Milk Bag Magazine is currently accepting submissions for our third issue, until August 1st 2025 at 11:59 pm.

Our theme is: PAINTINGS FOR MICE & COFFEE FOR THE BURGLAR

In Abbey’s old Toronto apartment, she had mice. They came in through the baseboards, bold as anything, threading their tiny lives through hers. She used to think about making little paintings just for them, mouse-scale landscapes and pocket-sized portraits tucked low along the walls where they slipped in and out. A gallery for the uninvited. Something to say “I see you, you live here too.”

That’s where this Autumn issue begins.

“Paintings for Mice & Coffee for the Burglar” is about the unwelcome guest, and what happens when you choose to make space for them. The mouse in the cupboard. The burglar in the kitchen. The memory you thought you’d buried suddenly sitting across from you at the table. This is an issue about yielding, about hospitality without permission, about the grace that comes when you stop drawing hard lines.

We are looking for visual art, fiction, and poetry that opens without asking why. Work that sets a place for the burglar. Stories that place dead flies in the web of your resident spider. Poems that open the window instead of locking the door. Let your work explore the tenderness of shared silence, the quiet pact between the keeper and the kept, the tension between boundary and belonging. Show us what it means to make room messily, imperfectly, and wholeheartedly. Show us how care can take strange forms.

This season is not about harvest. It is about what stays behind after the picking is done. What we learn to live with. What we choose not to chase away.  Let your work be an offering to what you once tried to shut out. Let it open its arms. Let it welcome what lingers.

SUBMIT HERE!

Submission Guidelines

Milk Bag Magazine is excited to invite artists and writers of all backgrounds and styles to submit their work for a chance to be featured in our next issue! We’re looking for a variety of submissions that tap into contemporary themes, respond to current events, or offer artistic expressions that resonate with our readers. We’re especially eager to spotlight fresh perspectives and unique ways of storytelling. Whether you’re new to publishing or just starting out, we’d love to see your work—and our editorial team is here to support you through the process.

General Guidelines:

  • You will be asked for a brief bio in the submission process. Milk Bag Magazine encourages applications from artists with diverse identities and lived experiences, so get personal! You may choose to share how you identify here, get as specific as you’d like. This information will be viewed by the editors and will not be shared elsewhere without your consent.

  • Work must be original, and should reflect the issue theme.

  • Work does not have to be created specifically for this submission but must be a recent work (created no earlier than 2020) and relate directly to the issue theme. The work should be previously unpublished.

  • Simultaneous submissions are accepted, but if your submitted work finds a home elsewhere, please notify us immediately.

Eligibility

  • Open to all emerging* and established artists 18 years of age and older, living in Canada at time of submission.

  • Milk Bag Magazine reserves the right to decline a submission deemed unsuitable for the issue.

    • Submissions must align with our values of equity and respect. Content that perpetuates racism or violence against marginalized genders and communities will not be accepted.

* Emerging creatives are defined as writers and artists in the early stages of their professional journeys, including those who are developing their practice and exploring their voice. Public exhibitions or previous publications are not required. Post-secondary students and early-career writers and artists are warmly encouraged to submit.

  • We’re open to all types of poetry, and especially appreciate work that pushes boundaries with form and challenges traditional poetic devices.

    For standard poetry:

    • Submit your work as a Docx or PDF file, using size 12 Times New Roman font. 

    If your piece breaks traditional form:

    • Submit a PDF file showing exactly how it should appear in print.

    • For pieces longer than a single page, include titles and page numbers.

    You may submit up to 4 pieces or a total of 8 pages per submission for us to review.

  • We welcome standalone short fiction submissions up to 2,500 words, and are open to all types of literary fiction, though we especially love pieces with a distinct voice that experiment with form and language:

    • Submit your work in Docx format.

    Please feel free to include up to two pieces per submission for our consideration.

  • We’re open to a variety of visual art forms, including but not limited to painting, photography, digital art, illustrations, mixed media, and sculpture. If you’re working with a medium that’s hard to classify, don't let that limit you—we love discovering new forms! You may submit up to 3 works, but keep in mind we will adjudicate each piece individually. Also note that if more than one piece is selected, they may be split up depending on issue curation.

    • Art submissions must also include an artist statement (no more than 200 words) that provides context on their practice and approach. This will be submitted in the form of a .pdf file alongside the art piece(s).

    • In the same document, include specification for the submitted piece(s): Title, category/medium, size in inches (HxWxD: IN THIS ORDER), location, year.

    • For each piece submitted, include a brief statement (100-200 words) specific to each submitted work, explaining the concept, medium, and any relevant themes or personal connections. If your submission includes multple pieces, please consolidate all statement into a single document.

    Image requirements:

    • The image must be in .JPG or .PNG format.

    • If your piece is accepted for publication, we will contact you for a 300 DPI file.

    We want our magazine to reflect our contributors, as such, If your artwork is chosen to help promote the issue through use in graphics, or as the cover of the issue, we will contact you for a 300 DPI file. Please respond promptly!

  • We publish reviews of exhibitions, moving image works, performance art, fiction, poetry, and truthfully anything your heart desires.

    Reviews must cover events that have occurred within four months of the pitch for an exhibition or performance, and within two years for published work and art pieces.

    • Reviews must not exceed 750 words.

    • The review should, either implicitly or explicitly, make the case for why the work fits into the theme of the issue.

    • References must be included in your submitted article to the thing being reviewed - we want to see it too!

  • What determines relevance? At Milk Bag Magazine, we exist outside of temporal borders and seek to engage with a history – ours and yours – that is inspirational and influential to our individual practices. This column seeks to explore these items that we find particularly fulfilling, affective, and/or fascinating.

    We invite writers to explore a single item, moment, text, or concept that has influenced their creative practice or thinking about art. This space allows for reflections on a particular artwork, memory, object, or encounter, emphasizing how these unique influences contribute to a deeper understanding of art and its broader contexts.

    The selected piece should relate to the issue’s theme in some way, and your reflection should explain this connection.

    • Length: 500 - 750 words, with one accompanying JPEG.

  • Got a fun little thing you want to hock at us? Submit your poetry or fiction piece (up to 140 characters, including title) or artwork (1” x 1”) to our sticker section - a smorgasbord of eclectic work from our contributors to be published in an upcoming issue.

    These submissions are free and credited, but unpaid. Just a heads-up—we’re in our experimental phase, so we might hold onto your sticker submissions for future issues. Don’t worry, though—we’ll let you know if we decide to include your work!

    Please note if your work exceeds the requirements above, you may be asked to resubmit under the correct category. For barrier free submissions see below.

  • Due to high volume, we may not be able to respond to all submissions individually. If selected, artists will be contacted within 4-6 weeks.

  • Fresh insights connecting work to broader cultural themes beyond literary criticism, art history or niche debates.

    • Awareness of recent discussions relevant to the topic.

    • A blend of description with unique observations, analysis, and interpretation.

    • Attention to the structures and communities influencing the art world, from galleries, publishing houses, academic institutions, and museums to donors and geographies.

    • Careful avoidance of jargon, clichés, and empty phrases.

    • Endnotes are allowed but avoid in-depth academic theory.

    • Submissions should be clean, well-organized, and well-edited. Work requiring extensive editing beyond the resources of Milk Bag Magazine (unfortunately, we’re a little team!) will not be accepted.

  • Milk Bag Magazine operates on a profit-share system. That means 100% of our submission fees are directed right back at our contributors. Simply, we pay those we publish!

    We understand submission fees can be a barrier for many emerging artists, please send us an email at milkbagmagazine@gmail.com if you require accommodations.