Encephalon is a new, youth-led literary journal that aims to create a bridge between creative writing and neuroscience. In addition to fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry, they also publish research essays from a variety of academic disciplines. At the core of their mission is the goal of championing neurodiversity: “Encephalon strives to combat ‘neurophobia,’ celebrate neurodiversity, and raise mental health awareness by fostering inclusive conversations for a general audience.”
Encephalon was founded in 2023, but they already have over 20,000 readers worldwide, and they’ve received submissions from over 50 countries. Their first edition features writing from 27 contributors.
Encephalon is open to submissions now through February 3. Poets may submit up to five poems. Authors of prose may submit up to three pieces of fiction or nonfiction. In addition to creative nonfiction, Encephalon also accepts research essays, journalism, interviews, and book reviews.
It’s also important to note that Encephalon does accept previously published writing.
Authors may submit writing across multiple genres (for example, you may submit one poem along with two stories), but the total word count for all submissions should not exceed 3,000 words. The award-winning editors at Encephalon are looking for engaging writing with a strong sense of voice. They aim to make the journal accessible to a broad audience.
Encephalon accepts submissions via email, not online or by post. They accept simultaneous submissions.
Encephalon only accepts submissions that follow the guidelines they’ve posted online. Please read these guidelines in full before submitting.
If you’d like to learn more or submit to Encephalon, please visit their website here.
Bio: Ella Peary is the pen name for an author, editor, creative writing mentor, and submission consultant. Over the past five years, she’s written hundreds of articles for Authors Publish, and she’s also served as a copywriter and copy editor for a wide range of organizations and individuals. She is the author of The Quick Start Guide to Flash Fiction. She occasionally teaches a course on flash fiction. You can contact her at ellapeary@gmail.com.
