Submissions are currently CLOSED. Any writing submitted at this time will not be considered.

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Guidelines for when submissions are open:

 

We accept submissions of previously unpublished fiction, poetry, essays and other written work on any theme—we are, after all, a literary magazine. But, as writers, we also noticed that most literary magazines don’t give a lot of space to something that we think is pretty important: the writing process. The “finished” product is always what we’re reading—but all writers know that writing is anything but linear, and that a writing project is never really complete. Readers don’t usually see much of what goes into a published piece, and we want to explore the possibilities that unfold when we publish product and process side by side.

 

Headway Quarterly will publish “Process Materials” from our writers alongside their original submissions—something that, as far as we know, doesn’t happen that often. These materials can take many forms: a writer’s log, a journal entry, a poem, an annotated bibliography, a doodle, a photograph, a recording, even a conversation with the editors (or any combination of these, and more)—anything that is expressive of your writing process, anything that brings your voice to bear on your submission. We know this is one more step than you may be used to, but we expect contributors to take the Process Materials as seriously as their original submission.

 

These materials, we hope, are a unique aspect of Headway—something that provides a new window into the original submission for writers and readers alike. You can create them now, create them later, ask us questions to help you brainstorm, but we don’t need your materials until your original submission has been accepted. Please note, the editors may be in touch if we find your Process Materials to be incomplete; final publication is contingent upon completion and acceptance of Process Materials.

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Multiple and/or simultaneous submissions are allowed and encouraged. Work that has appeared on a personal blog will be considered. Please limit each submission to 3,000 words or fewer. 

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We are not able to pay contributors at this time, but we are actively working toward that goal.