It’s that time again Popshot people! We are now accepting submissions for the next magazine on a theme of…“Freedom”.

UPDATE 1/06/2020 SUBMISSIONS ARE NOW CLOSED. PLEASE DO NOT SEND IN WORK

We have just finished putting together the Earth issue (thank you to all who submitted, the magazine will thump through letterboxes and appear on newsstands at the end of next week), allowing us to open the doors for new submissions.

Our next theme is ‘freedom’ and we are interested in writing that looks broadly at what it means to be free, hard-won freedoms, how the current climate of lockdown and global pandemic might curb freedom and what individuals can do to achieve freedoms when they are incarcerated or living in unfavourable power dynamics.

Writers might want to look at freedoms big and small: what history tells us about human freedom and what to strive for; the freedom to be oneself, how to claw back freedoms in a relationship or family dynamic. Are the freedoms we want truly freeing? Or do we go on to further restrict ourselves? Your stories and poems can shoot us into the future, look at freedom from afar or teach us the lessons from the past we need to learn now.

Successful submissions must display excellent writing, creative flair and originality. We are looking for a mixture of humour, social commentary, honesty and thrilling storytelling. We welcome all genres and writing styles so long as they follow our guidelines for submission (for more on which, click here).

Submissions for the Autumn issue are open until 9am GMT on Monday, 1 June 2020.

The Freedom issue will be published in August 2020.

Guidelines for submission:

Poems: 12 to 40 lines
Short stories: 1,000 to 3,000 words
Flash fiction: 100 to 1,000 words

Three entries maximum. Entries over the word count will not be considered.

To discover more about Popshot, pick up a copy from WHSmiths or another reputable newsagent (during lockdown this might be more difficult, but here are a few other ways you can safely find it). You can subscribe to either hard copy or digital editions. Four issues are published per year showcasing the best emerging fiction writers.

To see your writing published and illustrated, head to our submit page for the full guidelines. Include the issue and form of your work in the subject line (i.e. Freedom – Poetry). We are open to original contributions from anyone, anywhere in the world.

At Popshot towers we have just wrapped up the Earth issue, which will be on sale from 7 May.

Drop us a line at hello@popshotpopshot.com

To ensure that you never miss a future issue of the print magazine, subscribe from just £20 for 4 issues.

To ensure that you never miss a future issue of the print magazine, subscribe from just £24 for 4 issues.