3Elements Literary Review — Expedited Submissions — Issue 53
Overview
3Elements Literary Review is a literary magazine whose editorial premise is deceptively simple: each call presents three fixed elements, and contributors are asked to build work that meaningfully incorporates at least one. For Issue 53, those elements are black hole, stream, and duct tape. The journal accepts all disciplines, including fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and visual art or photography, and maintains a deliberately permissive stance toward interpretation—abstract or oblique connections are welcome, provided the engagement is genuine rather than nominal. The expedited submission track carries a $5 fee and guarantees a response within two weeks. That compact window is the primary practical distinction from the standard reading period, and it is worth weighing against the journal's stated constraints: one piece per submission, no previously published work, no AI-generated work, and strict length limits of 3,500 words for prose and two pages for poetry. A short third-person biography is required. Submissions containing multiple pieces are not considered, a rule the editors frame as a matter of organizational fairness rather than severity. The curatorial vision here is one of constraint as generative pressure. By fixing three unrelated nouns—a cosmic singularity, a moving body of water, a mundane adhesive—the journal invites writers and artists to discover the unexpected logics that connect them. The editors note that representing all three elements is not required but is viewed favorably, which suggests that the most competitive work will treat the elements as structural or thematic engines rather than passing references. The explicit refusal of AI-generated work reflects a broader commitment to human authorship and original labor, and it should be read as a firm condition of entry.