The magazine is currently on hiatus. Submissions are closed, but you can still order digital issues from the shop at any time. If you want to be notified when we open for submissions again, please join the mailing list. Thanks for your support!
Neon publishes dozens of writers and artists each year – all from unsolicited submissions. If you’ve got something which might fit the magazine, please read the guidelines below to find out how to get it published.
Before sending work for publication…
The best possible thing you can do to increase your chances of being accepted is to read the magazine! This is easy to do: the print edition costs less than a sandwich and a coffee (and ships to anywhere in the world) and you can set your own price for the instant-download digital edition.
Not only will reading the magazine give you the clearest possible idea of Neon‘s aesthetic, but by subscribing, purchasing a copy or donating you’ll be supporting one of the UK’s longest-running independent literary magazines.
On top of that, anyone who supports the magazine in any of these ways will receive expedited responses to submissions, complete with editorial feedback. If that’s something you’d value, please consider supporting the magazine before making your submission.
What we’re looking for
We prefer darker pieces, especially those with an element of the surreal or speculative, but are open to anything and like to be surprised.
Images, comics, and graphic poems are also welcome, as are self-contained extracts. If you have any doubts about whether something is suitable, go ahead and send it anyway.
Themes
Most issues of the magazine are themed. We’re currently looking for submissions on the following themes:
Childhood
(Deadline 15th June 2023)
Please feel free to interpret these themes any way you like. Submissions with only a loose or tenuous connection to a theme are still very welcome.
Terms
We ask for non-exclusive, one-time, worldwide rights to publish your work in print and digital formats, and then to archive it indefinitely.
We pay on acceptance, via PayPal, at these rates:
| Prose | 2p per word |
| Poetry | 20p per line |
| Photography | £5 per image |
| Comics | £5 per page |
(Minimum payment of £10 per contributor)
How to submit
- Include a covering letter
- Include a third-person bio (up to 100 words)
- Include the word “Submission” in the subject line
- Up to 6 poems, 5,000 words of prose, 10 images
- Simultaneous submissions: okay
- Reprints: welcome
- One submission at a time, please
Send work to subs@neonmagazine.co.uk. Please add this email address to your whitelist or “safe sender” list. If you don’t, you may not receive a reply.
Please query if you have received no response after six months (expedited submissions can expect a response within six weeks).
If you are new to sending your work out for publication you might find this guide useful.
Feedback
If you are a subscriber to the magazine, or if you have recently made a donation or purchased a sample copy, please mention this in your covering letter.
You’ll receive an expedited response with some personalised notes from the editor.