The next issue of Popshot will be on the theme of…“Growth.”

01/03/2021 UPDATE: SUBMISSIONS ARE NOW CLOSED

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

Our next theme is ‘growth’ and we are interested in writing that looks broadly at all forms of growth, from spiritual to metaphorical, physical and personal.

Writers might want to look at individual or collective forms of growth, ideas around exponential growth in a universe that is perpetually changing, how growth impacts on families, friends, politics and our sense of identity. You might examine the growth of a particular body part, something unusual in the garden, your characters might sprout horns or grow wings. Whatever your fiction cultivates, we want to hear about it – and, as ever, this kind of growth can be thematically tangential.

Yur short stories, flash fiction and poems can relate to the present, can shoot us into the future, back into the past or into an alternative, absurd or fantasy universe.

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 Summer issue are open until 9am GMT on Monday, 1 March 2021.

The Growth Issue will be published in May 2021.

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. Growth – Poetry). We are open to original contributions from anyone, anywhere in the world.

At Popshot towers we have just wrapped up the Intimacy issue, which will be on sale from 4 February.

Drop us a line at hello@popshotpopshot.com

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