Submission Guidelines

Thank you for your interest in Worlds.

Worlds is an online journal of literary nonfiction published by The Geographical Imaginations Expedition & Institute. We publish personal essays that explore global citizenship through lived experience.

We are interested in stories that help readers see the world—and themselves within it—in new ways.

What We Publish

We seek original, unpublished nonfiction that explores themes such as:

  • Place and belonging
  • Identity and culture
  • Migration and movement
  • Language and communication
  • Education and learning
  • Community and citizenship
  • Borders and crossings
  • Memory and home
  • Travel with purpose
  • Encounters across difference
  • Global interdependence
  • Everyday life in an interconnected world

The strongest essays are rooted in specific experiences while illuminating broader questions about our shared human condition.

What We’re Looking For

We value writing that is:

  • Reflective rather than opinion-driven
  • Curious rather than certain
  • Story-centered rather than argumentative
  • Grounded in lived experience
  • Thoughtful, generous, and humane

We welcome both emerging and established writers.

Length

Most essays should be between 700 and 800 words.  Occasionally, we may consider shorter or longer pieces if the subject warrants it.

Simultaneous Submissions

Simultaneous submissions are welcome. If your essay is accepted elsewhere, please notify us immediately so we can withdraw it from consideration.

Rights

Authors retain copyright to their work. By publishing in Worlds, authors grant the journal first electronic publication rights and the non-exclusive right to archive the essay on our website. After publication, all rights revert to the author. We appreciate acknowledgment that the essay first appeared in Worlds if it is republished elsewhere.

Response Time

We aim to respond to submissions within 6–8 weeks.

How to Submit

Please send your submission as a PDF, along with a brief third-person biography (50–100 words), to: geographical.imaginations@gmail.com

Please include “Worlds Submission” in the subject line.

A Final Thought

We are less interested in stories about extraordinary places than in extraordinary ways of seeing.  Show us a world only you can reveal.