Beyond Words is an international print magazine of literature and art, founded in 2020.
We pair powerful writing with striking visual art, creating an experience greater than the sum of its parts.
Our global Editorial Board of 11 editors and writers reviews all submissions blindly, ensuring every piece is judged on its own merit.
We welcome poetry, flash fiction, creative nonfiction, short stories, and all forms of inspiring visual art.
Beyond Words Press also publishes themed anthologies of poetry and prose (no visual art in these). Check our Submittable page for current open calls and themes.
We read submissions and send out decisions every day. We promise a one-day turnaround for most of our projects (excluding visual art submissions and 250-word competition submissions).
For further information visit our website, and don't forget to check out our Facebook and Instagram!
We are currently reading for Beyond Words Magazine Issue 64 - November 2025.
We invite you to submit your poetry, or short fiction or non-fiction, for consideration.
Tired of waiting for months to hear back from literary magazines? We at Beyond Words Magazine believe there can be another way. We work around the clock and promise to respond to your submission after 24 hours with a decision.
BEYOND WORDS is an international magazine of literature and art founded in 2020. The magazine is stocked in bookshops in America and Europe. It is also featured in book fairs and writing conferences such as AWP and IndieCon.
Our global Editorial Board of writers and editors reviews all submissions in a blind review process.
Guidelines:
We accept submissions of poetry (up to three poems in a single submission) and flash fiction/non-fiction (one piece per submission; max. length 1000 words).
We consider previously published works. We also accept simultaneous submissions.
If your work is accepted by us for publication, you consent to giving Beyond Words first publication rights, after which all rights revert back to you. If you do republish your work somewhere else, we ask that you give a mention to Beyond Words.
Looking forward to enjoying your writings! In the meantime, we invite you to add us on Instagram @beyondwordsmagazine and/or on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/BeyondWordsMagazine for the latest news.
Following the success of our My Greatest Fear (2023), Once in a Lifetime (2024) and Regrets (2025) themed anthologies, Beyond Words Press will release another anthology in December 2025, this time - all about FATHERS. We invite you to submit your poems, flash fiction/non-fiction, and short stories for consideration!
We accept simultaneous submissions.
We are OK with previously published works. However, if a submitted piece has been previously published, please add a note about it.
There is no word count limit for poetry; for stories, we ask that your work doesn't exceed 3000 words.
We promise a fast turnaround - you will hear back from us within 24 hours.
We look forward to reading your wonderful works. Good luck!
Following the success of our series of themed anthologies, Beyond Words Press will release another anthology in February 2026, this time - all about DREAMS. We invite you to submit your poems, flash fiction/non-fiction, and short stories for consideration!
Guidelines
We accept simultaneous submissions.
We are OK with previously published works. However, if a submitted piece has been previously published, please add a note about it.
There is no word count limit for poetry; for stories, we ask that your work doesn't exceed 3000 words.
We promise a fast turnaround - you will hear back from us within 24 hours.
We look forward to reading your wonderful works. Good luck!
We are thrilled to announce our brand new 250-word creative writing competition for Issue 62 of Beyond Words Literary Magazine! The prompt this time is: JUMP!
We invite you to submit your poems and flash pieces up to 250 words. We will consider any literary work related to jumping. Our 11-member Editorial Board will read all submissions in a blind review process, and will then choose the best works. The winning pieces will be featured in Issue 62.
Good luck!
We are thrilled to announce our brand new 250-word creative writing competition for Issue 63 of Beyond Words Literary Magazine! The prompt this time is: DIRTY!
We invite you to submit your poems and flash pieces up to 250 words. We will consider any literary work related to dirt. Our 11-member Editorial Board will read all submissions in a blind review process, and will then choose the best works. The winning pieces will be featured in Issue 63.
Good luck!
We are thrilled to announce our brand new 250-word creative writing competition for Issue 64 of Beyond Words Literary Magazine! The prompt this time is: KING.
We invite you to submit your poems and flash pieces up to 250 words. We will consider any literary work related to kings. Our 11-member Editorial Board will read all submissions in a blind review process, and will then choose the best works. The winning pieces will be featured in Issue 64.
Good luck!
We are thrilled to announce our brand new 250-word creative writing competition for Issue 61 of Beyond Words Literary Magazine! The prompt this time is: ACCIDENT!
We invite you to submit your poems and flash pieces up to 250 words. We will consider any literary work related to accidents. Our 11-member Editorial Board will read all submissions in a blind review process, and will then choose the best works. The winning pieces will be featured in Issue 61.
Good luck!
We are thrilled to announce our brand new 250-word creative writing competition for Issue 65 of Beyond Words Literary Magazine! The prompt this time is: CHANNEL.
We invite you to submit your poems and flash pieces up to 250 words. We will consider any literary work related to channels or channeling. Our 11-member Editorial Board will read all submissions in a blind review process, and will then choose the best works. The winning pieces will be featured in Issue 65.
Good luck!
We are thrilled to announce our brand new 250-word creative writing competition for Issue 66 of Beyond Words Literary Magazine! The prompt this time is: YELLOW.
We invite you to submit your poems and flash pieces up to 250 words. We will consider any literary work related to the yellow color. Our 11-member Editorial Board will read all submissions in a blind review process, and will then choose the best works. The winning pieces will be featured in Issue 66.
Good luck!
We are thrilled to announce our brand new 250-word creative writing competition for Issue 67 of Beyond Words Literary Magazine! The prompt this time is: STARS.
We invite you to submit your poems and flash pieces up to 250 words. We will consider any literary work related to stars. Our 11-member Editorial Board will read all submissions in a blind review process, and will then choose the best works. The winning pieces will be featured in Issue 67.
Good luck!
We are thrilled to announce our brand new 250-word creative writing competition for Issue 68 of Beyond Words Literary Magazine! The prompt this time is: SAND.
We invite you to submit your poems and flash pieces up to 250 words. We will consider any literary work related to sand. Our 11-member Editorial Board will read all submissions in a blind review process, and will then choose the best works. The winning pieces will be featured in Issue 68.
Good luck!
Unlike small changes, metamorphosis is a deep, irreversible shift in self, perspective, or form.
Following the success of our My Greatest Fear (2023), Once in a Lifetime (2024), Regrets (2025), Scars (2025) and Hotel Stories (2025) themed anthologies, Beyond Words Press will release another anthology in April 2025. This time the prompt is METAMORPHOSIS. We invite you to submit your poems, flash fiction/non-fiction, and short stories for consideration!
Metamorphosis is calling for stories and poems of transformation—beautiful, brutal, and everything in between. We want works where nothing and no one emerges unchanged: the caterpillar’s first wingbeat, the monster beneath the skin, the self shed and remade in fire or shadow. Your change can be wondrous or grotesque, voluntary or inevitable, but it must alter the core. Surprise us with the forms metamorphosis can take—across genres, worlds, and minds. Show us the moment of becoming, and make us believe there’s no way back.
We accept simultaneous submissions.
We are OK with previously published works. However, if a submitted piece has been previously published, please add a note about it.
There is no word count limit for poetry; for stories, we ask that your work doesn't exceed 4000 words.
We promise a fast turnaround - you will hear back from us within 24 hours.
We look forward to reading your wonderful works. Good luck!
We are thrilled to announce our brand new 250-word creative writing competition for Issue 69 of Beyond Words Literary Magazine! The prompt this time is: MAGIC.
We invite you to submit your poems and flash pieces up to 250 words. We will consider any literary work related to magic. Our 11-member Editorial Board will read all submissions in a blind review process, and will then choose the best works. The winning pieces will be featured in Issue 69.
Good luck!
Following the success of our My Greatest Fear (2023), Once in a Lifetime (2024), Regrets (2025), Scars (2025) and Hotel Stories (2025) themed anthologies, Beyond Words Press will release a collection of horror stories in May 2026. We can't wait to read your short stories and flash fiction/non-fiction!
When the Floorboards Creak invites you to step into the shadows, where every whisper could be a warning and every groan of wood might be the last sound you hear. We’re seeking original horror stories that make the reader’s pulse race—whether your monster is human, spectral, or something far worse. Give us haunted houses, cursed objects, restless spirits, or the terror of the everyday turned uncanny. Submissions should unsettle, surprise, and linger long after the final line. If your tale can make us afraid to walk down the hall at night, we want to read it.
We accept simultaneous submissions.
We are OK with previously published works. However, if a submitted piece has been previously published, please add a note about it.
There is no word count limit for poetry; for stories, we ask that your work doesn't exceed 4000 words.
We promise a fast turnaround - you will hear back from us within 24 hours.
Good luck!
We now accept nominations for our 5th Poetry Chapbook Competition!
Our extended Editorial Board, a group of international writers and editors, will review your chapbooks and select the most creative; those which demonstrate multiple poetry techniques; and read as one piece, each poem contributing to the others.
The winners will get their chapbook published with Beyond Words Press in 2026. We will promote you and your chapbook on our social media channels, and your chapbook will be featured in book fairs and writing conferences including AWP.
Guidelines:
Please only include poems or prose-poems.
We will only consider chapbooks up to 30 pages.
It is OK to simultaneously submit your chapbook elsewhere. However, please let us know immediately in case the chapbook gets accepted there.
Decisions will be sent out in January 2026.
Good luck!
Past award recipients -
Winners of the inaugural Beyond Words Poetry Chapbook Awards:
Linda Neal Reising - Perpetual Astonishment
Weston Wise - The Songs of the Long Land
Lane Devers - Antarctica is Not the Moon
Winners of the Second Beyond Words Poetry Chapbook Awards:
Hollie Ziskind - So Many Things Flammable
Clayton Spencer - Concerning the Service
Winners of the Third Beyond Words Poetry Chapbook Awards
Von Wise - Grow a Cowboy
James Cook - Around the Lakes
Mar Ka - Near-Presence: An Abecedarian Psalm
Winner of the Fourth Beyond Words Poetry Capbook Awards
Andrew Christoforakis - But What If No One's Looking Out for Us?
We are looking for visual artists who would like to get their work - photography, paintings, drawings, collages, sculptures - featured in one of our next editions!
Beyond Words is a magazine of art and literature. In each issue, we match between literary and visual works and present both side-by-side, adding perspectives and strengths to both pieces.
Please upload up to 15 pieces. We will get back to you with a decision soon.
Looking forward to reviewing your submissions! In the meantime, we invite you to add us on Instagram @beyondwordsmagazine and/or on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/BeyondWordsMagazine for the latest updates.
Good luck!