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Literary Journal

Shadowplay

Closes in 10 days
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Journals & literary magazines1 open opportunity listed

About the magazine

Shadowplay is an online literary journal founded in 2010, dedicated to publishing short-form writing that explores the liminal spaces between memory, dream, and everyday life. Operating without institutional backing, it has maintained a consistent editorial vision that favors atmospheric, image-driven prose and poetry over conventional narrative arcs. The journal's name signals its central preoccupation: the interplay of light and shadow, presence and absence, the seen and the unseen. Over the years, Shadowplay has cultivated a small but devoted readership, known for its carefully curated issues that read as cohesive, almost dreamlike sequences rather than miscellaneous collections.

Editorial focus

An annual print literary journal designed and edited by graduate students at the University of Arkansas Monticello, Shadowplay welcomes submissions in poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction. They accept all artistic voices, and diversity is welcomed. They also nominate for the Pushcart Prize.

PoetryFictionCreative Nonfiction

Submitting your work

Reading periodOct 15 to Mar 15
Reading feeNo
PaymentContributor copies only
Response time3 to 6 months
Simultaneous submissionsYes
Unsolicited submissionsYes

Shadowplay accepts submissions via email only, typically during announced reading windows. Writers should familiarize themselves with the journal's aesthetic by reading several past issues before submitting. The editors favor work under 2,000 words for prose and up to three poems per submission. Simultaneous submissions are accepted, but please notify promptly if your work is placed elsewhere. Response times can range from two weeks to three months; a polite query after three months is acceptable. Because the journal is a labor of love, patience and a respectful tone in all correspondence are appreciated.

Shadowplay seeks work that dances in liminal spaces, that illuminates the pieces of our world which otherwise go unseen. Send us your light and your dark.

Read official guidelines

Submission calls

1 listed
OpenDeadline · 2026-10-15

Shadowplay — Submissions

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