Where to Send the Strange Stuff: Four Journals That Want Your Experimental Fiction and Poetry

Experimental writing has a submission problem: the work that defies category is the hardest to place. The good news is that some journals don't merely tolerate formal risk—they ask for it. Based on their own editorial statements and submission guidelines, four venues stand out for writers of innovative fiction, hybrid prose, and unconventional poetry: The Journal, Swamp Ape Review, Lothlorien Poetry Journal, and VOLTA. Each wants something different, and knowing what can save you months of misdirected effort.

Navigating the Experimental Landscape: Finding Your Literary Home

The journals below were selected for one reason: their stated missions explicitly welcome non-traditional work. But "experimental" is not a single aesthetic. The Journal wants formally weird literary fiction; Swamp Ape Review wants pieces that defy genre altogether; Lothlorien Poetry Journal wants enchantment and even video poems; VOLTA wants images that startle. Matching your manuscript to the right appetite matters as much as the work itself.

One caution before you begin: guidelines and reading periods change, and this guide is not an exhaustive list of journals that accept experimental work. Verify every detail on each journal's official website before submitting.

The Journal: Embracing the Weird and Innovative

The Journal's editors are direct about what excites them: "weird, innovative formal choices and images that work to create something strange and beautiful." They welcome literary fiction of all forms, including work with experimental or genre elements, and their editors "love to be surprised."

Their aesthetic has a precise emotional register, though. They want fiction that "conveys emotion without falling into melodrama; that knows the difference between volume and truth"—stories that "speak to the reader like they're an old and trusted friend." For poetry, they seek "fresh, surprising work with technique and technical control," poems with "heart" and "brains."

Practically, they publish lyric essays, hybrid forms, new journalism, and photo essays, but not academic writing or straight reportage, and generally nothing over 8,000 words. Flash nonfiction writers may submit up to three 1,000-word stories in a single document. A small volunteer team reads submissions, so expect a response time of at least eight months.

Swamp Ape Review: Subverting Form and Genre

Swamp Ape Review, founded and produced by the MFA students at Florida Atlantic University, has built its identity around the unclassifiable. Its "swamp" category exists specifically for works that defy genre—submissions that, in the editors' words, "defy form to the extent that the piece's creator might be unsure of where it belongs."

Across all genres, the journal encourages "pieces with a hybrid or non-traditional nature—works that subvert our expectations of both content and form and unsettle our assumptions of what is possible." If you've written something you can't confidently label, that uncertainty is a qualification here, not a liability.

Their preferences: up to five poems in one file, and fiction, nonfiction, or hybrid prose up to 6,000 words. They acquire First Rights, so pieces must not have been previously published in print or online, with all rights reverting to the author upon publication. One notable restriction: FAU graduates must wait at least three years after graduation before submitting.

Lothlorien Poetry Journal: Fantasy, Folklore, and Video Poetry

Lothlorien Poetry Journal occupies a distinctive niche. According to its own description, it features "free verse/rhyming/experimental poetry, short stories, flash fiction, video poems and occasional interviews with poets," with a thematic universe of "enchantment, fantasy, fairy tale, folklore, dreams, dystopian, flora and fauna, magical realism, romance, and anything hiding deep in-between the cracks."

For poets working in traditional Japanese forms, Lothlorien also considers haiku, senryu, and tanka, with a minimum of five and maximum of ten of each. Standard poetry submissions run up to five poems, and the journal accepts fiction alongside video poetry—a rare opening for multimedia work. Specific word limits for fiction are not detailed in the journal's listed guidelines, so check the current details before sending prose.

VOLTA: Startling Images and New Perspectives

VOLTA, an online literary magazine publishing twice per year, defines its mission through perception itself. The editors are "looking for pieces that constantly confront readers with images that startle them into looking at the world in new ways."

The magazine publishes both emerging and established writers and artists, and welcomes submissions of fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, essays, and visual art. For emerging experimental writers, that explicit openness to new voices, paired with a taste for the startling, makes VOLTA a natural target for work whose ambition is to rearrange how a reader sees.

Comparative Guide to Experimental Literary Journals

Set side by side, the four journals reveal sharply different appetites. The comparison below juxtaposes their stated missions and submission requirements so you can locate the most likely home for your specific kind of experiment—formal innovation, hybrid genre, multimedia, or startling imagery.

The pattern the table exposes: The Journal rewards formal innovation within literary craft; Swamp Ape Review is the destination for work that breaks genre boundaries entirely; Lothlorien is unmatched for multimedia and fantastical themes; VOLTA privileges the image over the form.

Tailoring Your Submission: Interpreting Editorial Nuances

Editorial statements are instructions in disguise. When The Journal's editors say they want fiction that "knows the difference between volume and truth," they are telling you that quiet, controlled strangeness will outperform pyrotechnics. When Swamp Ape Review says submissions should "defy form to the extent that the piece's creator might be unsure of where it belongs," that is an invitation, not a warning—send the piece you've been afraid to categorize.

Read each journal's language for its aesthetic temperature. Lothlorien's "anything hiding deep in-between the cracks" signals thematic rather than formal experimentation; VOLTA's "startle them into looking at the world in new ways" centers imagery and perception. Match your work to the journal whose language echoes your own intentions, then follow the mechanical requirements exactly—file counts, word ceilings, and rights terms are where strong submissions most often fail.

Making Your Submission Count: A Strategic Approach

Writers of experimental fiction and poetry should carefully review the distinct editorial preferences and submission guidelines of each journal to tailor their work for the highest chance of acceptance. The measurable indicator of success: a writer successfully identifies at least three journals that align with their specific experimental style and prepares a submission that directly addresses the journal's stated aesthetic and format requirements.

Before sending anything, confirm current reading periods and guidelines on each journal's official website—details like word limits and response times change, and a submission that fits the aesthetic but violates the format will not survive the first read.

Sources

• Submit – The Journal — Thejournalmag
• Submit — Swamp Ape Review
• About Us — Swamp Ape Review
• Swamp Ape Review Submission Manager — Swampapereview
• » 50 Literary Journals Publishing Poetry — Authorspublish