Magazine Non Grata: Call for Submissions (Jul-Dec 2026)
What we're looking for through the second half of the year
Dear readers, writers, patrons, friends —
The first half of the year has been a blast. We published the work of many deserving artists who’d never appeared in print before. We sold out two runs of our second issue, The Dumb Phone, across four stores in New York. We threw a rollicking party with 300+ wonderful attendees. We published a multitude of exciting online pieces, ranging from a vigorous defense of F. Scott Fitzgerald to a trenchant criticism of the millennial novel to an enthralling reflection on the great Denis Johnson.
The momentum is strong. But the project is just getting started. The goal is to give literature back to the people—to lure it out of hiding in safe spaces and staid libraries—to make literature a cornerstone of culture again. There is still a long way to go in pursuit of these aims.
And so, once again, we’re inviting submissions from the people. Before getting into the particulars, here’s some high-level context, edited from the original call for submissions:
We’re looking for courageous authors willing to offer honest, raw perspectives. Great rebellious writing is the transposition of late-night conversations with friends onto the page. It is the expression of ideas or feelings the writer knows to be true, yet is unwilling to share at work happy hours or “polite” dinner parties in Portland. For certain, the writer cannot submit these ideas to The New Yorker, The Atlantic, or any premier university journal. As much as mainstream publications wish that Truth was ideological, it is not. With open arms, Non Grata welcomes the stories that have been gathering dust on your hard drive, and the scandalous ideas you haven’t yet put to paper. We’re also here for conventional essays and stories, too. The main thing we care about is that each piece is exhilarating, stimulating, beautiful, and/or simply enjoyable to read. The best way to get a sense of what we’re looking for is to regularly follow what we publish: You’ll see what we’re up to pretty quick.
SUBMISSION CATEGORIES
FICTION & POETRY
Short stories that (1) move quickly (2) speak honestly (3) are five thousand words or less.
Open to all forms of poetry.
Accepted submissions will feature in a print edition because the reading experience for fiction isn’t yet good enough online.
BOOK REVIEWS, LITERARY CRITICISM, & NOVELISTS
Open to novels from any period as well as contemporary and/or independent works (especially if the writer is on Substack).
Preference for pieces that (1) combine biography with criticism (2) include discussion of technical detail, literary theory, and/or literary history.
Personal reflections on great writers.
Author profiles + interviews.
Editor’s Note: We are actively looking to commission the following pieces:
Review of The Trial + how Kafka’s work as an insurance officer influenced the novel.
Review of Post Office + mini biography of Bukowski.
Reviews of Major Arcana (John Pistelli), Colossus (Ross Barkan),What’s So Great About the Great Books? (Naomi Kanakia).
Pieces on Less Than Zero (Bret Easton Ellis); Inherent Vice (Thomas Pynchon); any novel by Somerset Maugham, Graham Greene, Émile Zola.
Example: “There Is No Great Millennial Novel” by Owen Yingling; “Legends of Zelda: The Truth About F. Scott Fitzgerald” by A. A. Kostas; “Reflections on the Great Denis Johnson” by Brett Puryear; “On Writing No. 2” with Jim Shepard.
POLEMICS & CULTURAL ESSAYS
Anything that gets people off their phones and helps them rethink their relationships with technology.
Pieces on dating, romance, love, masculinity, femininity, drinking, smoking, gambling, “gooning,” sports, music, pornography, entertainment, capitalism, work, careers, cities, pop culture figures, et al.
Pieces that question the predominant narratives or rebuke / defend controversial figures.
Editor’s Note: We are actively looking to commission the following pieces:
In defense of / against Timothée Chalamet.
In defense of / against Dimes Square (and its figures).
Examples: “How New York Killed Culture” by Coby Lefkowitz; “Living in Public” by Jared Henderson; “Where the Mermaids Sing” by Sudana Krasniqi.
We offer payment for the pieces we accept. Each receives in-depth editing before it goes out into the world. We want you to feel proud of the work you showcase in Non Grata; it should be a luminous reflection of your mind at a moment in time.
To submit, send an email to hello@magazinenongrata.com. The piece should be an email attachment (.pdf, .docx) or a Google Doc. Please include the category in the subject line, a short description in the body, and the word count. Every submission must abide by our A.I. policy. If you have questions about it, please send us a note. Improper / undisclosed uses of A.I. can result in a lifetime ban from Non Grata.
As always, thank you to all of our patrons, writers, readers, friends, fans, family members—this project would not be possible without you.
— MNG
Non Grata is a print magazine and online publication aiming to revitalize literature and give it back to the people. Print offerings are available on our website. Digital subscriptions (both free and paid) are available via Substack:
Graham Greene mentioned. Knew I should have held onto my copy of The Human Factor.
interested in the Bukowski review, I’ll look to submit! I’m working on a piece about the documentary You Never Had It: An Evening With Bukowski