Geist is the Canadian magazine of ideas and culture—every issue brings together a sumptuous mix of fact + fiction, photography and comix, poetry, essays and reviews, and the weird and wonderful from the world of words. The Geist tone is intelligent, plain-talking, inclusive and offbeat. At the heart of our enterprise is the imaginary country that some of us inhabit from time to time, and which often has something to do with Canada.
Please read our updated submission guidelines before submitting.
Contests: We accept contest submissions from outside of Canada, with or without a Canadian connection.
Please format your manuscript as follows:
Word Count: insert word count at the top of the first page
Font: 12 point Times Roman
Line Space: 1.5
Margins: 1.25 inches
Page Numbers please, at the bottom right corner on every page
Include your street address in your cover letter.
Thank you for following these guidelines.
–The Editorial Team
Geist offers no-fee general submissions for Black writers, Indigenous writers, and writers of colour.
- Please note: It is our mandate to publish writers and artists from across Canada.
- Please submit one piece and wait to hear back from us before submitting more work.
NON-FICTION: We publish short (approx. 800-1500 words, flexible) non-fiction, usually personal narrative, in the Notes and Dispatches section. Longer (up to 5000 words) non-fiction pieces are published as Features. Send one piece at a time.
FICTION: We publish short stories (up to 5000 words) in the Features section. We usually publish one story per issue, so please send only your best work. Send one story at a time.
POETRY: Send a maximum of 5 poems, all in the same document. We publish 1-2 poems per issue.
COMICS: We publish shorter comics in the Notes & Dispatches section, and publish longer comics as features, max. 8 pages. Send up to three strips or one longer comic at a time.
Your cover letter should include your name, complete mailing address and email.
We publish short (approx. 800-1500 words, flexible) non-fiction, usually personal narrative, in the Notes and Dispatches section. Longer (up to 5000 words) non-fiction pieces are published as Features. Send one piece at a time.
Please note: It is our mandate to publish writers and artists from across Canada.
Your cover letter should include your name, complete mailing address and email.
We publish shorter comics in the Notes & Dispatches section, and publish longer comics as features, max. 8 pages. Hybrid forms, e.g. poetry comics, are welcome. Send up to three strips or one longer comic at a time.
Please note: It is our mandate to publish writers and artists from across Canada.
Your cover letter should include your name, complete mailing address and email.
We publish short stories (up to 5000 words) in the Features section. We usually publish one story per issue, so please send only your best work. Send one story at a time.
Please note: It is our mandate to publish writers and artists from across Canada.
Your cover letter should include your name, complete mailing address and email.
Send a maximum of 5 poems, all in the same document. We publish 1-2 poems per issue.
Please note: It is our mandate to publish writers and artists from across Canada.
Your cover letter should include your name, complete mailing address and email.
Submit your entry to the 19th Annual Literal Literary Postcard Story Contest by following the contest guidelines.
Please make sure the cover letter field includes your mailing address, telephone number and email address. Even though you have already entered this information when creating your Submittable account, we still need it to appear in the cover letter.
Judging is blind, so please do not write your name on your entry.
The deadline is May 20, 2024 at 11:59 PM PDT.
You will be asked to pay the entry fee before submitting your work. You can then enter the name of your submission and fill in the cover letter field, and then attach your entry. You will only be allowed to attach two files: your story and your postcard.
Please only use this category if you have already submitted your first Postcard Story Contest entry. This category should only be used for additional entries.
Those who attempt to use this category fraudulently will be disqualified.
Please check our Postcard Contest FAQ or email geist@geist.com if you have any questions about entering the contest.