BECAUSE MCSWEENEY’S REJECTED YOU.
Here’s the rules:
- HOBO PANCAKES is published quarterly: February 1, May 1, August 1, and November 1. We accept submissions year-round.
- Each issue has a theme. The deadline for submitting to each issue is ten days before its publication date. Themes may be loosely interpreted. Themes for 2012 are as follows:
February 1 — Sexism
May 1 — Religion
August 1 — Criminal Justice
November 1 — Popular Culture
- We accept prose (fiction and creative nonfiction), poetry, photography, illustration, comics, graphics… most things that can easily fit into the format of “online journal.” While our formats are pretty loose, we’re not likely to publish anything over 6,000 words.
- Whatever zany new form you’ve invented, we’re curious to see it. However, we do actively solicit a couple things in particular: photoessays; “Letters to the Editor” on any topic about which you feel like having a good rant; poetry that fits the description of “Iambic Ixplosion”; news briefs — real or imagined — for “Salute Our Shorts”; and “Annals of the Flesh: Like Tucker Max, but Less Date-Rapey.” The latter category involves letters or reflections on moments of carnal lust you have known. Maybe that lust was for an attractive person. Maybe it was for a toaster. Tell us about it.
- Again, the form of what you send in isn’t terribly important, but the tone is. We’re a humor rag over here; black humor, sharp satire, broad parody, twisted absurdism — those are all a-okay. A heartfelt meditation on the nature of mortality, however, isn’t so much what we’re looking for. That doesn’t mean it’s not great… it just means it’s not for us.
- Submit your work through our snazzy new online system here. For formatting reasons, ALL NON-ART SUBMISSIONS SHOULD BE IN .RTF FORMAT. NO .DOC FORMATS WILL BE ACCEPTED!
- We do not require an extensive cover letter, but a one-to-two-sentence biography (serious or satirical) is appreciated, including links to any websites or blogs. Also, include your name, email, the title of your piece, and the word count/media (if a visual art submission).
- Multiple submissions (sending us more than one piece in any given submission period to consider) is fine; just send each one separately. Simultaneous submissions (sending the same piece to different journals at the same time) is also cool with us — but if somebody else publishes you and doesn’t want your piece showing up in our neck of the woods, then you best let us know.
- We wish we could pay you, because that means we would be making money off this. Alas, at this point, we can only aspire to such dreams. You do, however, get the glory of having your work appear in an online magazine whose logo is a Photoshopped vagrant breakfast food.
- You retain all rights to your work if we publish you.
- Questions? Comments? Concerns? Contact your dear editors at hobo (dot) pancakes (at) gmail (dot) com.
