Dear friends: after seven wonderful years, Carmina Magazine is entering its sunset - the March 2027 issue will be our last as I transition away to other projects. I have so much enjoyed sharing and delighting in all of your stories during this time, and it has been such an honor to have gotten to tend our communal campfire for all these years.
Carmina will still accept submissions for the March 2027 issue through December 31, 2026. I plan to nominate authors for another round of BOTN/other awards next year, and the site itself will stay live through early 2028 to support this process.
Thank you so much for making Carmina what it has been for all these years.
Named after the Latin word for "poems" or "songs", Carmina is looking for pieces inspired by myth: epic-style poems, modern pieces that re-imagine ancient people and places, reworkings and retellings of old fairy tales, fables, and whatever else you can imagine in-between. The myths of all backgrounds, cultures, and time periods are welcome here, as are all styles and genres. The only real "requirement" is that the work owes its seed of inspiration to some kind of mythological tradition.
Multiple submissions are encouraged! Send up to 3 short stories (each 3k words or under), 5 poems, and/or 10 images per submission. You can send multiple attachments or one single large attachment, whichever is better for you (Word docs preferred). Please use standard formatting if possible: one-inch margins, size 12 font (Arial, Calibri, or some other font that's easily legible), double-spaced for prose and single-spaced for poetry. Feel free to submit across categories!
Simultaneous submissions are also encouraged. Please just note in your email that you are submitting elsewhere. Reprints are fine too; please just note that as well in your email. Carmina asks for one-time publishing rights with a period of exclusivity leading up to publication, after which all rights revert back to the author. Please note also that Carmina does not accept work generated in whole or in part by AI and will reject or remove any work that is found to be AI-generated, even if this is discovered after publication.
Submissions are read blind in batches, so please leave identifying information off your submission documents. Please also include content warnings as needed.Carmina currently cannot offer payment for accepted works, but contributors are considered and nominated annually for Rhysling, Best of the Net, and other awards. New issues are typically released every March and September, with the occasional seasonal or special mini-issue here and there.
Current calls: Carmina is accepting submissions for our first themed mini-issue, "Monsters & Cryptids", slated for October 2026, as well as both our regular unthemed March 2027 issue. For "Monsters & Cryptids", Carmina is looking for pieces that center monsters, spooky themes, scary creatures, and other horror-leaning or Halloween-flavored narratives. You are welcome to submit to one or both issues; please just specify in your submission which issue(s) you would like your pieces to be considered for. Deadlines: October 15 for our themed mini-issue. You should hear back regarding your submission within two months! You can also sign up to receive emailed updates and news from Carmina here.
Ready to send in your work?
carminamagazine@gmail.com