Now Accepting Submissions For:
The Chaos Machine
Theme Description:
Do me a favor: open your phone, navigate to your favorite social media app, and scroll for thirty seconds.
How many ads did you see? How many people yelling? How many headlines that made your stomach drop? How many videos that blurred together until another tragedy became background noise?
Your goal was 30 seconds, how long did you actually scroll for?
Welcome to The Chaos Machine, the focus of our 2026 summer issue of Block Print. We're looking for work that wrestles with living in a world that often feels like it's spinning faster than our brains were ever meant to handle. We're interested in the systems that keep us overwhelmed, divided, distracted, numb, connected, lonely, hopeful, furious—or all of those at once.
Maybe you've been thinking about endless doomscrolling. Maybe you've watched your community change. Maybe you're writing about political exhaustion, social media, surveillance, AI, protest, violence, misinformation, censorship, climate anxiety, war, immigration, grief, or the strange feeling of trying to live an ordinary life while history keeps barging into your notifications.
Your piece could even be about finding kindness against all odds. Making dinner while the world burns. Logging off. Falling in love. Touching grass. Laughing with your friends because sometimes that's the most radical thing you can do. Showing how we fight the machine is just as important as showing how it works.
We're looking for fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, essays, comics, photography, and visual art from creators of all experience levels. You don't need to have all the answers—we're much more interested in honest questions than perfect conclusions.
Be angry. Be funny. Be messy. Be hopeful. Surprise us!
The machine wants us to stop paying attention to one another. Is that what you want?
Submission Guidelines:
What We Happily Accept:
-
Fiction Prose
-
Non-fiction Prose
-
Poetry
-
Comics
-
Visual Art
What We DO NOT Accept:
-
Copyright-infringing pieces of writing, poetry or art - including fan art.
-
AI-generated, AI-prompted, or AI-assisted writing, poetry or art. We want HUMAN creations with intention and skill, not plagiarized slop.
-
Previously published material - let’s keep it fresh around here, send us something that’s never been published!
-
Manuscripts, novels or chapbooks - automatically rejected without reading.
General Submission Guidlines
Genre-specific guidelines are included in the submission forms below. Here’s what you need to know:
-
All written and visual work must be submitted through the correct form below. We no longer review submissions sent to our email; submissions sent to our email without a form or prior approval will be automatically rejected.
-
We require a small fee to submit work in order to support our nonprofit's workshop programs which contribute to the publication of this zine. While this is helpful, we are fully reliant on community support and encourage everyone to--if able-- consider making an additional donation in any amount to our PayPal. Our platform for artists and writers is growing rapidly, and we greatly appreciate your support. Head over to our Donation page (here) for more information!
-
Simultaneous submissions will be considered, but please inform us immediately if your piece has been accepted elsewhere!
-
Response time varies and can last up to three months. If you do not hear back from us within 90 days, please reach out to confirm we received your submission.
-
After a piece has been accepted (or rejected), do not send us another entry during the same submission period. If you were published in a previous issue of Block Print, please wait a full year before submitting again.
-
Editors cannot provide personal responses to any applicants. Due to the high volume of submissions we receive, critique and feedback will not be provided with rejections. Please understand that we all cherish the chance to read and view your work, but reply on volunteer efforts to read hundreds of submissions each year.
If your work is accepted:
-
You are published! Exciting, we know, but it's important you know your rights after that's happened. More details below…
-
Block Print receives first North American serial publication rights (FNASR). After the Issue is published, feel free to re-publish your piece elsewhere afterward - make sure to state Block Print as its first appearance.
-
Minor edits on accepted prose and poetry may be requested by our editors. An proofed version of your work will be sent to you before the release of an issue. We encourage you to read it. If there are any changes you do not agree with or changes you would like to make in addition, do not hesitate to let us know.
-
Excerpt of your work will be published to our website and social media in a graphic, designed by one of our editors, which directs readers back to you and your work for many months (and years) to come.
Formatting
Prose and Poetry:
-
Limited to 2,000 Words
-
Include your FULL NAME in the TITLE of your file
-
Include a HEADER with PAGE NUMBERS in the actual document
-
Attach your work in a single .docx, .doc, or .pdf file to your form
Comics and Art:
-
Limited to two pages, 4x8
-
Include your FULL NAME in the TITLE of your file
-
Submit the file you'd prefer to be printed, full resolution full size
-
When submitting an image of a physical art piece ensure there is sufficient lighting in the provided photograph.
Publication:
-
Dates: Submissions Close at 11:59 PM EST on August 15th. Publication date TBA for Issue 3 (Summer 2026), Goal is August 31st.
-
Medium: Full length issue available online via web browser, also available in limited quantities physically in zine form.
-
Note: Only digital editions are provided to participants free of charge. Physical editions are available for $10+ shipping.
-
-
Cost: Submissions are free of charge, though donations are always welcome. Writers who choose to make a sliding-scale donation of $5 or more per piece will receive guaranteed feedback on an expedited review timeline (approximately two weeks, rather than the standard one-month response period). Donations help support Writer’s Block Ink and the resources involved in producing each issue.
-
Marketing: Word of mouth via social media, writing groups, coffee shop letter boards. We don’t believe in giving multi-billion dollar companies your hard-earned money to buy an invasive advertising blip on someone else’s screen - so if you like what we’re doing here, please share the word!
✦ ✦ ✦
Have questions we didn’t cover?
Email ceci@writersblockink.org
We look forward to reading and sharing your stories!