Call for Submission: The Ugly Review, Issue II (Metamorphosis)
Change is the only constant. Think Kafka’s The Metamorphosis. Say a body becomes something else, something new, devoid of its clutches and embellishments. A man returns to the place of his birth and discovers new layers of the city like a tourist. A belief cracks open. A secret transforms the woman who carries it.
For our next issue, we are looking for works that explore METAMORPHOSIS in all its diverse, weird, beautiful, violent, and quiet forms. We want the stories that linger in the in-between and make your heart quake as you try to reach for the lights or the exit door. We want poems that surprise as well as excite us with their inventiveness and attention to craft. We want moments and characters that teach us something new about the workings of the human mind, about the natural world and the intangible realm, without being meddlesome or preachy.
We are interested in:
- Physical transformation with respect to the body, a brief or prolonged illness, migration, gender, aging.
- Inner transformation involving grief, love, faith, unlearning, becoming.
- Social/Environmental transformation that happens to cities, ecosystems, technology, climate, revolutions.
- Magical/Speculative transformation with respect to myths retold, metamorphosis as a portal, the uncanny.
We will be accepting works in fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and photography/art for submissions that engage richly with the theme from August 15 to September 15, 2026. Works submitted outside the submission window will not be considered.
For detailed submission guidelines, please visit our website:
NB: We only accept previously unpublished works. Although simultaneous submissions are considered, please notify us if they are accepted elsewhere. All submissions must be typed in Times New Roman font, 12-point font size, single-spaced for poetry, and double-spaced for fiction, nonfiction, and submitted as a docx. file.
Also, explore our previous issue to understand what our editors like: https://theuglycollective.com/the-ugly-review-the-beginnings-issue-1/
We are especially interested in voices from Africa and the diaspora, and works that centre on language, culture, and spirituality in new ways. We can’t wait to see what you become on the page. Surprise us.