Geist is a magazine of ideas and culture with a strong literary focus and a sense of humour. The Geist tone is intelligent, plain-talking, inclusive and offbeat. Each issue represents a convergence of fiction, non-fiction, poetry, photography, comics, reviews, little-known facts of interest, cartography and the legendary Geist crossword puzzle.  

We encourage submissions from writers of colour, writers with disabilities, LGBTQIA2S+ writers, and writers from other intersectional and marginalized groups.

What to Submit

Before submitting work, read several issues of Geist, or dig into the archives at geist.com, to get a sense of the kind of the work we publish.

Geist is always seeking short non-fiction (around 800-1500 words, flexible), typically personal narrative, for the Notes & Dispatches section. We are especially interested in writing grounded in a sense of place, historical narrative, personal essays on art, music and culture, profiles of ordinary people with extraordinary stories, fascinating fields of work, practices or hobbies, and everyday occurrences that show the humour and strangeness of life. Read examples here. Pay is commensurate with length, usually $300-500.

Longer non-fiction pieces (up to 5000 words) are published as Features. We pay up to $1000.

We are especially reading for non-fiction at this time.

Fiction: We publish short stories (up to 5000 words) in the Features section. We usually publish one story per issue, so please send only your best work. We pay up to $1000. Check out our recent short fiction.

Poetry: Send a maximum of 5 poems. We pay $100 per page.

How to Submit

We accept submissions via Submittable and by mail, though Submittable is preferred. Please send only one submission at a time, and wait to hear back from us before submitting again. Please note: our mandate is to publish writers and artists from across Canada.

Geist offers no-fee general submissions for Black writers, Indigenous writers, and writers of colour. Please submit through the “General Submissions for BIPOC writers” form.

We also offer a limited number of no-fee general submissions to low-income writers per submission period. Please contact editor@geist.com to access these spots, which are allocated on a first-come basis. Use the subject line “No-fee Submissions.” We welcome these requests and will make them available whenever possible.

Click here to submit your work through Submittable.

We do not accept submissions by email. Thank you.

Print submissions can be sent by mail to:

Editorial Board, Geist
#210 – 111 West Hastings St.
Vancouver, B.C.
Canada V6B 1H4