The Glacier
The Glacier is an online literary magazine that publishes exceptional poetry, short fiction, nonfiction, and visual art. Our third issue is now available to read! Submissions for Issue Four are now CLOSED. See our previous three issues if you want to know what we like (or order poetry books from 42 Miles Press or Submittable).
GENERAL GUIDELINES
We want to be knocked for a loop by the writing you send. Make it absurd. Surprise us and scare us. Defy our expectations. We want to see work from BIPOC, disabled, and queer writers. We want to see work you’ve returned to, because it keeps you awake at night. We like work that shouldn’t logically make sense but somehow does. We want to see work that is unafraid to be different. If other magazines have rejected work you have believed in for years, send it to us.
POETRY
The Glacier prefers lyric/associative poetry over straight narrative, but do not have a house style. We appreciate funny poems and poetry that is surreal. If you want to get a better understanding of the kind of work we like, read an earlier issue. If it’s riveting, we will always consider it. Send up to seven poems, all within a single file. We accept simultaneous submissions but if your work is accepted elsewhere, please add a note withdrawing poem(s) from your submission. Previously published poems are not accepted. Contributors retain rights but are asked to acknowledge The Glacier as first publisher when poems appear elsewhere.
FICTION
At The Glacier, we enjoy more experimental work over straight narrative. We like fiction that gets to the point and that keeps burning in a reader’s mind after the last word is read . . . 1300 words max. Occasionally, exceptions may be made for exceptional work. Send up to three stories. Single-or double-spaced is fine. We accept simultaneous submissions but if your work is accepted elsewhere, please let us know using the notes feature on Submittable. Previously published work not accepted. Contributors retain rights but are asked to acknowledge The Glacier as first publisher when stories appear elsewhere.
NONFICTION
The Glacier seeks nonfiction that grips us from the first sentence and doesn’t let go (again, try to keep each piece under 1300 words). We’re looking for essays and true stories that flabbergast—work that startles with its honesty, ingenuity, or sheer audacity. Show us the world through your eyes with observations so sharp they cut and truths so profound they resonate long after the final word. We want writing that doesn’t just recount but reveals—delving deep into the unexpected corners of experience. Bring us examples of nonfiction that are engaging, necessary, and alive, whether through humor, heartbreak, or hard-earned insight. Above all, we want work that stays with us, work that matters. Send up to three pieces. Contributors retain rights but are asked to acknowledge The Glacier as first publisher when poems appear elsewhere.
VISUAL ART
The Glacier prefers collage and mixed media artwork, though we are open to painting, drawing, photography, and other visual mediums. We don’t particularly appreciate submissions that aren’t cohesive or appear to be doodles of various styles with nothing linking them. Send up to 8 images. We accept simultaneous submissions but if your work is accepted elsewhere, please let us know using the notes feature on Submittable. Previously published work not accepted. Contributors retain rights but are asked to acknowledge The Glacier as first publisher when artworks appear elsewhere.
42 Miles Press Poetry Award
An annual contest awarding book publication to a collection of poetry. Winning poets receive $1000, 50 author copies, and are invited to do a reading at Indiana University South Bend. (We sometimes publish more than one title.) Past winners include poets Carrie Oeding, Tracey Knapp, Betsy Andrews, William Stobb, Mary Ann Samyn, Jake Bauer, Elly Bookman, Rebecca Reynolds, and Dana Jaye Cadman. Submissions run February 1st thru June 15th.
Twyckenham Notes
Twyckenham Notes is on hiatus and submissions are closed.
Joe Bolton Poetry Award
The Joe Bolton Award is on hiatus and submissions are closed. When active, this contest, in honor of the late poet Joe Bolton, awards $1000 and publication to a single poem or small group of poems. Past winners include Susan O’Dell Underwood, Nicholas Reading, Joseph Goosey, and Jennifer Greenberg.
The Glacier 