Literary Journal

Waxing & Waning: A Literary Journal

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About the magazine

Waxing & Waning: A Literary Journal is an independent publication founded in 2013 by a collective of writers and artists seeking a space for work that engages with cycles, transitions, and the natural world. The journal takes its name from the lunar phases, reflecting a curatorial interest in writing that explores rhythm, impermanence, and the interplay between light and shadow. Since its inception, it has published two issues per year, featuring poetry, short fiction, and hybrid texts that often resist easy categorization. The journal's mission is to foster a contemplative and rigorous literary community, prioritizing work that is attentive to language, image, and the subtle movements of thought and feeling.

Editorial focus

The moon is dynamic, always moving forward, night after night, revitalizing life as it shifts through its phases, a vital piece of this evermoving universe. Work submitted here should represent this. It should move the editors. It should move them forward. It should balance the duality of this world and bathe in the light of the moon.

PoetryFictionCreative NonfictionTranslation

Submitting your work

Reading periodJan 1 to Dec 31

Reading feeYes

PaymentContributor copies only

Response time3 to 6 months

Simultaneous submissionsYes

Unsolicited submissionsYes

Writers should familiarize themselves with at least one recent issue to understand the journal's aesthetic, which favors work that is patient, image-rich, and attentive to sound and silence. Submissions are accepted via Submittable during reading periods announced on the website and social media. Simultaneous submissions are permitted with prompt notification of acceptance elsewhere. The editors appreciate brief cover letters that mention relevant prior publications, but the work itself should speak first. Response times vary from one to three months; queries are welcome after three months. The journal does not charge submission fees for general submissions, though a small fee may apply for expedited reading. All rights revert to the author upon publication.

Send us whatever is deep and true. The moon represents this idea: what is dark, what is brooding, what is wild. Work submitted to Waxing & Waning should be honest and well-executed.

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Submission calls

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