Geist is a magazine of ideas and culture with a strong literary focus and a sense of humour. The Geist tone is intelligent, plain-talking, inclusive and offbeat. Each issue represents a convergence of fiction, non-fiction, poetry, photography, comics, reviews, little-known facts of interest, cartography and the legendary Geist crossword puzzle.  

Please note that our priority is to publish work from emerging and established writers and artists who are Canadian or permanent residents of Canada, who live in or outside the country. Occasionally, we publish international contributors whose work has a strong connection to Canada or would be relevant to a Canadian audience.

We encourage submissions from Indigenous writers, writers of colour, writers with disabilities, LGBTQIA2S+ writers, and writers from other intersectional and marginalized groups.

All submissions must be * original and previously unpublished * (with the exception of our Findings section). Previously unpublished means the work does not appear in any other print or online publication, journal, blog, personal website, social media or otherwise. Geist purchases first North American Serial Rights and non-exclusive electronic rights. Copyright reverts to the author after publication. We may also use part of the work for promotional purposes for the issue.

PLEASE READ THE ENTIRETY OF THE SUBMISSION GUIDELINES BEFORE SENDING US YOUR WORK.

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Submissions for the 20th Annual POSTCARD STORY CONTEST are open until June 30, 2025 at 11:59 p.m. PDT.

General Submissions and Art & Photography Submissions are currently CLOSED.

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What to Submit

Before submitting work, read several issues of Geist, or dig into the archives at geist.com, to get a sense of the kind of the work we publish.

Geist is always seeking short non-fiction (under 2000 words, flexible), typically personal narrative, for the Notes & Dispatches section. We are especially interested in writing grounded in a sense of place, historical narrative, personal essays on art, music and culture, profiles of ordinary people with extraordinary stories, fascinating fields of work, practices or hobbies, and everyday occurrences that show the humour and strangeness of life. Read examples here. Pay is commensurate with length, usually $300-500. 

Longer non-fiction pieces (up to 5000 words) are published as Features. We pay up to $1000.

Comics: We’re interested in comics that are weird, funny, unexpected or experimental. We pay $120 per page. We publish shorter comics in the Notes & Dispatches section (example here) and publish longer comics as Features (example here), max. 8 pages. Please send up to three strips or one longer comic at a time.

Fiction: We publish short stories (up to 5000 words) in the Features section. We usually publish one story per issue, so please send only your best work. We pay up to $1000. Check out our recent short fiction.

Poetry: Send a maximum of 5 poems. We publish between one to three poems per issue, in the Notes & Dispatches section and occasionally in Features. We pay $100 per page.

Hybrid forms: We like work that crosses genres or that surprises us in other ways. Send us your photography essays (photos with accompanying text by the artist), maps and poetry comics! Your interdisciplinary forms and your visual-textual mashups!

Findings: We reprint excerpts from published work and works-in-progress in the Findings section, along with documents and interesting items found online, or anywhere in the real world. We appreciate suggestions from writers, artists and publishers. Please email geist@geist.com. Due to the volume of suggestions we receive, you may not hear back from us. Thanks for your understanding.

Art & Photography: We love collages, photography, mixed-media, cartography and art that surprises. Traditional and digital forms are welcome. We seek art and photography to accompany written work in the magazine. We pay between $50 and $120. Please note that the majority of our artwork is to accompany written pieces. This means that artwork is usually kept on file until it can be matched with a written piece, and we may keep art submissions on file for up to one year. Please do NOT submit comics or photography essays (photography with accompanying text) to this category. Comics and photography essays are accepted during our general calls for submissions.

How to Submit

We put out a General Call for Submissions three times per year (once for each issue). During these calls, we accept work to be considered for Notes & Dispatches and Features. Calls for Art & Photography opens about three times per year as well—this is separate from our General Calls. Work submitted to the Art & Photography category that does not follow the guidelines will not be considered.

Calls for submissions will be announced on our social media and website, so please check back regularly.

We accept submissions via Submittable and by mail, though Submittable is preferred. Please send only one submission at a time, and wait to hear back from us before submitting again. Please note: our mandate is to publish writers and artists who are Canadian or permanent residents of Canada, who live in our outside the country. Occasionally, we publish international contributors whose work has a strong connection to Canada or would be relevant to a Canadian audience.

Geist offers no-fee general submissions for Black writers, Indigenous writers and writers of colour. Please submit through the “General Submissions for BIPOC writers” form. ARTISTS: Black artists, Indigenous artists and artists of colour can submit work through the "Art & Photography Submissions for BIPOC Artists (no fee)" form.

We also offer a limited number of no-fee general submissions to low-income writers per submission period. Please contact editor@geist.com to access these spots, which are allocated on a first-come basis. Use the subject line “No-fee Submissions.” Please do not attach your submission to the email. We welcome these requests and will make them available whenever possible. 

If your piece is selected for publication, you can expect to work with the editor-in-chief to revise and edit the piece in a manner consistent with the Geist house style, audience, as well as the author’s intention for the work. The editorial process may consist of several drafts and revisions until the piece is ready for publication.

Click here to submit your work through Submittable. 

We do not accept submissions by email. Thank you.

Print submissions can be sent by mail to:

Editorial Board, Geist
#210 - 111 West Hastings St.
Vancouver, B.C.
Canada V6B 1H4

For responses, please include your email address or a SASE with Canadian postage or IRC. We accept simultaneous submissions, but please note it in your cover letter and let us know if your submission is accepted elsewhere. We buy First North American Serial Rights for original work. For our Findings section, we buy second or third serial rights for previously published work (including work published on the internet).

Wait six months before emailing to check the status of your submission. And please, no phone calls.