About
Body Without Organs is an international literary journal that accepts work from young writers aged 13-23. We publish quarterly issues, conduct interviews and features, host contests, offer writing tips and tricks on our blog, and more. To see our current submission opportunities, click here.
The name Body Without Organs comes from a quote by Antonin Artaud: “When you will have made him a body without organs, then you will have delivered him from all his automatic reactions and restored him to his true freedom.”
Here, we want to know what makes the world move beyond its simple surface. What deeper, more “real” truth does an experience hide? What fundamental philosophies underlie the universe and its people? What binds us together in continuing to look for meaning against all odds? And what does it mean to be a young writer, looking over the vast expanse of the world that lies ahead while also still seeing childhood clearly behind us, poised in the past, present, and future at once?
Here, we want to know: if you stripped your body of all its organs, all its muscles, all its bones, all its physical machinations, what would be left?
This is the place for questioning, searching, and feeling, for the lonely confusion and tentative connection that we all feel, that we know to be truth. If this reverberates in you, enter inside. We hope you enjoy reading the poems and stories present here, and we look forward to publishing more in the future.
FAQs
Q: What sort of writing does Body Without Organs accept?
A: We’re open to any and all submissions. Oftentimes, we don’t even know what we like until it strikes us over the head with its brilliance. That being said, the best way to tell what type of writing we accept is to read previous issues, or to query us if you have questions!
Q: If my piece gets rejected, will Body Without Organs provide feedback as to why?
A: Body Without Organs does not have a form rejection letter. We offer personalized responses to all submitters, as we firmly believe that young writers cannot grow without constructive criticism and encouragement.
Q: Does Body Without Organs accept submissions that are not in English?
A: We are entirely open to multilingual pieces provided that authors submit a version of an English translation alongside the submitted piece. We will not necessarily publish this translation if the piece itself is chosen for publication. Please note we do not accept full translations (as a genre) at this time.
Q: Does Body Without Organs accept cross-genre or multimedia pieces?
A: Absolutely. We would love to feature more spoken word, photographical essays, short films, and interactive projects. Please email us if you have a specific work that you think would fit with our publication.
Q: How quickly does Body Without Organs respond to submissions?
A: It depends on the volume of our submissions at any given time. Right now, we aim to respond within two to four weeks for prose submissions and six to eight weeks for poetry submissions. If more than three months have passed since you submitted and you haven’t heard from us, feel free to send us an email with the subject line [QUERY - YOUR NAME].
Q: Does Body Without Organs edit contributors’ writing between its acceptance and publication?
A: We may edit pieces for grammatical errors and clarity. All edited changes will be proofed by the contributor before publication.
Q: Does Body Without Organs provide content warnings on published pieces?
A: We don’t include content warnings within issues, but we have a master list of common content warnings here. If you have any specific concerns not covered, please feel free to email us.
Q: Will Body Without Organs fact-check my accepted nonfiction submission before its publication?
A: Body Without Organs does not currently have the resources to fact-check author work. For this reason, it is always the writer's responsibility to ensure pieces are factual and truthful. Any damages that result from misleading nonfiction works fall on the author, legal or otherwise. Any piece we suspect is actually fiction will be immediately rejected or taken down from our website. We have a fiction category as well! If you’re unsure whether your piece is wholly truthful but it isn’t entirely made-up, either, you can also always submit it as a hybrid work, taking care to explain to us its origin.