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Submissions for Issue 3 open now


For chlorophyll’s third edition, we’re joining forces with our friends Isabela Bonnevera and Zoë Johnson of Feminist Food Journal to produce a special collaborative issue. Feminist Food Journal is a progressive and thought-provoking magazine and podcast dedicated to a feminist food future, and we’re delighted to explore this convergence of great writing with them within the upcoming theme. 

We’re accepting submissions for our collaborative issue around the theme of the architecture of food: How does food relate to the material and invisible ways that the world is built, and what kinds of balance, nutrition, excess, power, wealth, class, and culture are contained within it? 

We’re open to a wide range of interpretations of this topic – from the hierarchical or democratic structures of a menu, meal, or food system; how the architecture of a restaurant accommodates the navigation of multiple roles, classes, and worlds, to how recipes and cookbooks can help construct cuisines. Please send us pitches for non-fiction/narrative/reported essays; stories and poetry should be sent as finished pieces.

Stories, poems, essays, and photo essays could explore: 
  • The specific architecture/construction of a dish, a pantry, a grocery store, or farmer’s market; the interplay between food and architecture and how it influences our experiences of consumption.
  • How prized utensils and dishes can shape a meal and our ways of eating.
  • The changing or experimental architecture of food production and distribution, vertical farming, urban gardening, CSAs, food delivery and apps.
  • How a meal is meant to be served within a culture or zeitgeist; the liberty of the lack of structured courses.
  • What eating or [breast]feeding in public looks like: in parks, at bus stops, or on public transport. Is the city an architecturally inclusive space to accommodate eaters? What is the impact of the tech architecture of food delivery on public eating?  
  • The format, meanings, and impact of menus, recipes, cookbooks, and nutritional guides; the failures or possibilities of AI recipes.
  • Colonial legacies of the architecture of food: which structures are valorised, seen as ‘proper’ or ’appropriate’, and the impacts of class, wealth, and influence.  
  • The architecture of a restaurant itself and how it’s built to accommodate diners and staff - especially from the perspective of service or sensory experience. 

These are examples, but we welcome any ideas they spark for you about balance and excess, towering culinary structures and foods that fall flat. Please address your pitches to BOTH chlorophyll [dot] zine [at] gmail [dot] com AND pitch [at] feministfoodjournal [dot] com

Important details: 


For this issue, we will pay $50 for poetry and $75 for prose.

As mentioned above, for nonfiction/essays, please send us a short pitch and bio in the body of your email. For poems and short stories, please send the full piece as a Word document attachment using a legible font, size 12 with 1.5 spacing. List the word count and title at the top of the first page. Please provide only one submission per genre.

Fiction: Short stories at a maximum of 1750 words.
Poetry: Maximum 3 poems per submission.
Nonfiction: Between 1000 and 1750 words.

Simultaneous submissions are encouraged, but please let us know as soon as your work has been accepted elsewhere. All work must be previously unpublished either in print or online.

Deadline: 10 February, Tuesday, midnight wherever you are 

Mosaic Floor Panel Depicting an Almond Cake, Rome, 2nd Century. Art Institute of Chicago.



Guidelines


We’re looking for fiction, narrative and creative nonfiction and poetry related in some way to the announced theme for the issue. Themes are open to wide interpretations, but please adhere to submission guidelines

We love writing that's engaging, absorbing, and beautiful, as well as dark, funny, and weird. Personal essays that are vulnerable and thoughtful, that go beyond the remit of personal, and that have a broad scope. Any genre of fiction is welcome apart from erotica, science fiction, or fantasy, as long as it's original material. And poetry that surprises and delights.

Simultaneous submissions are encouraged, but please let us know as soon as your work has been accepted elsewhere. All work must be previously unpublished either in print or online.

Please include a brief bio in your email, including any previous experience with publishing your work if applicable.



Format

Please format your work in a Word document using a legible font, size 12 with 1.5 spacing. List the word count and title at the top of the first page. Please provide only one submission per genre.

Fiction: Short stories at a maximum of 1750 words.
Poetry: Maximum 3 poems per submission.
Nonfiction: Between 1000 and 1750 words.

Send your submissions to chlorophyll[dot]zine[at]gmail[dot]com




Masthead

Apoorva Sripathi
Anne Wallentine



A note from the editors


chlorophyll is a scrappy production entirely funded by its founders and editors. While producing our magazine is a labour of love, we believe in writers being paid for their work. We aim to pay each contributor a small honorarium. If you'd like to share your appreciation for this work, please donate here! It will go directly to paying our contributors. We believe literature and writing are for everyone and community is predicated on everyone giving of themselves. You can also donate via ko-fi.


(c) 2026, chlorophyll