A Journal of Literary Oddities
Shift is an international, student-run literary journal published by Ringling College of Art and Design.
We welcome new, emerging, and established writers to submit fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, graphic/hybrid texts, or other word-based work in English or in translation. We cast a similarly wide net for images.
We’re especially interested in literary oddities–language-based creations that push boundaries, challenge expectations, and defy easy categorization.
Send us your prose, poetry, and art.
We want to see your best work, regardless of style, form, subject matter, or genre.
Submission Information
The submission period for Issue #7 (2025) has closed. Please keep creating and return here in October 2025 when we reopen for submissions.
We will respond to contributors by May 31, 2025.
General information:
Please send us your best work! We accept simultaneous submissions–but NOT previously published work. During our reading period, please notify us by email if you wish to withdraw a piece for any reason, including acceptance by another journal.
We value human creativity and effort. We do not accept work generated by AI or assisted by AI beyond basic spellcheck and grammar check.
Please read these directions carefully.
- You may submit a total of five (5) pieces to Shift across all categories.
- Each one requires a separate submission.
- We do NOT consider groups of poems.
Please fill out a form for each submission.
We read blindly during our initial review. Please remove your name and contact info EVERYWHERE in your Word document. We will be able to track your submission through the Google form. Include only the word count, page numbers, and title.
Name the file with the initials of your first and last name and keywords from the title (all in one word). For example: SWLiteraryTale
Submission Forms (will reopen in October 2025)
Fiction form (under 4,000 words)
Nonfiction form (under 4,000 words)
Poetry form (under 75 lines)
Art/Photo/Image form (in a JPEG with a resolution of at least 300 dpi)
Answers to additional FAQs
- We do not charge a reading fee.
- Each contributor to the journal will receive one complimentary print copy of the issue.
- Published work may be nominated for Best of the Net, Pushcart, and other awards.
- Authors whose work particularly dazzles us might be invited to participate in Ringling’s Visiting Writers Forum, a conversation series with authors and other literary professionals: www.visitingwritersforum.com.
- Please direct any journal-related questions to our email.
- Again, we do NOT accept AI-generated or AI-assisted work.
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