CLOSED MARKET: Hysterical – Poetry

Hysterical publishes previously unpublished works of prose, poetry, and hybrid/cross-genre writing. Work is considered previously published if it has appeared in any publication or website, including personal sites and blogs, though exceptions may be considered. Please note in your cover letter if your work has appeared on a personal site/blog.

In general, we are seeking writing that navigates and subverts societal expectations across and between genres. Basically, we want to be surprised.

Hysterical is open to submissions only from writers who are women, femmes or non-binary people.

Simultaneous submissions are accepted, as long as they are noted as such at the time of submission, and any work accepted elsewhere is withdrawn from consideration as soon as possible.

HUMOR

Any genre can be funny, of course, and Hysterical will have a humor section in each issue. So, if you think your piece is funny, please label it as humor, plus whatever genre it’s in. Humor will only be part of each issue, so if your piece is otherwise awesome and affecting, send it over too!

POETRY

Please submit 3-5 poems, unless you’re submitting a single long piece. We accept both .doc and .PDF, but keep in mind that formatting doesn’t always translate well across Mac and PCs, so formatting-dependent pieces are advised to be submitted in PDF form.

NONFICTION

We’re seeking all manner of nonfiction–from criticism, reporting, narrative nonfiction, etc. Please submit pieces up to 5,000 words in length. We accept both .doc and PDF formats.

FICTION

Short stories, prose poems, flash fiction, novel excerpts, whatever. If it’s at least somewhat made up and it’s in prose, it’s fiction. We accept fiction in .doc and PDF form, up to 5,000 words in length.

HYBRID

If your piece is somewhere in between, that’s great. We’re lovers of experimentation and cross-genre pollination. Clarify the mixture in your cover letter if you want, or if you want us to just dive in, we’re game.

PAYMENT

We’re dedicated to paying for work, as we value writers and art. At the time of this writing, payment is $50 per accepted prose piece or group of poems.

RIGHTS

Hysterical will acquire First Electronic Rights (worldwide English) and non-exclusive print anthology rights. This means that your piece will debut with us and cannot have appeared elsewhere, private websites and social media included and may be published in an annual anthology. All rights will revert to the author 90 days after publication.