The Underland Review: Call for Submissions.
This Zine is a Lie
An experimental call for submissions.
For poets, glitchers, microfictionists, rebels, ghosts & such.
We are seeking:
- Poetry that twitches nervously
- Microfiction that self-destructs on a whim
- Essays with vampire fangs
- Visual art that shouldn’t really exist
Redacted files, haunted code, cursed diagrams, scanned receipts from imaginary revolutions and nightmares in the morning.
- We do not care about your CV.
- We do not require polished bios.
- Previously published works? Sure.
We do not pay (yet. Sorry, capitalism).
But we do offer love, weirdness, and a bit of a spotlight.
✴ Featured contributors will receive:
- A digital copy of the zine
- Features on our site and socials
- An invite to our glitch-lit open mic (date tba)
- The deep satisfaction of being canon in a lie
Deadline: August 10th, 2025.
Published: On or before the 13th August.
Format: Word for text. JPG/PNG for art. Max 2 pieces per person.
Email: [email protected]
Subject line: This submission is a lie — [Your Name/Pen Name]
We don’t tolerate bigotry, AI slush, or boring work.
About the Creator
River and Celia in Underland
Mad-hap shenanigans, scrawlings, art and stuff ;)
Poetry Collection, Is this All We Get?
Reader insights
Outstanding
Excellent work. Looking forward to reading more!
Top insights
Compelling and original writing
Creative use of language & vocab
Easy to read and follow
Well-structured & engaging content
Heartfelt and relatable
The story invoked strong personal emotions
Masterful proofreading
Zero grammar & spelling mistakes
On-point and relevant
Writing reflected the title & theme
Keep reading
More stories from River and Celia in Underland and writers in Writers and other communities.
Salt in the Wound
We don’t know what to do, so we write. That’s what we have to offer the world right now — our words, our stories, our art. And some days, it doesn’t feel like enough. Not when people are dying. Not when the news reads like a horror script on loop. But it does feel like something. A thread. A resistance. A way to stay human.
By River and Celia in Underland 7 months ago in Writers
FPS: The Last Flame Challenge Winners
Welcome to our first Winners Announcement of the year and to the final challenge in the Fall Poetry Series. The Last Flame invited writers to sit with endings, using fire as a central image to consider what remains when something burns out: ash, warmth, memory, silence, or the faint promise of what comes next. The strongest pieces treated endings as gradual rather than sudden, allowing them to flicker, dim, and linger.
By Vocal Curation Team4 days ago in Resources
Comments (18)
Yay!!! I did it and sent two. And before the deadline, lol. Thank you both again for enticing us with this opportunity.
Will check it out.
Submission sent off! 💚 Also, congrats on honourable mention on the leaderboard a few weeks ago C&R!!
Wooohooooo congratulations on your Leaderboard placement! 🎉💖🎊🎉💖🎊
Nice! And I do believe I'm excited to let loose and come up with a weirdly rendered micro, lol. Great idea!
Just got wind of this....wowza, I'm just odd enough to give this a try
Okay, so sent another submission in. I've maxed out my two entries! You have two brand-spanking-new Paul Stewart pieces to read! :)
But nowadays, I prefer reading something boring that's written by a human than a gripping AI-Generated story, lol. Hope you get a lot of brilliant submissions!
🩷sounds like another fun 'zine <3
Oooooooo. Okay then. I shall have a think! I got a couple of odd sods kicking about that may be OK. 🤔❤️
This sounds cheater-ish, but does “previously published accepted” include works that we’ve published here on Vocal?
Hey this sounds brill - is there a word limit/ suggestion for the micro fiction? Good luck you two.
Ooh, this sounds so cool!! Not sure what to write for this one, but I'll try. And I hope you get loads of submissions! 💛
Expect work from me; this is fantastic, or is it fangtastic?!
This might be the most beautifully unhinged call for submissions I’ve ever read. Haunting, rebellious, and irresistible. Can’t wait to send something weird your way.
On board with fangs attached. Heh heh!
My friends, i have at least one new one that doesnt have a home yet! given my in ability recently to write normal poems, i think it might be a good fit!
I know you will get lots of submissions from th ereal creators on Vocal , excellent idea