The theme of our summer issue is "Mirrors." Send us anything quirky and unique that related to the theme in any way.

Accepting short stories (fiction and creative non-fiction), poetry, and images (Note, we print in a square format, so square visual images are ideal, but we'll take any shape. No AI-generated art, please.)

Decisions will be made in the first week of January as to which non-expedited works were accepted.

This issue of Audience Askew is being released on 15 July 2023.

We seem to get a LOT of strange science fiction romance and dating shorts and poems... There's absolutely nothing wrong with that, in fact there's so little wrong with that we gave in and are making an anthology just for it!

THEME: Humorous sci-fi romance, romantic comedy, and smut.

DEADLINE: 6/30/23 or until all slots are filled

DEETS: Submit 1-3 short stories (50-3,000 words), or 1-5 poems (2-80 lines, including line breaks)

[Submission fees help us pay for our Submittable account, but we understand not everybody has the means to pay; as such, we provide a free-submissions opportunity during the first 10 days of the month.]

THEME: Humorous steampunk stories and related poetry. 

DEADLINE: 4/30/23 or until all slots are filled 

DEETS: Submit 1-3 short stories (50-3k words), or 1-5 poems (2-80 lines, including line breaks)

• No sexism, racism, ageism, ableism, or any other isms; they can be touched on but not glorified;
• It must be your own original work;
• It must be previously unpublished (personal blogs, websites, Reddit, etc. are okay);
• It does not infringe on existing copyright material (this includes fan fiction);
• Simultaneous submissions are okay, if accepted elsewhere let us know ASAP;
• Please don’t resubmit a rejected piece. If you’ve made significant revisions, contact us first.
• Feel free to submit again with new pieces if your work was declined. 
• We read submissions blind. Do not put any identifying information on your submission, including the file name.

Contributors will receive a free digital copy of the anthology.

6 categories. Each entrant may submit ONE poem and ONE microfiction PER CATEGORY (separate submissions).

poems: 35 lines max (including line breaks) ; micro-fiction: 300 words max

Each entry requires its own submission; if more than one entry is provided on a single submission, only the first will be considered.

Be sure to read the official Skewies rules and regulations at https://audienceaskew.com/the-skewies/  

The Categories

Fornicate the Form

Keats, Frost, and Angelou are best known for their respective crafting and mastery of the form. Well, good-for-fucking-them. We want your weird, wild, and almost intelligible poetry for this category. Disregard the form or become the corporate sell-out your parents have always wanted you to be.

Eye Sweat

Yes, this is Phineas and Ferb reference. No, we do not want your fan-fiction. We are looking for work that taps into your repressed or otherwise-masked emotions. Sure, you can show us a tear, but blame it on the fluorescent lighting. Hold it to your chest, champ.

Horny Doggy

Are you horny? Write about it! Are you not horny? Do you have a headache again? Did I say something earlier? No, it looks nice. Well, I forgot! Am I not allowed to forg… actually, fuck it! I’m sleeping on the couch again. *clears throat* Sorry about that. Where were we? Oh, right. Send us your (preferably non-dog-related) smut.

Spooky (Not Dookie)

This one is fairly self-explanatory: send us your rejections from last October. Simple, right? Now, I know at least one of you is going to send a poop [“dookie”] related poem… Hilarious. 10/10. Original comedy. You will be hearing from our legal team.

Laugh Till I Cry

We want your mania here.

Bukowski But Funny

Are you drunk? Do you plan on drinking soon? Well, if you are, go down to your local public library, Google up Bukowski, and then send us your attempt at Clown Bukowski.

Remember, we like the quirky, humorous, and unique!

Most chapbooks will be published under Nat 1's Audience Askew imprint.

Submit 1 chapbook consisting of 5 to 20 works of poetry and/or microfiction (300 words or less per story) for consideration.

Chapbook may contain original works of art, but at least fifty percent must be literature.

• No sexism, racism, ageism, ableism, or any other isms; they can be touched on but not glorified;
• It must be your own original work;
• At least fifty percent must be previously unpublished (excluding personal blogs, websites, Reddit, etc.);
• It does not infringe on existing copyright material (this includes fan fiction);
• Simultaneous submissions are okay, if accepted elsewhere let us know ASAP;
• Feel free to submit a new chapbook for consideration once you've received a decision on a previous submission. 
• Please don’t resubmit a rejected piece. If you’ve made significant revisions, contact us first.
• We read submissions blind. Do not put any identifying information on your submission, including the file name.

Please allow up to six months for a decision, though depending on the volume of submissions we aim to have responses much quicker.

We are looking for novellas in the fantasy and science fiction genres that have a good dose of humor (any form from macabre to slapstick, parody, or satire). Any subgenre. 

8,000 - 30,000 words.

Submit one manuscript at a time; feel free to submit again after you receive a decision.

Be sure to check out our website to get an idea of our style and previously published works before submitting!

• No sexism, racism, ageism, ableism, or any other isms;
• It must be your own original work;
• It must be previously unpublished (personal blogs, websites, Reddit, etc. are okay);
• It does not infringe on existing copyright material (this includes fan fiction);
• Simultaneous submissions are okay, if accepted elsewhere let us know ASAP;
• Please don’t resubmit a rejected piece. If you’ve made significant revisions, contact us first.
• We read submissions blind. Do not put any identifying information on your submission, including the file name.