At CentraLit, we are focused on the small towns of Southern Illinois. If you are an artist who lives in or grew up around the cornfields or had to explain where your hometown is by how far away from St Louis it sits, this may be the magazine for you!

We accept poetry, fiction, personal essays, and artwork that has not been previously published. All accepted work will be published online. If you have questions regarding submitting, please click the hyperlink to view Lauren’s helpful guide Submitting Your Work For Publication: Do’s and Don’t’s, or email centralitmag@yahoo.com.

Poetry Guidelines

• No more than 5 poems per submission
• Include all poems in one file (max 10 pages)
• Please send as a .docx or .pdf file

Fiction Guidelines

• Max 3000 words
• Please send as a .docx or .pdf file

Flash Fiction Guidelines

• No more than 2 flash fiction submissions
• Include all pieces in one file
• Max 750 words
• Please send as a .docx or .pdf file

Personal Essay Guideliens

• Max 2500 words
• Please send as a .docx or .pdf file

Artwork/Photography

• Please submit only original artwork in its final form with a high quality image
• Include the title of the work, your name, media used, or other notes as applicable

By submitting your work to us, you are granting us the first rights to release your work; please include in your submission if you are submitting simultaneously, and let us know if you are accepted elsewhere. While you retain the rights to your work, we reserve the right to share all pieces accepted for publication, in order to promote them and the magazine. Email all submissions to centralitmag@yahoo.com with the subject line “Submission,” along with a brief cover letter.