Human Parts is a patchwork collection of prose that strives, more than anything else, to inspire its readers to close their browsers and start writing themselves. The first thing you need to know about submitting to us, then? We’re looking for stuff that makes us want to open up a blank page and write.

What makes us want to write? Brave, intimate writing that plays with form. Unique, experimental nonfiction. Expressive fiction and poetry. Creative discussion of current events that vibrantly re-contextualizes issues into the broader human condition. Definitely nothing that could be described as an article. (Check out the examples! Stuff like this is what we accept — no lie.)

What doesn’t make us want to write? Human Parts is a place to swap stories and secrets. It’s where writers can express themselves naturally, free of house rules and style sheets. Our point? We’re much less likely to respond to hot takes on current events, self-improvement articles that tell us how to live our lives, reviews, and other content we could likely find anywhere else on the internet.

Still reading? Good — a few more things you need to know about submitting to Human Parts. There is a decent chance we will want to workshop your piece with you, and we prefer workshopping in Word, so please submit your work in .doc or .docx form through our submission form.

Finally! Human Parts has several syndication arrangements with other websites (two you may know: xoJane and The Financial Diet). We occasionally trade stories with them — this means that by publishing with Human Parts, you agree to potentially have your work appear on one of our partner sites. Of course, we’ll tell you if that’s in the cards for your story.

Thanks for your interest in contributing to our collection. Use our submissions form to send us your work. We’re looking forward to reading it!

image credit — Tika Gregory