The sphere of nonfiction is vast, and we appreciate and welcome its many modes. While we are especially drawn to essays that work in hybrid, braided, and experimental forms, that are transgressive in structure and approach, what we look for above all is strength of voice and a strong narrative arc. We’re into the personal that’s critical and the critical that’s personal; we want new lenses on our spectacles, even if briefly. 

Tell us a really good story about growth and connection with something larger; get us hooked on specificities; demonstrate to us how you’ve landed in a different place by the end of the piece. Show us something we see every day, but with an unexpected perspective. Make it memorable. Make it strange.

Before submitting, please have a look at our recently published nonfiction on MAYDAY’s website to get a sense of what we publish. In your cover letter please include a short bio of 100 words or less. We prefer submissions that do not exceed 5,000 words.

Please type and double-space your submission. We prefer .doc and .docx files, but .rtf, and Open Office files are okay, too. Please do not upload .pdf files. Please only send one submission at a time.

The MAYDAY Culture section is looking for enthusiastic, incisive cultural commentary and critical analysis. With an emphasis on diverse or marginalized perspectives, Culture explores politics, race, gender, sexuality, and ability across all forms of art: literature, cinema, television, music, art, theatre, etc. We want arts criticism that's exciting, energetic, and fresh.

Please avoid academic style and tone. No footnotes! There's no minimum length, but we prefer submissions with fewer than 6,000 words. Please send only one Culture submission at a time.

All Culture submissions will be edited before publication. In submitting, you agree that, if your piece should be accepted, the editors will revise your work before it will be published. MAYDAY pays $20 per article. Payment issued upon publication.

We accept pitches, too! Review our editors’ statements below, and feel free to pitch to us via email.

Clement Obropta is interested in pitches for enthusiastic and incisive arts criticism and theory, especially focusing on film, television, video games, and music.

Lisa Ströhm Winberg is interested in pitches that center around visual art, semiotics in design, and fashion as an art form. Lisa is especially interested in pitches about fashion theories and visual analysis of photography.

We are looking for pieces that deserve a broader audience, that excite and inspire, that honor cultural heritage and move in the liminal space between borders sketched on maps with shaky hands; pieces that encourage a reader to question and engage with the world around them. We are especially interested in contemporary work from living authors, though it's by no means a requirement.
 

Poetry and prose from any language translated to English will be considered. We are also interested in book reviews and essays relevant to the art of literary translation. Please include a brief translator's note if you would like to provide context, artist bio, or other information important to the submitted piece. Before submitting, please ensure that your piece is thoroughly proofread and revised the way you’d like to see it published.
The translator must have secured rights for the translations submitted, or the work must be in the public domain.
 

Please include both the original and the translated text in Word files. If the source text contains characters difficult for Word to present correctly, a PDF scan is fine.