📂Submissions

At Phoenix Nest, we believe everyone has something worth saying—and a way of saying it that’s entirely their own. You don’t need to be a polished writer, a seasoned artist, or a capital-C Creative to contribute.
You just need to be you.

This isn’t a page for perfect work. It’s a space for honest work.
If your submission carries feeling, curiosity, truth, or beauty—whatever that looks like for you—then there’s a place for it here.

💫 What We’re Looking For

We accept a wide range of creative work.
Some of it is polished. Some of it is raw. All of it matters.

Here’s what you can send in:

🔥 Need a Spark? Try These Prompts

Not sure where to start? Let these themes spark something loose:

• ❤️ Acts of Kindness – Moments of care, connection, or generosity
• 🌱 Turning Points – Any experience that changed the way you move through the world
• 🤔 Life, Messily – Reflections on aging, identity, grief, joy, or the weird in-between
• 🧘 Healing Journeys – Your experience with therapy, rest, shadow work, or starting over
• 👫 Relationship Moments – From love stories to friendship fall-outs to chosen family
• 🔦 Want to be Featured? Request a feature here. (Features are curated and take longer to review.)
• 🎶 Playlists – Curate a vibe, mood, or memory. Send yours here.
• 📚 Reviews – Tell us what book, show, or film moved you. Submit it here.
• 📷 Photo Stories – A single image or a whole series. Share here.
• 🎥 Videos – Any project that tells a story in motion. Send us your video.

---

🧾 Submission Guidelines

This helps us hold your work with care:

📎 Please don’t send attachments unless we’ve asked for them. We protect your work—and our inbox—by requesting links or uploads first.

---

🕊️ A Place for Every Voice

You don’t have to be anything but yourself to belong here.

This space is open to anyone with a story to share, a perspective to offer, or a piece of art that carries meaning—whether it’s bold or quiet, brand new or years in the making.

We welcome the polished and the in-progress. The curious and the confident. The practiced and the just-getting-started.

There’s no box you need to fit into.
No identity you have to prove.
No tone you need to hit.

If what you create comes from a place that’s real—whatever that means for you—then you’re in the right place.

This is a space for everyone.
Because creativity belongs to everyone.
And your voice is already enough.

---

⏳ When You’ll Hear Back

We do our best to respond within 4–6 weeks, though sometimes we’re deep in creative production. If your work is accepted, you’ll hear directly from us with next steps.

If it’s not a fit, it doesn’t mean it wasn’t meaningful. Some pieces are just meant for different places—and we honor that, too.

💰 Contributor Pathways

Right now, we offer payment to our long-term contributors—those who consistently share their work and become part of the magazine’s living archive.

To become a long-term contributor:

• You’ll need 10 accepted submissions across categories
• Once you’re in, you’ll have access to paid opportunities and additional visibility
• We’ll also list those opportunities on our Opportunities page when they arise

We’re building this as we go, and we’ll keep evolving how we show up for the people who help shape this space.

---

💛 For First-Time Contributors

You don’t need a portfolio. You don’t need to call yourself a writer or an artist.
If you have something to say, you belong here.

We celebrate stories that are quiet. Incomplete. Awkward. Beautiful. Weird.
There’s no wrong way to share your truth.

---

🪶 This Is a Beginning

Your story doesn’t need to be profound to be worth telling.
It just needs to be yours.

Share something that feels real.
We’ll receive it with care.

📬 How to Submit Your Work

We have three different forms, depending on what you’re sharing. Please take a moment to choose the one that feels most aligned:

1. ✨ Standard Submissions – Essays, poetry, photography, playlists, multimedia, reviews, and more
   👉 Submit your creative work here
2. 🎤 Feature Requests – Want to be considered for a Phoenix Nest feature?
   👉 Request a feature interview here
3. 🕊️ Nominations – Know someone whose story deserves the spotlight?
   👉 Nominate someone else for a feature

🪶 Before You Go

Whether you’re submitting a story, a playlist, a photograph, or a feeling wrapped in verse—thank you.
Thank you for creating something.
Thank you for being willing to share it.

Here at Phoenix Nest, we treat your work like it matters—because it does. Not just because of what it says, but because of where it comes from: you.

You don’t need to have it all figured out.
You just need to take the first step.

So if something inside you is nudging forward—trust it.
We’ll meet you there.

✨ We can’t wait to see what you create.
🕊️ We’re already holding space for it.