be in Times New Roman, 12 pt. font, and double-spaced.
- There should be no less than 300 words in one document and no more than 5,000 words.
- All works must be submitted in the form of a word document or a google doc
- Content warnings must be included for potentially triggering content.
- Please include an author bio and a small summary of your work.
- Plagiarism is not accepted, nor is AI. Please make sure your work is fully original.
- We do NOT accept hate speech or bigotry.
Creative Nonfiction
● A minimum of 250 words, and a maximum of 4,000 words in one document as a
Word document with a title.
● Standard font, Times New Roman, double spaced12 point
font size.
● Titles should be centered.
● Include a brief bio with your submission (should not exceed 200 words.
● Add trigger warning in the beginning if applicable.
● Do not include excerpts of writing.
● No erotica or NSFW. Mild sexual themes are allowed, but nothing graphic or written solely for gratification. Editors will use their own discretion when deciding whether to accept or reject a piece.
● Submissions can include violent or triggering content for the purpose of conveying one’s lived experience. If the editors believe a work was written simply to shock people, it will likely be turned down.
● We do not accept submissions written with GenAI
Please see our guidelines below:
● Submit up to 2 poetry pieces (no single poem can be longer than 2 pages) as a Microsoft Word or Google Doc with a title. All poems should begin on a new page (Maximum of 4 pages per submission).
● Untitled pieces are not preferred, but can be accepted for artistic purposes.
● Work is required to be in a 12-point standard font (i.e., Arial or Times New Roman), single-spaced. Alternative fonts and text styles cannot be guaranteed, but can be requested.
● Include a 2-4 sentence artist statement with your submission regarding your piece and your artistic identity.
● Work based on images must include the image of inspiration on the same document
as the piece and the source. (i.e., Title, Artist, Year Made)
Here at Levitate, we strive to collect poetry that models a fresh use of emotion, imagery, and language. Meaning that we are accepting well-written and thoughtful work that represents the authors as individuals and artists. We believe that good poetry comes from the heart and aspires to reflect life from a new viewpoint. We are interested in authors who are well-detailed, observant, and who can convey a message through lines, metaphors, and stanzas. We accept various forms of poetry, including songs, spoken word, and traditional and experimental pieces. We look forward to your submission!