top of page

Submission Guidelines

Submissions to our fall issue are now OPEN until November 30. 

​​

​​​

Common House accepts rolling submissions for its Fall and Winter issues:

​

FALL SUBMISSIONS PERIOD: August 24 to November 30

​

WINTER SUBMISSIONS PERIOD: December 1 to March 31

​

SUMMER PERIOD (Spotlight and Contest): [subscribe to our mailing list for updates]

 

Please ensure you review our submission guidelines before submitting. Note that submissions that do not comply with our guidelines will not be read.

​

I. Who can submit

  • We accept works from anyone, anywhere in the world. We reserve up to a quarter of each issue for uOttawa students exclusively. 

  • We will not consider works from those who have been published within that same year. For example, those published in Fall 2024 will not be considered until Fall 2025. Summer Spotlight remains open to all uOttawa students and the summer contests open to anyone. 

​

II. What to submit

  • Please submit:

    • 1 work of prose up to 3000 words or 2–3 flash pieces up to 1000 words each

    • OR up to 5 poems

    • OR up to 5 works of art or photographs

    • OR audio and video submissions of up to 3 minutes

  • Pieces must be original and unpublished. Published pieces include those posted on personal blogs or social media. If visual art pieces have appeared publicly in galleries or personal portfolios, please indicate so in the submissions form. 

  • We will consider excerpts from longer work, but we are unlikely to accept an excerpt that doesn’t work well on its own.

  • We accept simultaneous submissions, but please notify us by email (commonhousemag@gmail.com) if your work has been accepted elsewhere.

  • We do publish genre fiction (e.g. fantasy, mystery, etc.) but generally lean towards literary fiction. We recommend scrolling through a few of our previous issues before submitting to know whether we're a good fit for your piece. 

​

III. How to submit

  • Please only submit through our Google Forms (link found at the bottom of this page). Submissions sent via email will not be considered. If there is something wrong with the link, please contact us, and we will get it up and running as soon as possible. 

  • Please submit your piece(s) as a:​

    • Word document (.doc or .docx) or PDF (.pdf) for written work

    • PNG file for art and photography

    • MP3 file for audio

    • MP4 file for video​

  • Name your document: LastName_Title and include all pieces in a single document. The inclusion of additional information such as full name, bio, address, or artist's statement violates this guideline. 

  • Use 1.5 spaced, 12-pt plain text font such as Times New Roman unless font is used as a creative visual element in the piece. 

  • ​If your work does not fit into one of our five main genres—poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, visual art, or multimedia work—simply choose the genre you feel fits best.

​

IV. After submitting 

  • Our response time is 1–4 months. Feel free to inquire by email about the status of your submission after 4 months have passed.

  • Monetary compensation has been offered in the past for our summer contest winners due to successful fundraising during the academic year. Compensation is currently unavailable for contributors to our seasonal issues. Common House is an entirely volunteer-run operation; as we continue to grow, we hope to be able to compensate contributors in the future.

Statement about the use of AI: 

We at Common House celebrate the originality of human thought and creativity. We support authors, poets, and works that make readers feel connected to a broader humanity. The use of AI betrays these values and contributes to dangerous developments against ingenuity, critical thought, and the natural world. We prohibit submissions that have been written with the use of AI tools, and have updated our contractual materials to reflect this policy.

Statement about diversity in our publication: 

Common House is committed to representing a wide range of voices reflecting the diversity of human experience and artistic expression. While our evaluations begin anonymously, we recognize the existence of systemic and institutional barriers actively restricting underrepresented artists. Thus, at the highest stage of our vetting process, we do take personal bios into account. We strive to compile issues that remain inclusive and we hold ourselves responsible for showcasing varied perspectives representative of the vibrancy of our world.

 

We particularly welcome submissions from marginalized and underrepresented artists, including Black artists, Indigenous artists, artists who are people of colour, 2SLGBTQIA+ artists, artists with disabilities, as well as artists who are unpublished and/or emerging. If you are comfortable identifying yourself as one or more of the above, please indicate so on the submissions form or in your personal bio. 

green_tiled_x4.png
bottom of page