ISSUE 5 [Themed Issue]:

Issue 5 (Summer 2023) is focused on writers from around the globe who are 13-15 years old at the time of submission. We welcome poetry, creative nonfiction, and fiction from that age group. Submissions for Issue 5 will close on August 25.

In the Subject Line of your email, put Genre [Poetry, Creative Nonfiction, Fiction] and "13-15 Submission." Please look below to find the General Submission Guidelines for additional details.

Additionally, Issue 5 will cast a special spotlight on writers, ages 13-15, from INDIA. In the Subject Line of your email, put Genre [Poetry, Creative Nonfiction, Fiction], your age, and INDIA. See the General Submission Guidelines for additional details.

We are also hosting a FLASH CREATIVE NONFICTION CONTEST, judged by Editor-in-Chief Alexandria Peary, for writers ages 13-15 from anywhere on planet Earth. The first, second, and third-place winners will be published in the magazine. Deadline for contest submissions: August 25.

FLASH NONFICTION PROMPTS

First prize: $200
Second prize: $100
Third prize: $50
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Your flash nonfiction submission must be under 1,000 words and respond to one of the below prompts (in your cover letter, tell us which one):

1. Connect a harsh experience you overcame to a tree that normally grows in a harsh weather climate.
2. Develop an essay based on a spring flower blowing in the wind along a river connecting it to an emotion or experience. Using the spring flower as a metaphor for you.  
3. Write an essay about what you think your pet thinks, feels, smells, etc. (Try observing your pet throughout the day to gain inspiration)
4. Using only one of your senses, describe one of your current settings so vividly that a family member living 200 years from now can picture the time and place in which you live.

ISSUE 6:

Issue 6 is open to writers ages 13-19 from anywhere in the globe.

We are hosting a TRIBUTE POETRY CONTEST FOR FORMER UNITED STATES POET LAUREATE CHARLES SIMIC. See our Contest/Events page. Deadline: July 30. Winning poet will be published in Issue 6.

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GENERAL SUBMISSION GUIDELINES 
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· You must be a teenager (age 13-19) at the time of your submission. In your email, indicate your age and place of residence.
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· Submissions must be in English, and we welcome translations.

· The submission must be previously unpublished: it can’t have appeared in another magazine, print or online, or on social media (blogs, etc.).

·  No mixed submissions (don’t send poetry and short stories in the same email, for instance).
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·  Simultaneous submissions (when you send the same work to several magazines) are okay by us. Notify us at this email ASAP if your work is accepted elsewhere. And congrats from us!

·  Make sure that email correspondence from Under the Madness doesn't land in your email spam/junk folder.

·  We endeavor to respond in 3 months, likely sooner, during the school year.
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HOW TO SUBMIT WORK: 

·  Send an email to underthemadnessmagazine@gmail.com
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 ·  In the Subject Line of the email, put your GENRE [Is it poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction?], followed by title(s), followed by your full name. Example: CREATIVE NONFICTION, “Year of magical thinking,” by Sara Perez. 
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·  In the body of the email, provide a 50-150 word bio, preferably written in third person. If your work is accepted for publication, this bio will be printed with your writing. Tell us about yourself. What's your age? What are your hobbies and interests? Where do you reside on planet Earth? If you’ve been previously published, feel free to let us know where and what.  

WHAT WE’RE READING: 

Poetry: Send 2-5 poems as a Word-friendly attachment or PDF. We are interested in all traditions of metered and free verse poetry. 

Short Fiction: Send one short story or novel excerpt not to exceed 5,000 words or multiple short stories, the total submission not to exceed 5,000 words, as a Word-friendly attachment or PDF. We are interested in all styles of short fiction, including realistic, speculative, sci-fi, romance, fantasy, historical, flash and nano. 

Creative Nonfiction: Send one piece of creative nonfiction or several shorter pieces, the total submission not to exceed 5,000 words, as a Word-friendly attach mentor PDF. We are interested in dynamic nonfiction, with emphasis on “creative”: personal essays, flash nonfiction, micro-nonfiction, interview, literary journalism, humor, lyrical and segmented essays, braided essays, mock genre, and memoir excerpts. We are not interested in school assignments and research papers unless they skyrocket in the creative department.