Submissions

You will always be fond of me. I represent to you all the sins you have never had the courage to commit.

– Oscar Wilde –

We are not currently accepting submissions
Emails will not be responded to

All the sins welcomes written, visual and digital art that is of an excellent quality and tells a good story. Below, we’ve given you our general submissions requirements, but if you have something that doesn’t quite fit any of our categories, please query us! We have a theme each issue, but we’re always interested in good work, regardless of theme. We’re looking for storytelling that sins, so break the rules in all the right ways.

SUBMISSIONS ARE ACCEPTED ON A ROLLING BASIS
But in January and July we publish an essay that establishes the theme of the next issue published in April/October. You have a much better chance of publication if your work is on theme.
Check our main page for our most recent essay.

Please send your submissions to: We are not currently accepting submissions

The following goes for all submissions, regardless of form:

  • Send us your best. This means: draft, edit, proofread, crop, sketch, polish – whatever it takes to make sure your work is ready before you hit ‘send’.
  • The subject line of your email should read: SUBMISSION – author’s last name – form of submission (e.g. ‘SUBMISSION – Smith – poetry’). If your submission is a combination of categories, let us know that (e.g. ‘SUBMISSION – Smith – essay photograph’).
  • Written submissions should be submitted in Microsoft Word. Really, though, DON’T SEND PDFS (unless you want to send one IN ADDITION to a Word doc so we can see your formatting if necessary). In a pinch, copy and paste into your email.
  • Visual submissions should be in jpeg, high resolution. Please title your work in the file name.
  • Work should not already have been published, either online or in print. You must hold full rights to any submissions. We will take first publishing rights. We also reserve the right to use excerpts in web and social media for publicity purposes. Future republications should include a note of our first publication.
  • Include an artist bio of 70 words max, including any links. (You send more than 70 words, we cut. You don’t send a bio, we write one that looks like this: ‘X is an artist.’)
  • If your art (written, visual or other) is in response to any of the other art on our site, please let us know so that we can link them!
  • We have a blind submission process so please don’t put your name on the document.

Poetry – Maximum 40 lines. Max: 4 poems

Short fiction – We accept stories up to 2,000 words, but we love flash fiction, too. All genres welcome. Max: 1 story

  • All submissions must be double spaced, in 12-point font and formatted correctly.

Nonfiction – We consider all types of writing, from memoir to personal essays up to 2,000 words. Max: 1 story/essay

  • All submissions must be double spaced, in 12-point font and formatted correctly.

Features: Got something to say about a piece of art you’ve seen, or how someone else’s work has affected yours? Perhaps you have a unique view on why everyone’s so exercised about a black Hermione. Whatever it is, we’re interested in hearing your artistic feature ideas. There are two ways you can get involved:

  • Biannual essay: these are 1,000-2,000 word features that offer other contributors an insight into our latest submission theme.
    • Please don’t submit written work – editors like to work with journalists to discuss angles first – but send us a short (no more than 300 words) pitch telling us your idea and why you’d be perfect to write it, along with one example of your writing (preferably a feature).
    • Take a look at our essay on small art to get a feel for our style and tone.
  • Short features: these are 500-1,000 word features that we publish throughout the year.
    • Please don’t submit written work – editors like to work with journalists to discuss angles first – but send us a short (no more than 300 words) pitch telling us your idea and why you’d be perfect to write it, along with one example of your writing (preferably a feature).
    • Make sure your idea is arts-related: it’s a broad theme but use it wisely – no amount of wine is going to convince us that Donald Trump’s hairpiece is art.
    • Take a look at some of our short features to get a feel for our style and tone.

Visual arts – Max: 4 images

Other – Do you have a poemphoto? A true story told through found objects? Something that will knock our socks off with its creativity and uniqueness? Audio, video and all digital-friendly submissions welcome!

We run our site on love and wine, and receive hundreds of submissions for every issue. This means we are no longer able to respond to every person who submits their work to us. We know this is frustrating – we’re writers, too – but be assured that we do read every poem, short story and essay and review every piece of art that is sent to us. Occasionally we may share feedback on a piece that didn’t quite make our final list but that we still feel has potential. If your submission doesn’t meet our guidelines (e.g. it’s too long, it’s a PDF, etc), you won’t hear back and your work is unlikely to be considered. We prioritise artists who read and follow the instructions on this page.

Simultaneous submissions accepted, but please let us know if your work is accepted elsewhere.

Unfortunately, we are unable to pay contributors at this time, but we really, really want to. We believe in paying artists, so it’s part of our long-term plan. You can help us get there by submitting amazing work, sharing all the sins with friends and colleagues and supporting us on our Patreon page.