From the Fallout Shelter is a magazine out of Penn State Harrisburg in Middletown, PA. We consider work from Penn State Harrisburg students who are currently enrolled. For special issues, we occasionally consider work from other students.
PSH's Fall literary journal, Fission, publishes brief creative writing and artwork. Though we accept submissions from students at all 24 Penn State branch campuses, the vast majority of the writing and art we publish tends to be from the Penn State Harrisburg student body.
For both publications, please see the category guidelines for specific details and special issues.
From the Fallout Shelter is looking for your true stories! Penn State Harrisburg students may submit up to two essays, no more than 5,000 words each. Please put them both in one document. These are personal essays or memoir-style essays that follow the literary qualities of creative nonfiction, such as using a first-person point of view to reflect on your past, or incorporating creative research or immersive journalism in order to show insight into a topic. We ARE NOT accepting literary analysis, book reports, reviews, college entrance essays, or academic research papers. To see what we publish, read some of our past issues.
The submissions manager will prompt you to submit a cover letter. This letter should include a 50-word bio about yourself (major, hometown, interests, hobbies, and previous publications and awards...or something quirky). Also let us know if you are graduating, or if you are transferring to another campus.
From the Fallout Shelter will not accept anything that is racist, sexist, homophobic, obscene, or that otherwise violates Penn State Harrisburg's Code of Conduct.
Do not put your name anywhere in the document. Make sure it has a title and that the title matches the one you are using on the submission form. Do not put your name in the title.
All essays that are properly submitted will be considered for:
1. Publication in the Spring 2025 print issue of From the Fallout Shelter and/or the online version of the magazine
2. Chance to win the Best Essay prize, if you are enrolled at PSH during the Spring 2025 semester
The editorial board will make decisions in Spring 2025 and you will be notified via email.
From the Fallout Shelter is accepting original literary fiction written by Penn State Harrisburg students. You may submit up to two short stories, no more than 5,000 words each. Please put them in one document. These short stories should adhere to the literary qualities of fiction, such as creative expressions of character, plot, tension, dialogue, and description. We are looking for not only creative storytelling, but also excellent word choice, phenomenal sentences, and carefully planned paragraphs. To get a sense of what we publish, please read some of our past issues.
Do not put your name anywhere in the uploaded document. Make sure your story has a title and that it matches the title you used on this submission form.
The submissions manager will prompt you to submit a cover letter. This letter should include a 50-word bio about yourself (major, hometown, interests, hobbies, and previous publications and awards...or something quirky). Please indicate if you are graduating or if you are transferring to a different campus. Do not explain or summarize your story in the cover letter.
From the Fallout Shelter will not accept anything that is racist, sexist, homophobic, obscene, or that otherwise violates Penn State Harrisburg's Code of Conduct.
All short stories submitted here will be considered for:
1. Publication in the Spring 2025 print issue of From the Fallout Shelter and/or the online version of the magazine.
2. Chance to win the Best Fiction prize, if you are enrolled at PSH during Spring 2025.
The editorial board will make decisions in Spring 2025 and you will be notified via email.
From the Fallout Shelter is accepting all kinds of photography taken at 300 dpi or higher. (Must look good in a space of 6x6 inches or larger). Photos taken with a smartphone or tablet are sometimes acceptable but not ideal. You may submit up to five photos. Please make sure the resolution is 300 dpi or higher and that you have access to the original files. Please give each photo a specific title/caption, but do not put your name in the title/caption. To see examples of how our photographs are published, please browse our past issues. Only Penn State Harrisburg students are allowed to submit their work.
The submissions manager will prompt you to submit a cover letter. This letter should include a 50-word bio about yourself (major, hometown, interests, hobbies, and previous publications and awards...or something quirky). If you are graduating or transferring to a different campus, please let us know in the cover letter.
From the Fallout Shelter will not accept anything that is racist, sexist, homophobic, obscene, or that otherwise violates Penn State Harrisburg's Code of Conduct.
All large and high-resolution photos submitted correctly here will be considered for:
1. Publication in the Spring 2025 print issue of From the Fallout Shelter and/or the online version
2. Chance to win the Best Visual Arts prize, if you are enrolled during Spring 2025
The editorial board will make decisions in Spring 2025 and you will be notified via email.
From the Fallout Shelter is looking for original, unpublished scripts written by students at Penn State Harrisburg. To get a sense of what we publish, read our past issues. Penn State Harrisburg students may submit up to 2 scripts of no more than 5,000 words. Please put them all in one document. Do not include your name in the document. Do not put your name in the title.
The submissions manager will prompt you to submit a cover letter. This letter should include a 50-word bio about yourself as a Penn State Harrisburg student (major, hometown, interests, hobbies, and previous publications and awards...or something quirky). In the cover letter, also let us know if you are graduating or transferring to a different campus.
All scripts properly submitted here will be considered for:
1. Publication in the Spring 2025 print issue of From the Fallout Shelter and/or the online version of the magazine.
2. Chance to win the Best Script prize, if you are enrolled at PSH during Spring 2025.
The editorial board will make decisions in Spring 2025 and you will be notified via email.
Penn State Harrisburg students may submit up to five sketches, paintings, drawings, sculptures, collages, posters, doodles, or anything else (except photos) considered artwork. To get a sense of the artwork we publish, please browse our past issues. SUBMIT PHOTOGRAPHY TO THE PHOTOGRAPHY CATEGORY, NOT THE ARTWORK CATEGORY. To submit your artwork, please take a high-quality photo (300 dpi or higher) or make a high-resolution scan (300 dpi or higher) of the artwork and submit it here. Photos taken with a smartphone or tablet are often not acceptable because their size is too small. If the files are large, you might have to make separate submissions, which is fine, but if possible, please submit all the pieces in one file. If your name is visible on the artwork, please cover it. DO NOT PUT YOUR NAME IN THE FILE NAME. Also, make sure you change the file name from numbers so it contains words that describe the content. For example, "tree painting" is preferable to "image45482910103."
The submissions manager will prompt you to submit a cover letter. This letter should include a 50-word bio about yourself (major, hometown, interests, hobbies, and previous publications and awards...or something quirky). Please indicate in the cover letter if you are graduating or if you are transferring to a different campus. The cover letter should also include brief captions and very brief explanations for each submission.
From the Fallout Shelter will not accept anything that is racist, sexist, homophobic, obscene, or that otherwise violates Penn State Harrisburg's Code of Conduct.
All properly submitted artwork (must be high resolution, such as 300 dpi or higher, and look nice when sized to at least 6" x 6" ) will be considered for:
1. Possible publication in the Spring 2025 print issue of From the Fallout Shelter and/or the online version of the magazine
2. Chance to win the Best Visual Art prize if you are enrolled at PSH during Spring 2025.
The editorial board will make decisions in Spring 2025 and you will be notified via email.
We will be accepting literary comics or comix (meaning they have a literary artistic vibe, or an alternative nature), or what is otherwise grouped together under the term "graphic novel." The arrangement of the panels needs to be suitable for a 6" x 9" printed page. Color or black and white is allowed. You can submit material that would cover between one and five 6" x 9" pages. All pages (or panels, or strips) should be submitted as a high resolution file or set of files. In your cover letter, please state your year in school, your major, a few interesting things about yourself, and the genre of the piece -- graphic fiction? Graphic nonfiction?
The submissions manager will prompt you to submit a cover letter. This letter should include a 50-word bio about yourself (major, hometown, interests, hobbies, and previous publications and awards...or something quirky). Please indicate in the cover letter if you are graduating or if you are transferring to a different campus.
All comics submitted correctly here will be considered for:
1. Publication in the Spring 2025 print issue of From the Fallout Shelter and/or the online version
2. Chance to win the Best Comic/Graphic Narrative prize, if you are enrolled during Spring 2025
The editorial board will make decisions in Spring 2025 and you will be notified via email.
From the Fallout Shelter is looking for original, unpublished poems written by students at Penn State Harrisburg. To get a sense of what we publish, read our past issues. Penn State Harrisburg students may submit up to 5 poems. Please put them all in one document. Poems do not need to rhyme, and you are welcome to submit formal poetry such as sonnets, villanelles, or pantoums. We also accept poetry in translation, such as a poem written in Spanish accompanied by an English translation. (You can translate your own work, or partner up with a student who would like you to translate their work). Do not put your name anywhere in the document. Do not put your name in the title.
The submissions manager will prompt you to submit a cover letter. This letter should include a 50-word bio about yourself as a Penn State Harrisburg student (major, hometown, interests, hobbies, and previous publications and awards...or something quirky). In the cover letter, also let us know if you are graduating or transferring to a different campus.
All poems properly submitted here will be considered for:
1. Publication in the Spring 2025 print issue of From the Fallout Shelter and/or the online version of the magazine.
2. Chance to win the Best Poem prize, if you are enrolled at PSH during Spring 2025.
The editorial board will make decisions in Spring 2025 and you will be notified via email.