Chaotic Merge Magazine Open Call for submissions

Chaotic Merge is a literary and multi-media magazine that is home to obscure and honest work from the new and rising artists around the world. When choosing the name of this magazine, we wanted to find a name that included the diverse voice we search for and capture the beauty of an artist’s thought process. We thought these two went hand in hand. When an artist’s mind is clouded with so many thoughts, they might want to capture it. At first, it might seem messy, even chaotic, but when playing with structure and balance, it can become something beautiful. We believe this idea with the community too. If we put all our diverse and different stories together, we can create a knowledgeable and authentic portrayal of our world, creating a beautiful Chaotic Merge.

*Note: We don’t have themes for Issues. We believe all art forms and genres can beautifully collide into a Chaotic Merge.

Chaotic Merge is looking for submissions from all different forms of artists. We seek work that is adventurous and test the border of art and structure. Don’t be afraid to mess with everything you have ever learned. We encourage the voices of people of color and members of the LGBTQIA+ community to submit their work.

General Submission Guidelines
All work(s) should be submitted through Submittable with either Garamond or Times New Roman 12pt. Font. Please look below to see if the section(s) you are submitting to have specific guidelines. We have the right to refuse the right to read your work if submitted otherwise.

Disclaimer:
As a Magazine, we do not tolerate and reserve the right to reject or not to respond to work that contains racism, homophobia, violent themes, etc. content.

Content Warnings:
Please include content warnings for any sensitive material after the title of your piece or by messaging us directly. If you do not know if it should have a trigger warning or not, put it in there anyway. It can only help.

Note:
All our zine are all online only. Our regular issues are print & online.

Categories:
POETRY

We accept 2 unpublished poems per person. Please submit them in one file not exceeding ten pages.
All submissions must be 12pt Times New Roman or Garamond, and submitted on one file not exceeding 10 pages. Please title each individual poem in bold. We do not accept artwork accompanied with a poetry submission.Works that do not abide by this will be rejected.

Famous Poets Who We Feel Are Very Chaotic Merge:
Louise Glück, Richard Siken, Sharon Olds, and Cynthia Cruz
Chaotic Merge Poetry Contributors We Admire:
Renee Keele, Allen Means, Loren Walker, and Emily Murman
Excerpt from Ace of Cups by Allen Means, Spectrum: The Identity Zine:
“the first boy who doesn’t love me back laughs himself across the bridge and tells me to hold my breath. he holds my elbow as i step up onto his skateboard and i tell him i must i look stupid for trying. the park benches are all green and empty. he does not understand because he is not afraid of looking. he tells me all he can see and it is covered in tired, shimmering dust. he grins for anything at all, even falling.”

FICTION

PROSE: 1-2 pieces of unpublished fiction totaling to 5,000 words. We do not accept excerpts of longer works or genre fiction.
Long form fiction (stories of 5,000 words) will only be read until Aug 12th, 2024.
FLASH: We accept up to 3 unpublished flash fiction pieces, each with a maximum of 1,000 words.
All submissions MUST be double spaced in 12pt Times New Roman, Garamond, or similar fonts. Works that do not abide by this will be rejected.

Famous Fiction Writers Who We Feel Are Very Chaotic Merge: Octavia E. Butler, Adrienne Maree Brown, Patricia Engel, and Ottessa Moshfegh
Chaotic Merge Fiction Contributors We Admire: Alec Evan March, Kristina Carpenter, JP Seabright, Tyler Schwanke
Excerpt from Consumption by JP Seabright, The Green Zine:
“[…] I realise how pointless it’s all been, all these years. Life’s purpose seems to be purely to consume and then be consumed. Where is the beauty in that? The joy? The glory? Where is the justification in all that consumption? I am bloated with the world’s greed and selfishness. I am constipated with humanity’s relentless urge to burn everything in its path for that brief hit of the blaze—the flame of consumerism and capitalism—its degeneracy. How we have all been fooled into thinking more is better.”

NONFICTION

We accept up to 2 unpublished short Nonfiction pieces (up to 5,000 words or 10-15 pgs)
All submissions must be double spaced, 12pt Times New Roman or Garamond, and must not exceed 15 pages.

Famous Nonfiction Writers Who We Feel Are Very Chaotic Merge: Leslie Jamison, Brian Doyle, Michelle Zauner
Chaotic Merge Nonfiction Contributors We Admire: Grace Schwenk, Erica Hoffmeister
Excerpt from “How to be Catfished over AIM at Age 14” by Erica Hoffmeister:
“We had survived freshman year and our first season of formal dances—I wore the backless red dress, tied tight across winged shoulder blades, when polyester dresses and Japanese-print clutches filled rented ballrooms two towns over, our stomachs full of grill-marked, thawed-out steak from a big night out at Steer n’ Stein, not a single date on our minds under hair-sprayed glitter barrettes and mom-crafted updos, our hands and arms catching desert-dust in fistfuls out of the limo sunroof. It was a small town. One road in, one road out.”

ART/ PHOTOGRAPHS/ ILLUSTRATIONS

We accept up to 5 unpublished art/photographs/ illustrations.
Please submit all work in 300 dpi and in pdf, png, and jpeg files. All submissions will be considered for cover art and issue.

Famous Artist/ Photographers/ Illustrators Who We Feel Are Very Chaotic Merge: Alex Prager, Gregory Crewdson, Sandy Kim, and Annie Leibovitz
Chaotic Merge Artist/ Photographers/ Illustrators Contributors We Admire: CoCo Hubbeling, Zoe Stanek, Cody Morgan, Taylor Yingshi

SCREENPLAY/ PLAYS

We accept up to 2 unpublished Screenplay or Play totaling to 10 Pages.

Famous Plays Who We Feel Are Very Chaotic Merge: Wolves by Sarah Delappe, Wives by Jacklyn Backhaus, and The Flick by Annie Baker
Chaotic Merge Fiction Contributors We Admire: Juliana Warta and Kolin Lawler

SHORT FILMS

We accept up to 2 short films no more than 20 min in length

Chaotic Merge Filmers Contributors We Admire: Chelsea Muscat & Melanie Rosete

FAQ

WHAT IS YOUR RESPONSE TIME?
Our response time is 1 month – 3 months for print issues. If you haven’t received word back from us by then, you may send us a query to our email chaoticmergemagazine@gmail.com or through submittable. Please remember we are doing the best we can to get back to you as quickly as possible.

HOW MANY TIMES CAN I SUBMIT PER READING PERIOD?

A person can submit up to one time per category (poetry, fiction, nonfiction, etc.) per submission period.

DO YOU PUBLISH ALREADY PUBLISHED WORK?

Chaotic Merge Magazine publishes only unpublished work, unless we ourselves request for them. By submitting your work, you affirm that you are the sole author and maintain all rights for your work. By submitting your work, you authorize Chaotic Merge Magazine to publish your work in both its e-journal, online platforms, and print.

DO YOU ACCEPT SIMULTANEOUS SUBMISSIONS?
While we accept simultaneous submissions, please notify us on our email (chaoticmergemagazine@gmail.com) or through submittable immediately to withdraw your work once it has been accepted elsewhere.

DO YOU PAY YOUR CONTRIBUTORS?
We will now be offering a small $3-$5 payment for each work(s) accepted. Currently, that is the best we can do for our writers, and we are working on improving this amount in the future. Also, all works will be considered and nominated for The Pushcart Prize.