Mad Swirl a creative outlet

About

Mad Swirl was founded in 1999 as an arts and literature creative outlet. Mad Swirl is a platform, a showcase, and a stage for artistic expression in this mad, mad world of ours; a diverse collection of as many poets, artists, and writers we can gather from around the world; from Nepal to Ireland, from England to China, from California to New York City and all the places in between. Our Poetry Forum features works from over 160 Contributing Poets, our Short Story Library has over 40 Contributing Writers and our Mad Gallery has over 30 Resident Artists. In addition, Mad Swirl produces & publishes our annual anthology, Best of Mad Swirl. Also, since 2004 Mad Swirl has been hosting our monthly open mic every 1st Wednesday, our current home is at Barabara’s Pavillion in Dallas, TX. The team also produces a quarterly podcast, Inside the Eye.

Country of Publication & Year Established

United States

Established in 1999

Publication Media & Frequency

Electronic Publication Electronic Publication: Unknown publication frequency
Print Publication Print Publication: Published 1 x per year

AI Policy

Human-created work only; no AI use allowed

101 members set this magazine as a Favorite.

Statistics Synopsis

Regular Speed: Mad Swirl's overall average response time is within a normal range for magazines.

Learn more about our statistics

Collapse section Fiction Open

Audience:

Open to a broad Audience.

Genres:

General

Lengths:

Flash Fiction: Up to 1,000 words.

Styles:

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

Topics:

Open to all/most Topics.

Payment:

No monetary payment No monetary payment.

Submissions:

Method: Email.
Reprints: Reprints are NOT allowed.
Simultaneous submissions: Simultaneous submissions are NOT allowed.
Media: Text.

Collapse section Poetry Open

Audience:

Open to a broad Audience.

Genres:

General

Lengths:

Poem: No line limits known; Up to 3 pieces.
Poem: Exactly 3 lines; Up to 5 pieces.

Poetry Forms:

Open to all/most Forms, including: Haiku (or related).

Styles:

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

Topics:

Open to all/most Topics.

Payment:

No monetary payment No monetary payment.

Submissions:

Method: Email.
Reprints: Reprints are NOT allowed.
Simultaneous submissions: Simultaneous submissions are NOT allowed.
Media: Text.

Collapse section Visual Art Open

Audience:

Open to a broad Audience.

Lengths:

Artwork: 5 - 10 pieces.

Art Media:

Open to all/most Art Media.

Art Styles:

Open to all/most Art Styles.

Topics:

Open to all/most Topics.

Payment:

No monetary payment No monetary payment.

Submissions:

Method: Email.
Reprints: Reprints are NOT allowed.
Simultaneous submissions: Simultaneous submissions are NOT allowed.
Media: Image.

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

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Mad Swirl 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.

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Accuracy

We have received 9 reports from 7 different members within the past 12 months, not including pending responses (see below). The more responses reported, the more accurate the information.

Days Reported

1 min | 72.0 mean avg | 73.0 median | 78 max days (23.1 std dev)

Pending

3 responses are pending (36 min | 51.0 mean avg | 54.0 median | 63 max days waiting | 21.6 std dev) from 3 different members

Other Information

Most recent response reported was received on 31 Mar 2026.
Responses have been received for submissions sent as recently as 17 Jan 2026.
Date compiled: 15 Sep 2026 01:50 UTC (7 hours, 57 minutes ago).

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Your Submissions

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Before Submitting

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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.
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Be professional, patient, and persistent.

Dates

Last Updated: 08 Jun 2026

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