Issue 10 | Theme: Paw Paths
Issue 10, Paw Paths, explores the many journeys we take - through forests and deserts, memory and grief, ancestry and imagination. This theme invites creators to wander along the tracks left by creatures, loved ones, and selves we used to be, while also striking out to forge new trails of their own. Whether moving forward, turning back, or circling through familiar terrain, every footprint becomes a story: of where we’ve been, what we carry, and what we choose to leave behind.
- Pawprints in snow, sand, mud, dust
- Footprints from shoes and bare feet
- Animal tracks, creature trails, unexpected markings
- Worn paths, winding trails, overgrown routes
- Migration, wandering, traveling light
- Roads splitting, paths merging, crossroads
- Echoes of steps taken before
- Movement forward, backward, looping, retracing
- Maps, compasses, wayfinding symbols
- Trails washed away by rain or tide
- Soft earth giving way beneath a step
- Fresh tracks beside fading ones
- Physical journeys: travel, terrain, landscapes, weathered trails
- Emotional and spiritual journeys: grief, healing, renewal, afterlife paths
- Ancestry, legacy, and following the footsteps of those who came before
- Creating your own trail, forging new directions, leaving marks for others
- Mentorship, guidance, guardians, path-openers
- The tension between wandering and belonging
- Cycles: returning, revisiting, retracing, rediscovering
- Footsteps as memory, evidence, ritual
- The mystery of unknown tracks and unseen travelers
- Transformation through movement - what changes when we walk a path
Submission Guidelines
Schedule
Autumn Issue Submissions: Open from July 1 to October 1, with a release date of November
Spring Issue Submissions: Open from January 1 to April 1, with a release date of May
Response Time: ~2 weeks. Please reach out if you have not received a response more than 2 weeks after submitting.
Guidelines
You must be 18+ to submit. Do not submit work that encourages or promotes hate (racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, fatphobia, etc.). We do not accept AI-generated work. If your work is not accepted, wait until the following submission period to submit again.
Simultaneous Submissions: Encouraged - just withdraw via email if it's accepted elsewhere!
Previously Published: No - we ask for First North American serial rights and credit if placed elsewhere. Rights revert back to you after publication.
Poetry
Preferred Formatting: 12 point font, Times New Roman, single-spaced
Submit up to three poems separately using the appropriate Google Form.
Poems can appear within one document, but should be submitted separately for organizational purposes.
Prose
Preferred Formatting: 12 point font, Times New Roman, double-spaced, indented
Submit up to 3,000 words of prose using the appropriate Google Form.
Prose can appear within one document, but should be submitted separately for organizational purposes.
Visual Art
Please submit up to three pieces of art separately using the appropriate Google Form.
Pieces should not appear within one document.
Upload separate image files for organizational purposes.
Don't forget to include content warnings in your submissions! We can't wait to see your work.
Reading and Responding: The Process and Timeline
Reading and Response Process
When submissions open, our reading process operates on a two-week cycle. Our team of readers is dedicated to thoroughly reviewing each submission, and they always have at least one week to read through the total submissions from the previous week.
Weekly Voting and Response Timeline
Votes from our reading team are due every Saturday for submissions received during the previous week. This ensures that each submission is given careful consideration within a structured timeframe.
Every Sunday, Melissa sends out response emails. For declined* submissions, we use a BCCed batched template response to efficiently manage the volume of submissions we receive. Accepted submissions are responded to individually, though we still utilize a template to maintain consistency.
*Moss Puppy Magazine does not send out tiered declines
Pop-Up Issues
Please note that pop-up issues follow a different response process than our regular submissions. For pop-ups, we typically collect all submissions during the submission window (usually about one month) and send responses the following month, due to their smaller and more concentrated nature.
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