Founded in 1981, BOMB Magazine is dedicated to delivering the artist's voice. BOMB includes a print quarterly magazine and an online daily publication. In addition to conversations between artists of all disciplines, BOMB publishes original works of fiction, poetry, and translation. 

BOMB hosts an annual literary contest, alternating between fiction and poetry each year, with a distinguished guest judge. 

We encourage submissions of adventurous work that push the boundaries of form or content in some way. We open for general submissions on occasion. Please sign up for our newsletter for more details.

Before submitting, we encourage you to read the magazine, online and in print, to acquaint yourself with the material we have published. Subscriptions to BOMB are available here.

Ends on This opportunity will close after 500 submissions have been received.
SUBMIT to BOMB Open Submissions 2024

BOMB will open for submissions on November 18. We are currently looking for fiction, essays, and graphic narratives. We will accept submissions through December 1 or until we reach our limit of 500, whichever comes first. This is due to our small staff and the attention we wish to contribute to your work.

Guidelines 

  • Opening for fiction, essays, and graphic narratives.
  • Only one submission per person regardless of category.
  • Please refrain from submitting if your work has been published by BOMB in the last three years. 
  • Simultaneous submissions are accepted, but please notify us if the submission is accepted elsewhere.
  • There is no fee to submit. 
  • BOMB offers a $125 honorarium for literary contributions to our website and a $250 honorarium for contributions to our print quarterly—all pieces accepted for print will also appear online.
  • Response time: Six to eight months.

What we're looking for

We are only considering previously unpublished work up to 5,000 words for prose and 4–11 pages for graphic narratives. We are particularly interested in essays on the creative process, and the intersection of criticism and practice, such as:  

  • Annotated performance documentation
  • Visual essays combining text and image
  • Process documentation with critical commentary
  • Where artists become critics and critics become artists
  • How critical discourse shapes studio/rehearsal practice
  • The documentation and analysis of process-based work

The best way to see what BOMB publishes is to read some recent work. All of the examples below are currently available to online for free.

Fiction

Nonfiction

Graphic Narratives

What we're not looking for

  • At this time, we are not looking for interviews, reviews, or pitches. All submissions should be finished and ready for publication. 
  • No profiles, essays about individual artists, interviews reframed into narrative form, or poetry.


Thank you for sharing your work with us!

Thank you for your interest in submitting to BOMB Magazine. Because we are a small organization with an even smaller editorial department, it often takes time to read and respond to our submissions. We appreciate your patience.

BOMB Magazine is a nonprofit, independent publishing house. Since 1981, we have been spotlighting artists in conversation and offering unique insight into the creative process.

BOMB Magazine