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 40 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 We accept only unpublished, original work.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.
FOLIO does NOT accept work in which generative AI was used in any step of the process.
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 42: THE WHIMSICAL ISSUE
READING PERIOD: OCTOBER 15, 2026 to DECEMBER 15, 2026
“Deep meaning lies often in childish play.” Johann Friedrich von Schiller
FOLIO literary journal is seeking poetry, nonfiction, fiction, and visual art that channels the whimsical. We believe that seeking the light has power. We honor challenge through gratitude and we see play as resistance. Whimsy is expansive, introspective, exuberant, and peculiar. It is free, nuanced, accessible, and sustainable. To be whimsical is to be curious and human.
If your work is empowering, amusing, thoughtful, or fanciful, we want to see it. Send us poetry that surprises and non-fiction that fuels wonder. Fiction of any variety has a home with us. We welcome all visual art, including photography, illustrations, comics, and the experimental. We’ll meet you at the edge of expectations.
Submissions are open from October 15, 2026 until December 15, 2026. Submissions must be completely self-contained and not part of a larger work. We welcome established writers and brand-new voices equally. FOLIO does not publish works that utilize AI in any way.
For more information, please visit www.folioliteraryjournal.com or email us at folio.editors@gmail.com.
Connect with us on Instagram @FolioLitJournal.
FOLIO VOLUME 42: THE WHIMSICAL ISSUE
READING PERIOD: OCTOBER 15, 2026 to DECEMBER 15, 2026
“Deep meaning lies often in childish play.” Johann Friedrich von Schiller
FOLIO literary journal is seeking poetry, nonfiction, fiction, and visual art that channels the whimsical. We believe that seeking the light has power. We honor challenge through gratitude and we see play as resistance. Whimsy is expansive, introspective, exuberant, and peculiar. It is free, nuanced, accessible, and sustainable. To be whimsical is to be curious and human.
If your work is empowering, amusing, thoughtful, or fanciful, we want to see it. Send us poetry that surprises and non-fiction that fuels wonder. Fiction of any variety has a home with us. We welcome all visual art, including photography, illustrations, comics, and the experimental. We’ll meet you at the edge of expectations.
Submissions are open from October 15, 2026 until December 15, 2026. Submissions must be completely self-contained and not part of a larger work. We welcome established writers and brand-new voices equally. FOLIO does not publish works that utilize AI in any way.
For more information, please visit www.folioliteraryjournal.com or email us at folio.editors@gmail.com.
Connect with us on Instagram @FolioLitJournal.
FOLIO VOLUME 42: THE WHIMSICAL ISSUE
READING PERIOD: OCTOBER 15, 2026 to DECEMBER 15, 2026
“Deep meaning lies often in childish play.” Johann Friedrich von Schiller
FOLIO literary journal is seeking poetry, nonfiction, fiction, and visual art that channels the whimsical. We believe that seeking the light has power. We honor challenge through gratitude and we see play as resistance. Whimsy is expansive, introspective, exuberant, and peculiar. It is free, nuanced, accessible, and sustainable. To be whimsical is to be curious and human.
If your work is empowering, amusing, thoughtful, or fanciful, we want to see it. Send us poetry that surprises and non-fiction that fuels wonder. Fiction of any variety has a home with us. We welcome all visual art, including photography, illustrations, comics, and the experimental. We’ll meet you at the edge of expectations.
Submissions are open from October 15, 2026 until December 15, 2026. Submissions must be completely self-contained and not part of a larger work. We welcome established writers and brand-new voices equally. FOLIO does not publish works that utilize AI in any way.
For more information, please visit www.folioliteraryjournal.com or email us at folio.editors@gmail.com.
Connect with us on Instagram @FolioLitJournal.
FOLIO VOLUME 42: THE WHIMSICAL ISSUE
READING PERIOD: OCTOBER 15, 2026 to DECEMBER 15, 2026
“Deep meaning lies often in childish play.” Johann Friedrich von Schiller
FOLIO literary journal is seeking poetry, nonfiction, fiction, and visual art that channels the whimsical. We believe that seeking the light has power. We honor challenge through gratitude and we see play as resistance. Whimsy is expansive, introspective, exuberant, and peculiar. It is free, nuanced, accessible, and sustainable. To be whimsical is to be curious and human.
If your work is empowering, amusing, thoughtful, or fanciful, we want to see it. Send us poetry that surprises and non-fiction that fuels wonder. Fiction of any variety has a home with us. We welcome all visual art, including photography, illustrations, comics, and the experimental. We’ll meet you at the edge of expectations.
Submissions are open from October 15, 2026 until December 15, 2026. Submissions must be completely self-contained and not part of a larger work. We welcome established writers and brand-new voices equally. FOLIO does not publish works that utilize AI in any way.
For more information, please visit www.folioliteraryjournal.com or email us at folio.editors@gmail.com.
Connect with us on Instagram @FolioLitJournal.