submission guidelines

Anyone can submit to POTE, as many times as they’d like! Submissions to our print magazine, The Warbler, are open until March 7, 2025. Submissions to POTE’s online blog are open until April 25, 2025. We’ll return feedback within two weeks of your submission.

General Guidelines

All submissions should speak compellingly to an issue or subject within the broader motifs of the natural environment, human society, and their intersections. Blog submissions are welcome to explore this in any capacity, while print submissions should also consider The Warbler’s specific annual theme. Our Spring 2025 issue’s theme is Local Environmental Humanities: Culture & Nature in New York.

You may specify where you would like your work to be considered (blog, print magazine, or both), and where you’d prefer your work be published. Please note that submissions with an audio or video component can only be published on the blog, as detailed below. While separate forms exist for submitting Fiction, Nonfiction, and Art & Photography, feel free to combine or defy genre to any extent that inspires you.

Fiction

Poetry: We accept poetry and longer collections of shorter poems. All forms of poetry are welcome; language should be thoughtfully crafted. Audio files of spoken poetry are also welcome, but can only be published on the blog.

Music: We accept lyrics, scores, and/or recordings of original music, but please note that audio recordings can only be published on the blog.

Short Stories & Other Prose: Fiction pieces can be any length, from short stories to longer works. Submissions should be compelling, entertaining, novel, and/or figuratively rich.

Nonfiction

Interviews: Interviewees can be local or cultural figures, individuals with unique or compelling perspectives on an environmental humanities topic, etc. Written interview transcripts are welcome; they should be concise, cohesive, and formatted for easy readability. Interviews in video or audio format and podcasts are also welcome, but can only be published on the blog.

Essays & Other Nonfiction: We accept academic or personal essays, reporting, memoir, criticism, commentary, etc. Works should provide a compelling exploration of a specific subject in a relatively concise format. Opinion pieces should be clearly articulated and well supported.

Video & Film

For the blog only, we accept video and short film submissions. These can be fictional narratives, documentaries, animations, analysis, footage, etc. — submit through the Fiction or Nonfiction form based on your work’s genre. Submissions should be thoughtfully edited and can include a short written introduction. Footage can be analog or digital, but submissions must be in the form of digital files. Please note that we cannot provide direct video editing, only editorial suggestions.

Art & Photography

Photography: For the blog and magazine, we accept single photographs or photography collections. Collections should have a unifying theme and can include a short written introduction/description or captions. Photography can be analog or digital, but submissions must be in the form of .jpg digital files. Please note that we cannot provide direct photography editing, only editorial suggestions.

Art: We accept traditional and digital art, paintings and drawings, collage, graphic design, photos of 3D works, comics, etc. — any art form of your choosing, including collections of several works with a unifying theme. Submissions can include a brief written artist statement. Submission files should be high quality digital photos/copies of your work.