Forget Cool

Every piece should have pop culture at its heart. We only ask that you forget cool when you send us your essays and poems about the movies, shows, music, books, games, etc. that have shaped you. Send us emotion, vulnerability, obsessions, nostalgia!

Speaking of nostalgia, our aesthetic is loosely based on the teen mags of our youth. Forget Cool publishes two issues a year, one in September and one in March. Or, to evoke those teen lit mag vibes, our Back to School issue and our Spring Fling issue! We hope reading a new issue of Forget Cool captures the excitement of thumbing through the glossy pages of Bop or Teen Beat.

Open Submission Periods:

  • June 15 to July 15 for our September issue
  • November 15 to December 15 for our March issue

We only read during submission periods—please do not send your work when we’re not open. We will remind you about open submissions on social media (follow us on Bluesky and Instagram).

Guidelines

  • Send your (previously unpublished!) work as a DOCX or PDF attachment to forgetcoolsubmissions[at]gmail[dot]com
  • Write SUBMISSION: CNF or SUBMISSION: Poetry in the subject line
  • Include:
    • Your author photo (and forget cool when choosing one!)
    • A 150 word bio (max) ending with one of the following:
      • your favorite pizza toppings
      • your idea of the perfect date
      • your favorite vacation spot

Creative Nonfiction

  • Up to 2,500 words
  • One piece at a time
  • A focus on the pop culture that has shaped you

Poetry

  • Up to 5 poems
  • Free verse, form poems, long, short—anything at all!
  • A focus on the pop culture that has shaped you

You are welcome to submit once per category per reading period, so if you write CNF and poetry, feel free to send us all you’ve got!

We know we’re all about forgetting cool around here, but here are two exceptions:

First, you know what wouldn’t be cool of us? Holding your work hostage. Simultaneous submissions are totally fine; please just email us at forgetcoolsubmissions[at]gmail[dot]com with WITHDRAW as the subject line to let us know if your work is accepted elsewhere, and we’ll be so happy for you!

Second, you know what wouldn’t be cool of you? Sending AI-generated writing instead of your own. Please don’t! We want your work to be quintessentially you.

At this time, we’re not a paying market, but rest assured that reading issues and submitting work won’t cost a single dollar of your hard-earned babysitting fortune!