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Special Issue Spring 2027: In Memoriam: Thalia Pandiri

For more than twenty years, Thalia Pandiri (1943–2025) stewarded Metamorphoses as a vehicle for international literature and its translations. To honor her memory, we seek submissions that intentionally engage with Thalia’s work, her legacy, or on the process of collaborating with her, for publication in our Spring 2027 issue. 

Submissions may include:

• Translations that encompass Thalia’s areas of specialty: ancient and modern Greek literature, Medieval Latin, and modern drama, with a 500–1,000-word note that contextualizes the work and connects it to Thalia’s interests and/or publications.
• Reflective essays about Thalia, her contributions, and personal accounts of collaborating with her. Longtime or frequent Metamorphoses contributors are especially encouraged to submit work on this topic.
• Commentary on a specific published work or works by Thalia, including translations, essays, and critical writing.

Please follow our General Submissions guidelines when submitting. To be considered for this issue, submissions must be sent by September 1, 2026 to @email with the subject “Submission: Thalia Pandiri Special Issue.” 

Special Issue Fall 2027: In Memoriam: Laszlo Tikos

Our Fall 2027 issue honors Laszlo Tikos (1932–2025), founder of Metamorphoses. This special issue, like the previous one, will publish contributions that dialog with Laszlo’s life and work, corresponding with the following categories:

• Translations that encompass Laszlo’s areas of specialty: 19th-century Russian authors, Ukrainian literature, and Soviet dissident writing.
• Reflective essays that detail personal and professional collaborations with Laszlo or that engage with the topics he wrote about and translated.
• Commentary on a specific published work or works by Laszlo, including translations, books, essays, and critical writing.

Please follow our General Submissions guidelines when submitting. To be considered for this issue, submissions must be sent by December 31, 2027 to @email with the subject “Submission: Laszlo Tikos Special Issue.”

Metamorphoses has a rolling acceptance policy for general submissions, and has three different sections. Please carefully read the instructions below before submitting.

Translations and Their Roots

Metamorphoses is primarily a journal for translation into English from any language. Submissions should be previously unpublished translations of poetry or brief prose selections. We will consider retranslations of works that have not been translated recently and/or that depart significantly from accessible existing translations. The majority of the translations we publish are translated from the text’s original language, but we consider relay translations as long as the original language is specified and a brief justification is provided.

• Submit both the original and the translation as Word documents in an email attachment to @email with a subject line that includes “Translation Submission,” the translator’s name, and the author’s name. For example, “Translation Submission_Holleran_Cervantes.”
• If the piece has unique formatting, please include supplementary PDF files. 
• The name of the translator(s) should not appear anywhere in the submitted documents, as submissions are sent to readers for double-blind peer review.
• In a separate attached Word document, provide brief bios for the author(s) and the translator(s) (100–120 words each).
• Submissions must include evidence that the copyright holder is willing to grant Metamorphoses permission to publish the translation and reprint the source text at no charge. If the piece is in the public domain, please indicate this in your submission.
• The translator is encouraged to include a brief elucidating note (up to 500 words), including contextual information, translational challenges, and/or reflections on the translation process. 
• Due to the double-blind review process, we do not consider translations that are also being submitted simultaneously to other venues. We aim to respond to all submissions within three months.

On Translation

This section features informed reflective and personal contributions that push the conversation about translation and literature in our world. They may take the form of narrative essays, but we will also consider creative nonfiction, experimental prose, interviews, and visual art, as long as translation is a major theme of the work. Submissions may vary in length, but should not exceed 3,500 words.

• Send your submission along with a 100–120 biographical note as a Word document in an email attachment to @email with a subject line that includes “‘On Translation’ Submission,” your name, and a word to describe the nature of the work (e.g. essay, interview, experimental prose). For example, “On Translation Submission_Holleran_Interview.” 
• The name of the contributor(s) should not appear anywhere in the submitted documents, as submissions are sent to readers for double-blind peer review.
• In a separate attached Word document, provide brief bios for all contributors (100–120 words each).
• Due to the double-blind review process, we do not consider works that are also being submitted simultaneously to other venues. We aim to respond to all submissions within three months.

On Reading Translations

While many of our book reviews are commissioned, we also accept reviews of recently-published books in translation and on translation. Regardless of genre, we prioritize reviews of translated texts that dialog with the translation itself, not just the source text. We are also interested in reviews of books about translation, including translator (auto)biographies.

• Submit the review (750–2,000 words) and a 100–120 biographical note as a Word document in an email attachment to @email with a subject line that includes “Book Review Submission,” your name, and the title and author of the book. For example, “Book Review Submission_Holleran_O meu corpo humano_Maria do Rosário Pedreira.”
• Authors, editors, or reviewers are welcome to send book review pitches to @email. We welcome suggestions for reviewers.

• Kindly allow six months before inquiring about the status of your submission.
• The contributor retains copyright over their work; we ask that prior publication in Metamorphoses be acknowledged.
• We reserve the right to edit punctuation according to U.S. standard practice and to make minor syntactical changes when they would not affect meaning. More substantial changes require the consent of the contributor.
• Anyone wishing to reproduce the material in this journal must request permission to reprint from Metamorphoses.
• We expect original work from our contributors and seek to highlight the most human aspects of the translation process. Therefore, we will not publish submissions that are AI-generated or heavily AI-assisted. The Cambridge Journal of Literary Translation exemplarily outlines these expectations which we have adopted with CJLT’s permission. If generative AI was used in any way to contribute to your work, this must be disclosed at the time of submission with specific information on where or how AI was used. Note that if AI is used to replace the translator/contributor’s core responsibilities, we will not consider the piece as suitable for publication.
• The opinions expressed in the pages of Metamorphoses by contributors to Metamorphoses are understood to reflect only the views of their authors.