Analytics on Missa

With your consent we measure which opportunities and flows are useful so we can improve them. We do not sell data or run advertising. Privacy notice

Skip to content
Beta
Log inCreate account
Back to literary journals

Literary Journal

Garlic Press

Open now
Visit website Submission calls
Journals & literary magazines1 open opportunity listed

About the magazine

Garlic Press is an independent literary press and online journal founded in 2015 by a collective of writers and editors seeking a home for work that resists easy categorization. From its origins as a stapled zine distributed at readings in Portland, Oregon, it has grown into a biannual print journal and a year-round digital platform, yet its founding ethos remains: literature should be pungent, necessary, and unafraid of its own flavor. The press prioritizes writing that is formally restless and emotionally precise, often blending lyric essay, prose poetry, and speculative fiction in ways that challenge genre boundaries. Its mission is to publish emerging and underrepresented voices alongside established writers, fostering a community that values craft over careerism and risk over polish.

Editorial focus

The Garlic Press is an online lit mag for extra pungent poetry and prose—by which they mean vivid, mean sticky and raw, mean flavorful, biting, sharp-edged. They are looking for work that stings readers awake and leaves them revitalized, fortified against the viruses of apathy and inattention; work that burns and heals simultaneously, like the whole, butter-white clove a mother might urge one to inhale to scorch away a sore throat. The Garlic Press is more concerned, in other words, with how a particular submission affects readers.

PoetryFictionCreative Nonfiction

Submitting your work

Reading periodJan 1 to Dec 31
Reading feeNo
PaymentNo payment
Response timeLess than 3 months
Simultaneous submissionsYes
Unsolicited submissionsYes

Before submitting, read at least one full issue of the journal or a recent online feature to understand the editors' tastes—they favor work that takes formal risks and avoids tidy resolutions. Submit only during open reading periods, which are announced on the website and social media; simultaneous submissions are accepted if you notify promptly upon acceptance elsewhere. Include a brief cover letter that situates your work in relation to the press's aesthetic, but avoid flattery or lengthy bio. Expect response times of three to six months; do not query before then. The press is small and volunteer-run, so patience and professionalism are appreciated.

Read official guidelines

Submission calls

1 listed
Open

Garlic Press — Submissions

View opportunity

Explore the publication through its past issues and volumes.

Issue covers aren’t available yet

Visit the publication’s website to explore its archive.

Visit publication website ↗