The vibe

It’s chaotic good. It’s giving Furbies howling at the blood moon. It’s that reoccurring dream you keep having about David Bowie as Jareth the Goblin King in Labyrinth (just me?).

We like 80s and 90s nostalgia, nods to pop culture, and vulnerability. We like good writing that doesn’t take itself too seriously. We also like being surprised and things that don’t quite follow the rules so, if your work is none of this but you think we’ll like it, send it anyway. This space is for letting creativity flow without getting in our own heads.

The deets

At our minty liquid core, Icebreakers is about fostering connection within the lit community. As such, general and themed submissions should be the work of two or more authors / artists (no max). If you’re coming to the party with collaborators already in mind, great! If not, we can hook you up! Check out our “Spin the Bottle” opportunity for artists 18+. We aim to respond to all submissions within 1 month. We thank you for your patience as we spend time with your work. Sometimes we close our eyes and randomly pick a thing to respond to, though, so you might hear back sooner. We don’t care much about formatting, but do prefer a word doc unless you’re doing something fancy (then submit whatever you need to, we’ll figure it out).

We accept poetry, fiction, CNF, visual art, hybrid work, spells, prophecies, etc. Icebreakers DOES consider previously published work, as long as it meets other guidelines and is disclosed to us. We might suggest edits. Here are some preferred specifics, but we’re flexible:

• Poetry: up to 3 pieces in any form, any length

• Micro Fiction & CNF: 1 piece, 300 words or less

• Flash Fiction & CNF: 1 piece, 1000 words or less

• Fiction, CNF, & Hybrids: 1 piece, 2500 words or less

• Visual Art: up to 3 high resolution images

Pinky promises

We want to keep the community safe. We do not accept work or behavior that is abusive or harmful to the community. Icebreakers promises to be diligent in creating a safe space for writers, readers, and artists. We take this responsibility seriously, especially considering the vulnerable element that comes along with collaborative creating. This includes, but is not limited to, work that is harmful to BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, Neurodivergent, and marginalized community members. Moreover, if we have paired you with someone exhibiting this behavior, please let us know.

We accept simultaneous submissions. Just let us know if you’re published elsewhere so we can do a little celebratory dance with you.

If accepted, you grant us first publication and archival rights, and the rights always return to you AND your writing buddies. Please be cool and credit (and tag!) Icebreakers Lit if your work is published elsewhere in the future. We love celebrating you. Seriously. <3

Unfortunately, we are not YET a paying market.