Underground Pool

Underground Pool, the student literary magazine of University of the Arts, is published each spring by the Creative Writing program. Students in Creative Writing and Graphic Design serve as each year's editors and designers. Every issue features short fiction, poetry and artwork by undergraduates from all majors at UArts.

In the 2020-21 and 2021-22 school years, Underground Pool moved to an all-online format, expanding to include music, dance, spoken word, and more. The theme of the Spring 2021 issue was Containment; in Spring 2022, the theme was Returning.

In 2023, Underground Pool returned to its print format. 

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Current Issue
Read the 2023 issue of Underground Pool: Vol. 13.

Submission Guidelines for UArts Students

Underground Pool publishes original poems, short stories, audio pieces and artwork from current undergraduates in all majors at UArts. Click here to submit your work. The annual submission deadline is in November.

Short stories: submit one per issue, under 5,000 words. Stories selected for each issue will be illustrated by UArts Illustration majors.

Poems: submit up to three per issue, of any length.

Screenplays: submit 2-3 pages (single location recommended).

Please submit writing as attachments in editable word documents (for instance, MS Word).

Artwork: submit illustration, photography, comics (and anything else – we're open!) as high-quality jpg files. Note that magazine pages are vertical and images will be proportionately scaled down to fit pages.

Audio: submit .wav or .mp3 files no longer than 4:30.

Video: submit 1080p HD video (16:9 aspect ratio), 1920 x 1080 px, MP4 format.

High School Writing Contest

For the Spring 2024 issue, Underground Pool invites high school writers to submit their work. Students in grades 9-12 are encouraged to submit up to 3 poems and/or prose of up to 500 words on the theme IN-BETWEEN.

Please submit contest entries via the Underground Pool Contest submission form. The deadline is November 15, 2023.

The winning entry, selected by the editors, will appear in print in the Spring 2024 issue. Eligible winners and runners-up will also receive scholarship awards to study at UArts' 2024 Pre-College Summer Institute Creative Writing program; award amounts go up to the full cost of tuition.

We can't wait to read your work!

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