What we are looking for: short stories that are intrepid with regard to experimentation and oddity; the strange, the surreal, the atypical, the unexpected. Traditional genre divisions do not matter to us—we do not care whether a piece qualifies as strictly ‘literary’; we only care that it is high-quality, that it is well-written, and that it is interesting. Please send us pieces that you feel do not fit in anywhere else, or are beyond the pale of any given trend. Send us content that causes us to experience feelings we do not have names for.

We highly recommend reading our previous issues to get a sense of the kind of stories we are interested in; that said, we are also always looking to be caught off guard with unprecedented content.

Currently we do not charge for submissions.

Propagule is prepared to offer $5 per 1,000 words (up to a maximum of $20) upon our decision to publish your work.

Submissions must be received by June 15th, 2023 to be considered for Issue Three.

Propagule accepts only previously unpublished material. 

Please only submit one piece at a time—if your piece is rejected, we welcome you to send us another; if your piece is selected for publication, we ask that you wait until the reading period of the next issue to submit another story. 

Please do not resubmit the same piece more than once, even if somewhat changed—we do not accept unsolicited rewrites.

Simultaneous submissions are allowed, but please notify us immediately if your piece has been accepted elsewhere, so that we can remove it from consideration.

Submissions may range from 500 to 10,000 words; any submitted pieces below or above this will not be considered.

Upon publication, Propagule acquires First World Serial Rights, First World Electronic Rights, and Non-Exclusive World Anthology Reprint Rights, as well as the right to publish your work on Motif, an upcoming mobile app for literature.

Please send your submissions through Submittable.