Submission Guidelines

WE ARE CURRENTLY CLOSED FOR SUBMISSIONS

Please check back soon.

EXPEDITED SUBMISSION: Our review process can take several months. If you would like a response to your submission within two weeks, elect this category. The $15 submission fee covers administrative costs. PLEASE INDICATE WHETHER YOUR SUBMISSION IS FICTION OR NONFICTION.
*Please note that this applies to all categories except Tip Jar submissions (which are reviewed in the regular course).

TIP JAR SUBMISSION: Under this category, you may submit work in any genre for $10. This is completely optional and your submission will not be treated any differently than if you submit your work under one of the other categories listed below. PLEASE INDICATE WHETHER YOUR SUBMISSION IS FICTION OR NONFICTION.

If you elect this submission option, please know how much we appreciate your support! 

FICTION: Origins publishes high quality fiction characterized by interest in language, development of distinctive settings, and the perturbation of unique characters.  (3,000 words)

NONFICTION: We look for distinctive topical essays and personal “creative nonfiction” of any kind. Please keep in mind that topical essays should be written for a general audience (We’re not interested in academic pieces).  (3,000 words)

FLASH FICTION: Fiction under 600 words.

POETRY:  All verse formats and subjects are considered. Originality and precision of language are important to us. Please submit no more than three poems.

Please note: We are now an online-only publication. (Past issues of Origins Journal are available for download as an ebook on our website or in print via our partner, Politics & Prose Bookstore.)

Additional Information

  • We do not accept multiple submissions.

  • We only consider previously unpublished work.

  • We DO accept simultaneous submissions but please notify us as soon as possible if your work is accepted elsewhere.

Origins is an online and print publication interested in showcasing first worldwide serial rights and nonexclusive reprint rights, for the full term of the copyright, for publication of the work in electronic, audio, and print form (which means that the magazine may reprint this work in a future print publication and may archive it online for permanent display, however reconfigured, on this website) and for use, along with the author’s name, in publicizing, promoting, and advertising the work itself as well as Origins.

Soon, we hope to offer payment to our contributors. We are working hard to raise the money to be able to do this. If you'd like to support this effort, you may do so by choosing to submit either under the EXPEDITED SUBMISSION, FEEDBACK SUBMISSION or TIP JAR SUBMISSION category. We also accept donations in any amount on our website under the DONATE tab.

Responses may take several months. As with submissions to any literary magazine, familiarity with our journal will give you a sense of the kind of work we like.

If you have any questions or concerns, please email us at

originsjournal(at)gmail(dot)com.