Submissions are currently closed. They will reopen on 1 October for our Winter 2026-27 issue.
Submission guidelines
We welcome all submissions of creative and non-fiction writing. We mainly publish essays, poems and short pieces of fiction.
All of our issues are unthemed.
All submissions must be original and unpublished.
We accept submissions in all languages, but if you are submitting in a language other than English or German, please include an English or German translation.
Poems must be under 200 lines and prose pieces under 2,000 words.
Please submit a maximum of five poems or two prose pieces.
We accept simultaneous submissions, but please tell us if your work is published elsewhere after you submit it to us.
If you have been published in Reading into Culture, please do not submit in the next submission period. Wait one issue before submitting again.
Please include the titles of your submissions and a short author bio.
Send your submissions as Word documents (if necessary for the formatting, with an additional PDF) to: submissions@readingintoculture.com
Please include your name and the title of your piece(s) in the document name.
AI Policy
Submissions must be fully written by the author. We do not accept creative work that has been generated by AI and then presented as the author’s own writing.
AI may be used for brainstorming, idea development, editing suggestions, proofreading or similar forms of support during the development of a piece.
An exception may be made for work in which the use of AI is itself central to the artistic concept. In such cases, authors should clearly disclose how AI was used when submitting the piece.
Podcast
Please note: There will be no podcast for the Autumn 2026 issue.
As part of our magazine, we host a podcast in which we dedicate one episode to each piece we publish. We invite our writers on the podcast to talk to us about their piece as well as their perspective on writing and literature. However, participation is entirely optional.
If you would prefer not to be part of the podcast, you are still explicitly encouraged to submit your work. Your decision regarding the podcast does not need to be made or communicated to us at the time of submission and has absolutely no impact on the editorial selection process. We evaluate all submissions independently of any interest in participating in the podcast.
For those who are interested but feel hesitant, we are very happy to accommodate you. This might include recording audio-only, having a conversation that is not recorded for publication, doing a written Q&A, or finding another format that you feel comfortable with.