TAM33 Visual Art Submissions (PRINT)

Formatting: Submit up to five pieces for consideration. Images MUST have minimum 300dpi. Do not send PDFs for image submissions. Please include a brief description of your art, including what medium they are made of, and a 2-5 sentence bio. 

Submission Deadline: This year’s print issue deadline is 10/17/2026. We have rolling submissions open right now. Reading of submissions begins in August every year and runs until the deadline.

Reminders: In addition to these guidelines, please read our General Submission Guidelines.  We only consider unpublished work. Please do not submit material previously published in anthologies, chapbooks, online, or on personal websites (including FB, Twitter/X, Insta, Flickr, blogs, etc.).  Simultaneous submissions are encouraged, but let us know immediately if a submission has been accepted elsewhere.

Theme: Oasis–

Oasis is defined in Merriam Webster as the following: 

1. a fertile or green area in an arid region (such as a desert)
2. something that provides refuge, relief, or pleasant contrast

For Thin Air Magazine’s upcoming issue, TAM 33, we seek to expand upon this notion. 

In a turbulent, and at times seemingly desolate world, what is your oasis? Where do you seek shelter, or find comfort? What spaces fill, sustain, and save you? Is your oasis the physical body, spiritual self, home, community, or another source? How does one create sanctuary in the desert of the world? 

Alternatively, we consider the conditions that are required to produce the oasis, and subsequently, what surrounds it. 

For there to be an oasis, there must first exist a desert. An oasis can only exist when it is surrounded by, or contrasted by, a severe lack of something crucial to survival. What does it mean to be surrounded by a landscape of hostility, scarcity, or exclusion? In other words, what is your desert, and what drives you to find your oasis? Hunger? Thirst? Reprieve? Or is it something else entirely?

With this in mind, we wonder what else the oasis can represent.

What if the oasis can be a form of resistance? We think of the various forms of sanctuaries that are created in the midst of violence, fear, and the ever escalating political tensions: what oases have you noticed forming in the face of danger, desolation, and inaccessibility?

As creatives, we know that writing may even serve as an oasis and constant. In your creative, safe, and bold spaces, we encourage you to write all that you feel, see, and know of these oasis possibilities.

Note: We are currently looking for art, photography, and comics that represent the notion of the oasis. We are interested in pieces that can be viewed as full page spreads, as well as graphic narratives and poetry comics. Outsider art is always welcome, as is anything that surprises us or subverts expectations. 

For TAM 33, We are open to color submissions, and are taking a particular interest in pieces that are high contrast, and capture the shades and hues that speak to the oasis. 

AI generated art will not be considered for publication.