Submission Guidelines

Submissions are currently closed.

What we’re seeking & not seeking

  1. We are specifically interested in work that has a queer and/or transgressive lens. Said queerness needn’t be didactic and overly spelled out, but rather a general intrinsic ethos.
  2. Our best recommendation for getting a sense of our general preferences and aesthetics is to peruse past issues of the magazine.
  3. We are highly unlikely to accept work about COVID, coming out of the closet, or mental institutions. Also, we dislike the words “parse” and “cerulean.”

The how-to and general info

  1. Send all submissions in the form of a Word doc or via Google Drive.
  2. Please include your submission genre (fiction, poetry, nonfiction, or visual art) in your subject line.
  3. Please include a brief, publishable third person bio (<100 words).
  4. Please don’t feel the need to include a full cover letter or explanation/summary of your piece(s) in the body of the email.
  5. Simultaneous submissions are A-OK.
  6. Angel Rust only asks for the right to publish your work and keep it archived on our website. All ownership remains that of the author, who may choose to republish the work anywhere at any time. We are a non-paying outlet.
  7. We provide quick responses within two weeks of receiving submissions, often sooner.
  8. We do not give specific feedback/critiques for rejected work.
  9. Submissions that disregard the guidelines are liable to be automatically rejected.
  10. We won’t be publishing an issue of new content in June. As such, accepted submissions will be published in our July issue at the earliest.

Genre specific guidelines

Poetry – Send as many poems as you like, but know we seldom accept more than three per person. No strict word/line limit, though we rarely take poems exceeding a page in length. There are no strict limits on content, form, or style. If your work includes distinct visual elements (i.e. found poems, particular spacing, etc.) please include JPEGs/image files of your work. WordPress’s text editor is very basic and we often need to use image files to preserve the intended presentation of poems with interior spacing. We are open to poems written in languages besides English, but when submitting these please also include an English translation.

Fiction – 3,500 words or less. We don’t typically enjoy speculative elements. No novel excerpts.

Nonfiction – Angel Rust is seeking nonfiction that makes an argument, presents a perspective, or otherwise forwards a clear agenda. Any topic is welcome from video games, to personal essays, to music, to architecture, etc.

Visual art – Send up to three pieces as separate image files via attachment in your email. Please also include titles and the mediums used (i.e. watercolor, charcoal, etc.).