FOLIO is a nationally recognized literary journal affiliated with the College of Arts and Sciences at American University in Washington, DC. Since 1984, we have published original creative work by both new and established authors. Past issues have included work by Roxane Gay, Franny Choi, Billy Collins, Ivan Pinkava, Hettie Jones, William Stafford, Bruce Weigl, Yumi Sakugawa, and Ross Gay, as well as interviews with Carmen Maria Machado, Michael Cunningham, Allen Ginsberg, and Charles Baxter. With over 30 years of history, FOLIO is proud to continue publishing great work. 

If you would like to get a sense of the work we publish, please check out past issues of FOLIO. You may purchase FOLIO through Submittable by following the purchase links below, and digitally on 0s&1s [here's a how-to guide for downloading your copy]. If you’re in the DC area, visit Upshur Street Books, The Potter's House or Politics & Prose to buy FOLIO at a discounted rate.

Our latest issue is available for purchase through the purchase link below--way down there! 

Send us your questions or comments to folio.editors@gmail.com, but before you do please note that: 

FOLIO does NOT tolerate racism, bigotry, misogyny, homophobia, transphobia, Islamophobia, xenophobia, anti-Semitism, ableism, or any work that promotes harmful stereotypes and viewpoints. 

FOLIO does NOT accept previously published work. We accept only unpublished, original work. FOLIO does NOT accept work by former or current American University students/faculty.

Yes: FOLIO accepts translations as long as the English translation has not been published elsewhere; simultaneous submissions are OK as long as you let us know and pull your piece if/as soon as it's accepted elsewhere; 

Posthumous submissions are accepted for consideration as long as the piece in question is submitted by the next of kin/person who holds the rights to the piece (proof required prior to acceptance).  

Yes, FOLIO is a non-profit organization.

To withdraw an entire submission, please use the "Withdraw" function. To withdraw part of a submission, please send us a message within Submittable noting which piece(s) are no long available. Thank you.

FOLIO

VOLUME 40 (2024)

“MIRRORS” ISSUE

 

READING PERIOD:

OCTOBER 1, 2024

to

DECEMBER 1, 2024

 

“‘The universe is the mirror in which we can contemplate only what we have learned about ourselves.” – Italo Calvino

 

Nietzsche warns us that, when we stare into the abyss, someone – or something – stares back. Who looks back at us, and what emerges from the void? This year, FOLIO is seeking poetry, nonfiction, and fiction about mirrors. Literal and metaphorical. Truth and deception. Darkness and light. Show us what new worlds or old haunts lurk on the other side of the glass.

 

Whether your work is about a superstition made manifest or a self-discovery that changes your world view, send us your mirrors. Send us poetry that focuses on the dualities we see reflected back at us. Send us essays and memoirs about reflections and unexpected images found standing beside you. Our fiction section is open to all literary fiction writers, including writers of horror, science fiction, and fantasy. To see examples of our previously published work, visit folioliteraryjournal.com.

 

Submissions are open from October 1, 2024 until December 1, 2024. Submissions must be completely self-contained and not part of a larger work. Contributors selected for publication will receive two free print copies, and FOLIO will award a prize to one story, essay, and poem. We welcome established writers and brand-new voices especially.

 

Connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram: @FolioLitJournal

FOLIO

VOLUME 40 (2024)

“MIRRORS” ISSUE

 

READING PERIOD:

OCTOBER 1, 2024

to

DECEMBER 1, 2024

 

“‘The universe is the mirror in which we can contemplate only what we have learned about ourselves.” – Italo Calvino

 

Nietzsche warns us that, when we stare into the abyss, someone – or something – stares back. Who looks back at us, and what emerges from the void? This year, FOLIO is seeking poetry, nonfiction, and fiction about mirrors. Literal and metaphorical. Truth and deception. Darkness and light. Show us what new worlds or old haunts lurk on the other side of the glass.

 

Whether your work is about a superstition made manifest or a self-discovery that changes your world view, send us your mirrors. Send us poetry that focuses on the dualities we see reflected back at us. Send us essays and memoirs about reflections and unexpected images found standing beside you. Our fiction section is open to all literary fiction writers, including writers of horror, science fiction, and fantasy. To see examples of our previously published work, visit folioliteraryjournal.com.

 

Submissions are open from October 1, 2024 until December 1, 2024. Submissions must be completely self-contained and not part of a larger work. Contributors selected for publication will receive two free print copies, and FOLIO will award a prize to one story, essay, and poem. We welcome established writers and brand-new voices especially.

 

Connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram: @FolioLitJournal

FOLIO

VOLUME 40 (2024)

“MIRRORS” ISSUE

 

READING PERIOD:

OCTOBER 1, 2024

to

DECEMBER 1, 2024

 

“‘The universe is the mirror in which we can contemplate only what we have learned about ourselves.” – Italo Calvino

 

Nietzsche warns us that, when we stare into the abyss, someone – or something – stares back. Who looks back at us, and what emerges from the void? This year, FOLIO is seeking poetry, nonfiction, and fiction about mirrors. Literal and metaphorical. Truth and deception. Darkness and light. Show us what new worlds or old haunts lurk on the other side of the glass.

 

Whether your work is about a superstition made manifest or a self-discovery that changes your world view, send us your mirrors. Send us poetry that focuses on the dualities we see reflected back at us. Send us essays and memoirs about reflections and unexpected images found standing beside you. Our fiction section is open to all literary fiction writers, including writers of horror, science fiction, and fantasy. To see examples of our previously published work, visit folioliteraryjournal.com.

 

Submissions are open from October 1, 2024 until December 1, 2024. Submissions must be completely self-contained and not part of a larger work. Contributors selected for publication will receive two free print copies, and FOLIO will award a prize to one story, essay, and poem. We welcome established writers and brand-new voices especially.

 

Connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram: @FolioLitJournal

FOLIO

VOLUME 40 (2024)

“MIRRORS” ISSUE

 

READING PERIOD:

OCTOBER 1, 2024

to

DECEMBER 1, 2024

 

“‘The universe is the mirror in which we can contemplate only what we have learned about ourselves.” – Italo Calvino

 

Nietzsche warns us that, when we stare into the abyss, someone – or something – stares back. Who looks back at us, and what emerges from the void? This year, FOLIO is seeking poetry, nonfiction, and fiction about mirrors. Literal and metaphorical. Truth and deception. Darkness and light. Show us what new worlds or old haunts lurk on the other side of the glass.

 

Whether your work is about a superstition made manifest or a self-discovery that changes your world view, send us your mirrors. Send us poetry that focuses on the dualities we see reflected back at us. Send us essays and memoirs about reflections and unexpected images found standing beside you. Our fiction section is open to all literary fiction writers, including writers of horror, science fiction, and fantasy. To see examples of our previously published work, visit folioliteraryjournal.com.

 

Submissions are open from October 1, 2024 until December 1, 2024. Submissions must be completely self-contained and not part of a larger work. Contributors selected for publication will receive two free print copies, and FOLIO will award a prize to one story, essay, and poem. We welcome established writers and brand-new voices especially.

 

Connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram: @FolioLitJournal

Folio Literary Journal