Skip to Content

An Important Announcement
We are excited to announce the long-awaited Duotrope community! Create your profile, high five your fellow creators, and journey along Rejection Road.

Geist

See other projects related to this listing.

About

GEIST is a magazine of ideas and culture with a strong literary focus and a sense of humour. The Geist tone is intelligent, plain-talking, inclusive and offbeat. Each issue represents a convergence of fiction, non-fiction, poetry, photography, comics, reviews, little-known facts of interest, cartography and the legendary Geist crossword puzzle.

Fees Notice: This project charges fees (or requires purchases) for some submissions. They charge fees for electronic submissions, except for BIPOC writers.
The fee is CAD $3 (below average for magazines that charge).
Limited Demographic: Submissions are restricted to Canadians. Additional restrictions vary; check current guidelines before submitting.

Country of Publication & Year Established

Canada
Established in 1990

Publication Medium & Frequency

Print Publication Print Publication
Published 4 x per year

AI Policy

Human-created work only; no AI use allowed

Statistics Synopsis

Slower
Geist's overall average response time is slower than most magazines.
More Challenging
Geist's overall acceptance rate is lower than most magazines.
Less Responsive
Geist's overall rate of non-response is higher than most magazines.

Collapse section Fiction Open

Dates:

Open to fiction submissions through 08 October 2026 11:59 PM PDT (in 23 days).

1

Audience:

Open to a broad Audience, including: Canadians.

Genres:

General

Lengths:

Flash Fiction: 300 - 1,000 words.
Short Story: 1,000 - 5,000 words.

Styles:

Open to all/most Styles, including: Experimental, Literary.

Topics:

Open to all/most Topics including...
Place/Regions: Specific region.
Other: May vary.

Payment:

Professional payment (5 or more US cents per word) Professional payment. Details: Up to CAD $1,000.

Submissions:

Methods: Submittable submission manager (fees apply). Postal.
Reprints: Reprints are allowed.
Simultaneous submissions: Simultaneous submissions are allowed.
Media: Text.

Collapse section Nonfiction Open

We publish short non-fiction, usually personal narrative, in the Notes and Dispatches section. Longer non-fiction pieces are published as Features. We are especially interested in photographs and stories about family history (see Julia L. Star’s “The Patio”) and in historical narrative (see Stephen Osborne’s “Signs and Portents”).

Dates:

Open to nonfiction submissions through 08 October 2026 11:59 PM PDT (in 23 days).

Audience:

Open to a broad Audience, including: Canadians.

Lengths:

Article: No specific word count limits known.
Essay: No specific word count limits known.
Narrative Nonfiction: No specific word count limits known.

Styles:

Open to all/most Styles, including: Experimental, Literary, Personal.

Topics:

Open to all/most Topics including...
History: Biographies, See guidelines.
Memoir: General, See guidelines.
Place/Regions: Specific region.
Other: May vary.

Payment:

Professional payment (5 or more US cents per word) Professional payment. Details: CAD $300-$500 for 800-1,500 words; up to $1,000 for up to 5,000 words.

Submissions:

Methods: Submittable submission manager (fees apply). Postal.
Reprints: Reprints are allowed.
Simultaneous submissions: Simultaneous submissions are allowed.
Media: Text.

Collapse section Poetry Open

Dates:

Open to poetry submissions through 08 October 2026 11:59 PM PDT (in 23 days).

1

Audience:

Open to a broad Audience, including: Canadians.

Genres:

General

Lengths:

Poem: No line limits known; Up to 5 pieces.

Poetry Forms:

Open to all/most Forms.

Styles:

Open to all/most Styles, including: Experimental, Literary.

Topics:

Open to all/most Topics including...
Place/Regions: Specific region.
Other: May vary.

Payment:

Professional payment (US$50 or more per poem) Professional payment. Details: CAD $100 per page.

Submissions:

Methods: Submittable submission manager (fees apply). Postal.
Reprints: Reprints are allowed.
Simultaneous submissions: Simultaneous submissions are allowed.
Media: Text.

Collapse section Visual Art Open

Dates:

Open to visual art submissions through 08 October 2026 11:59 PM PDT (in 23 days).

Audience:

Open to a broad Audience, including: Canadians.

Lengths:

Artwork: Unknown number of pieces.
Photo Essay: No image limits known.

Art Media:

Open to all/most Art Media, including...
Photography.

Art Styles:

Open to all/most Art Styles.

Topics:

Open to all/most Topics including...
Place/Regions: Specific region.
Other: May vary.

Payment:

Professional payment (US$50 or more per piece) Professional payment. Details: CAD $100 per page for comics.

Submissions:

Methods: Submittable submission manager (fees apply). Postal.
Reprints: Reprints are allowed.
Simultaneous submissions: Simultaneous submissions are allowed.
Media: Image.

Always check guidelines for details and restrictions. If you aren't familiar with these terms, see our glossary.

Geist Submission Statistics

The statistics in this section are compiled from submission reports sent to us through our submission tracker. They are not provided by the publication's editors/staff or by Duotrope's admins. Information in this section is updated a few times per day. Learn more about the statistics.

Filter:
Accuracy
We have received 21 reports from 18 different members within the past 12 months, not including pending responses (see below). The more responses reported, the more accurate the information.
Days Reported
34 min | 96.0 mean avg | 84.0 median | 439 max days (100.5 std dev)
Responses
85.71 %
Acceptances:
4.76 % of submissions accepted (92.0 avg. days per acceptance) | 5.56 % of submitters accepted Rejections are often underreported, which skews the statistics in favor of acceptances. Most publishers have a lower acceptance rate than indicated here.
Rejections:
80.95 % (87.9 avg. days per rejection) | 5.9 % personal, 76.5 % form, 17.7 % unspecified
Non-Responses
9.52 %
Lost/Returned:
-
Never Responded:
9.52 % (330.0 avg. days before reporting submissions as never responded)
Withdrawals
4.76 % (34.0 avg. days per withdrawal)
Pending
6 responses are pending (1 min | 27.2 mean avg | 13.0 median | 95 max days waiting | 2,150.7 std dev) from 6 different members This only includes pending reports from people who have been active on Duotrope within the past 30 days

Other Information

The editors will try to make a decision within 180 days. (14.3 % of the responses reported to us for this listing have taken longer than 180 days.)
Do not query on the status of your submission before 180 days have passed.
The most common submission fee paid: CAD $3.00. (86.7 % of reports specified whether they paid a fee; of those, 92.3 % paid fees.)
Most submissions are acknowledged on the same day.
Most recent response reported was received on 23 Jul 2026.
Responses have been received for submissions sent as recently as 08 Jun 2026.
Date compiled: 15 Sep 2026 01:57 UTC (7 hours, 17 minutes ago).

Work submitted here was also submitted to...

This section is available to subscribers only. Sign up and start your free trial today!

Members accepted here also had work accepted by...

This section is available to subscribers only. Become a member and start your free trial today!

Your Submissions

This section is available to subscribers only. Join today!

Geist Literal Literary Postcard Story Contest  Charges fees for all submissions
PolterGeist Writing Contest  Charges fees for all submissions
Short Long-Distance Writing Contest DNQ  Charges fees for all submissions

Before Submitting

We cannot guarantee that the information on this page is correct. It is not unusual for publications to evolve or close without notice. We do our best to keep up, but it isn't always possible. Duotrope listings do not imply endorsement or recommendation of the project being listed. Before submitting, you should use your own judgment to determine whether the project meets your standards.

  • Always read the full guidelines provided by the publisher.
  • Try to read at least one previous publication to get a better idea of what the editor would like to see.
  • Unless the publisher's guidelines state otherwise, always use industry standard manuscript formatting.
  • Be professional, patient, and persistent.

Dates

Last Updated: 27 Aug 2026

We check their guidelines for changes every four weeks, and we audit the listing twice a year.

Cookie Consent: This site uses secure first-party cookies for essential, preference-setting, and statistical purposes. We do not use any marketing, advertising, or third-party cookies. Read our full cookie policy.