Thanks for considering submitting your writing and art to Libre.

Libre wants to publish writing about mental health, whether that takes the shape and structure of surrealist short story, true-to-life flash fiction, micro CNF memoir, brief essay, or visual art. 

We’re especially in love with a lyrical turn of phrase & writing that reddens with prophetic wisdom. We’re interested in essays that bravely look beneath the baklavaic nature of genre, that aren’t afraid of light research or the well-placed realist anecdote in mythic context. Write to us about phenomena of the mind, steep her in scene & symbol. 

Tell us about the time your brain went sideways. We’re here to prove the existence of ourselves.

• Please keep longer prose submissions (both fiction and CNF) bearable--our max word limit is 1,500. 

• Poetry submissions have no word count, but we consider 5 poems per submission our sweet spot. 

• If you consider your prose piece "flash", do consider mentioning that in your cover letter. 

• As for formatting, please use Times New Roman, size 12 pt font, a color like black will do. 

• Double-spacing is a friend for our weary eyes, unless otherwise stated. 

• As for art submissions, while we don't require it, we would love to read a paragraph about the inspiration behind your work. If you decide to include this in your submission, include it as part of your cover letter. Please note that it will also be published alongside your art. 

• We highly encourage simultaneous submissions as we are well-versed in the submissions rigamarole. We don't expect you to wait around for us, and we're honored you're considering us in the first place. Writers and artists have to eat, and to eat, they must publish, and to publish they must spread that metaphorical net wide and far. Waiting for word is an excruciating process, and we will do our best to get back to you within two months' time. All we ask for is prompt notification that a piece has been accepted elsewhere.

• Please wait six months after submitting to do so again. If you've recently been published in Libre, please wait one year before submitting again.

• As a humble start-up, we can’t offer much in the way of payment, but we’re proud to offer our writers and artists $5 per story, essay, artwork, and photograph. The payment will be issued through the contributor’s preferred method of payment (PayPal, Venmo, or Zelle). You're lending us a piece of yourselves; the least we can do is pay you the price of a side of fries. Your art is worthy of payment, and we sincerely hope that we'll be able to offer more substantial funding in the future. 

• Libre holds serial rights for six months after publication. Authors and artists agree not to publish or reprint for those six months. After the allotted time is up, all rights revert back to the author/artist. 

Other important things to understand:

• Submissions are published on a rolling basis unless otherwise stated. 

• We do publish issues of our previously published works every 3-6 months. We'll give ample warning of that, don't worry.

• It may take us up to 2 months to respond to your submission. 

Thank you, sincerely, for entrusting your work to us. Our main hope is to provide a safe space for the marginalized, the forgotten, and the overlooked. Libre's worth is made up entirely of the work we receive.