OPEN FOR GENERAL SUBMISSIONS IN ALL CATEGORIES
GENERAL GUIDELINES
filling Station accepts singular or simultaneous submissions of previously unpublished poetry, fiction, creative non-fiction, critical non-fiction (about literature and occasionally about visual art), and visual artBefore submitting to filling Station, please review both the General Guidelines on our website and the genre-specific submission instructions below. Please note that for all submissions, you must include a mailing address and short bio (25 - 75 words) with your submission. For Art submissions, we also require an Artist's Statement regarding the submitted portfolio of work. For text with spacing considerations, upload your submission as a PDF file in addition to the text document.
filling Station does not have a mandatory submission fee — money should never be a barrier to enter into our pages — but we do rely on readers and contributors to keep the magazine alive. Please consider purchasing a current issue, subscribing to filling Station, or leaving an optional donation in lieu of a reading fee if you feel called to do so. Should a selected contributor already subscribe to the magazine, we can either extend their subscription by 3 issues, or gift it to somebody else of their choosing.
FAQ:
Are submissions open to international authors?
We accept and encourage submissions from everywhere in the world - they are never restricted to Canadian submitters. This being said, we do ask submitters to let us know whether or not they are a Canadian citizen, but this is only because some of the awards that we nominate to (e.g. the Best Canadian Poetry series) are restricted to Canadian writers.
Are there any page limits?
Page restrictions are noted under the guidelines for each category.
Do I need to include a cover letter and bio?
Yes, please! It can be in separate documents or the same as your submission.
POETRY SUBMISSIONS ARE CURRENTLY OPEN AS OF NOVEMBER 14, 2024
Submit up to 6 pages of poetry via Submittable. Due to the high volume of submissions, Poetry accepts submissions only via Submittable.
If your poem is spaced in a particular way, please make sure to use spaces, never tabs, so we can accurately replicate your layout. Also be sure to upload your submission as a PDF file in addition to the text document.
A submission lacking mailing address and bio (25 - 75 words) will be considered incomplete.
Starting with our submission window beginning on November 14, 2024, we will be introducing a submission cap for the poetry department. Submissions will automatically close once we have received a total of 175 submissions.
FICTION SUBMISSIONS ARE CURRENTLY OPEN AS OF NOVEMBER 2024
Submit up to 10 pages (submissions at the upper end of this length spectrum will need to be of exceptional quality to be considered) via Submittable.
We are pleased to receive any of the following fiction: flash fiction, postcard fiction, short fiction, experimental fiction that diverges from the usual subgenre categories, a novel excerpt that can stand alone, or a combination of these subgenres.
Please do not resubmit or send additional submissions until you have received a response to your first submission.
A submission lacking mailing address and bio (25 - 75 words) will be considered incomplete. Due to the high volume of submissions, fiction accepts submissions only via Submittable.
We encourage you to submit experimental interviews, articles, reviews, and creative nonfiction.
Please note that we will generally not accept reviews of non-experimental literature unless the review itself is experimental. We are looking to engage with and draw attention to literature that pushes the boundaries of genre, form, methodology, style, etc. Submit work up to a maximum of 6 pages.
If you have concerns about suitability, feel free to send a query to nonfiction@fillingstation.ca. While questions or concerns may be received by email, Nonfiction accepts submissions only via Submittable. If you are interested in reviewing a book for filling Station, email the Nonfiction editor, or you can elect to review a book of your choice that you own.
A submission lacking mailing address and bio (25 - 75 words) will be considered incomplete.
Please submit 5-7 lower res samples via Submittable.
If interested, we will request pieces or additional work in 300 dpi or greater via Drop Box or similar, or on a disc.
Art accepts initial, low res submissions only via Submittable.
High resolution images must be provided upon request before we can finalize selection.
A submission lacking mailing address, bio (25 - 75 words) and artist's statement will be considered incomplete.