Submit

Submit to MER

Thanks for your interest in MER! We publish creative work on mothers, mothering, and motherhood, in all its forms. You need not be a mother to submit, as long as your piece is focused on motherhood.

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NOTE: Submissions for our next print issue, MER 25, will be open May 1 – July 15.
Guidelines are below.

Submissions Guidelines

MER will be open from May 1, 2026 to July 15, 2026 for literary submissions to our annual print issue (25th anniversary!) and to MER Online Quarterly.

We publish poetry (up to 3 poems, no more than 5 pages), and fiction, creative prose/nonfiction, and hybrid works (up to 1000 words) on mothering or motherhood. We also seek mother-themed art. You need not be a mother to submit. Our calendar conforms to Eastern Time.

Early Bird (free) submissions 5/1 – 5/7 or until we reach our Submittable limit.

Regular Submissions 5/1-7/15 ($3 fee or free with subscription purchase, $16) .

We will respond by November 2026. The issue will be published in March 2027.

What to submit

We publish literary work on mothers, mothering, and motherhood.

Please read our print journal and online quarterly: http://merliterary.com

• Submit work that has not been previously published online or in print.
• Simultaneous submissions are okay, but please let us know promptly if your submission is accepted elsewhere, by using your Submittable.com account to add a note to your submission telling us which titles are no longer available for consideration.
• Submissions will be considered for the print issue and for MER Online on our website unless you specify in your cover letter that you are only submitting for one or the other. If you have previously submitted to MER online or print, we request that you submit work other than that previously submitted.
• Submit your own creative work. If you collaborated with anyone or thing (eg. AI) in creating the piece, you must note that in your cover letter.

How to submit

We use Submittable for submissions, and do not accept paper or email submissions.

Early Bird Submissions: One free “Early Bird” submission per submitter, please. We will accept Early Bird submissions 5/1-7, or until we reach our Submittable limits. Select “Early Bird (Genre)” when submitting.

Regular Submissions: from May 1 to July 15, 2025.

• There is a $3 fee for each poetry submission (of up to 3 poems), nonfiction/creative prose submission, art, and fiction or cross-genre submission (up to 1000 words total—can be several short pieces that total under 1000 words).
• Submit free when you subscribe to the upcoming issue for a special price of $16. When in Submittable, select the option you prefer.
• Cover letter: Please include the title(s) of each individual work in the submission and a brief (50-75 word) third person bio.
• Submit your work in one document named “Last name, First name, Genre.” (We strongly prefer .doc, docx, .txt, or .rtf, but if your work has unusual spacing, you may submit in pdf form).

Poetry: Please submit up to 3 poems in a single word or text document of no more than 6 pages with the file name Last name, First name, Poetry. Please number your pages and start each poem on a separate page. Important: Please left justify your poem without indenting and single space your poem unless indenting or extra spacing is an integral part of the poem.

Creative Prose, Fiction, Cross-genre: Please submit one piece up to 1000 words, or several short-short pieces that total fewer than 1000 words in all, in a single word or text document with the file name Last name, First name, Genre. Please double space, number your pages, and put title of the submission (but not your name) on top of each page.

Visual Art: Please submit up to four works of art (drawings, paintings, photos, etc.) that relate to mothers or motherhood, in a .jpg file at 300 dpi. (MER cover is color; interior art is black and white. If your art is selected, we will request a larger file.

Scholarship Submissions: We have a limited number of submission scholarships available. If the submissions fee is a hardship, you may submit during the “Early Bird” period or email us at MERsubmissions @gmail.com with your submission, cover letter and bio. Please put “Scholarship Application” as subject line.

Contact: [email protected] (Please be sure to add this address to your email program so that you can receive correspondence from us). We will add all submitters to our mailing list (we send a bimonthly newsletter) but you may unsubscribe if you wish.

Terms of publication

You represent that you created the piece, you own the rights to the piece, and allow us to publish it. If you collaborated with anyone or thing (eg. AI) in creating the piece, you must note that in your cover letter. MER acquires first-time publication rights to the piece. We also reserve the right to republish it in a future electronic and/or print collections. Back issues are archived indefinitely. Rights return to the authors after publication; after the contributions have appeared in MER, the authors may republish their pieces in any manner they wish but it is requested they acknowledge prior publication in MER.

We are a volunteer organization, and are unable to pay for pieces at this time. A complimentary PDF contributor copy of the complete issue will be emailed to contributors prior to the launch date. You will also have the opportunity to purchase hard copies at reduced contributor rates if you wish.

Thanks for submitting to MER. We look forward to reading your work.

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