Submit Your Work — Harbour Works Literary Magazine

Submissions Open

July 1 – November 30, 2026

What We're Looking For

We are not looking for safe work. We are not looking for work that sounds like everything else. We want the piece you're nervous about — the one that required something from you that you weren't certain you had. All forms of writing are welcome, essays included — if your piece doesn't fit a category, submit it anyway.

Genre Guidelines

Fiction — Up to 7,000 words. Short fiction and flash welcome. We read all lengths with equal care.
Poetry — Up to 5 poems per submission. No minimum length. Sequences welcome.
Essays — Up to 6,000 words. Personal, critical, or lyric essays of any kind.
Creative Non-fiction — Up to 6,000 words. Memoir, hybrid nonfiction, and nonfiction that resists the essay form.
Visual Art — Up to 8 images. Minimum 300 DPI. JPEG, PNG, or PDF. Include a brief artist's statement.
Photography — Up to 10 images. Series preferred. Minimum 300 DPI. Captions welcome.
Hybrid / Experimental — No formal constraints. If it resists categorisation, it may belong here.

Policy

Simultaneous submissions welcome. Please notify us immediately upon acceptance elsewhere.
Previously published work is welcome and encouraged. If a piece has found a home before, that is not a disqualification — it may well be a recommendation.
Open to writers aged 13 through their final year of undergraduate university study, worldwide. All forms of writing are welcome — essays included.
Response time: 4–6 weeks from the close of the submission window.
No submission fee. Ever.

Author Rights

You retain copyright of your work and are always credited as its author. Publication with us never transfers ownership.
By submitting, you grant us exclusive rights to print, publish, and distribute your piece as part of the issue — including copies placed with libraries, institutions, and archives.
Because printed copies enter permanent library and archival circulation, once we've published a piece it may not be republished elsewhere afterward, in whole or in substantial part, without our prior written permission.
Work that was previously published elsewhere before it came to us is unaffected by this — our exclusivity applies only going forward, from the point we publish it.

Our Process

Every submission is read blind by a minimum of three editors. We make decisions by discussion, not by vote. We are looking for work that generates disagreement — pieces that divide the room are almost always the most interesting.

Name *

Please enter your name.

Email *

Please enter a valid email.

School / University *

Please enter your school or university.

Age *

Submissions are open to ages 13 through the final year of undergraduate study.

Year of Study *

Please select your year of study.

Genre *

Please select a genre.

Piece Title *

Please enter the title of your work.

Brief Bio * (100 words or fewer)

Please include a brief bio.

Upload Your Work * Choose file to upload

Please upload your work.

Cover Note (optional)

Submission received.

Thank you for sending us your work. Every submission is read by a minimum of three editors. We will be in touch within 4–6 weeks of the submission window closing on November 30, 2026.

Quick answers

Can I submit if I'm in high school?

Yes. Harbour Works is open to writers aged 13 through their final year of undergraduate university study, worldwide.

I've published this piece before. Can I still submit?

Yes. We actively encourage the submission of previously published work.

How will I know if my work is accepted?

We respond to all submissions within 4–6 weeks of the window closing. We read everything.