The Metaworker is an online journal of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and writing that doesn’t fit within genre categories. They aim to be open-minded, and they love the unexpected: “we want you to surprise us, show us something we haven’t seen before. Send us your quirky, unconventional work”. You can read the journal online to get a sense of what they publish.
The Metaworker was launched in 2015 by former editors of Calliope. They publish one new piece every Monday, and they also post content on Fridays, and sometimes on Wednesdays too. They nominate authors published in the journal for the Pushcart Prize.
The Metaworker is holding two submission windows this year: from April 1 through May 31, and from September 1 through October 31.
They also have two separate submission calls: a call for general submissions and a call for micro writing. Authors may submit to either one of these calls, but not both.
For general submissions: authors may submit two pieces of prose or poetry, totaling 3,000 words or fewer. For micro submissions: authors may submit up to five pieces of micro prose, 10 to 300 words each, or up to five poems, 60 words or fewer each. They accept all forms and styles of writing, including both literary and genre fiction.
The Metaworker also accepts hybrid writing, collage, comics, graphic novels, plays, screenplays, audio pieces, ergodic stories, multimodal stories, and any other work up to 3,000 words. Again, they love to be surprised.
Submitting authors can expect a response within three to six months. Accepted submissions will be published within about three months.
The Metaworker accepts submissions online using Duosuma, not via email or by post (unless there are accessibility issues). They accept simultaneous submissions but ask that authors withdraw writing published elsewhere. They accept reprints as long as they were published at least two years ago.
The Metaworker does not accept writing generated or assisted by AI. They only accept submissions that follow the guidelines they’ve posted online. Please read these guidelines in full before submitting.
If you would like to learn more or submit to The Metaworker, please visit their website here.
Bio: Ella Peary is the pen name of an internationally published author and editor. After earning a Master of Fine Arts degree in poetry from Sarah Lawrence College, she lived as a monastic for five years. She now lives as a lay monastic, and teaches poetry, flash fiction, and literary publishing at the Authors Publish Writers Workshop. Her writing has been published in Room, The Apple Valley Review, Fourteen Hills, and elsewhere. And a number of full-length manuscripts she’s edited have received major international awards, including The Best Graphic Novel of the Year (Comics Finlandia), The Montaigne Medal, and The National Indie Excellence Awards. She’s also a long-time literary journal reviewer and editor at Authors Publish Magazine.
