Submissions Open:
Issue 20: Labyrinth
Summer 2025
Labyrinth: An Exploration of Theme
As we make our way through the world, are we exploring our surroundings or looking for exit strategies?
A lot of the time, we don’t have that choice. A lot of the time we are simply left to roam unfamiliar territory until we reach the end of our journey only to start anew. This is what we are interested in reading for Labyrinth. With our 20th issue, we want to celebrate and uplift those who have found themselves wandering. Who have also found themselves at the end of an experience, wondering what comes next.
Funny thing about Labyrinths versus Mazes: they only have one exit, and are not constantly working to trick us with dead ends. Yet, in almost every interaction of their portrayal, they are almost always more dangerous.
Let us follow beside you as your pieces explore this navigation, feelings of being trapped, a hope of an exit, and the aftermath of it all – good or bad. Poetry, Fiction, Flash-Fiction, Short Prose, Non-fiction, Art, and hybrid pieces are all welcome.
As we share our very literal path with you with publishing, we would be honored to become a piece of yours.
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The Missing Slate Team
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Click Here to read our 2024 Summer Issue!
The TMS Backstory
We started our journey as an international art and literary magazine in 2010. We were based in South East Asia, seeking to unite creators under a single umbrella regardless of where they were in the world.
After a short hiatus, we returned to a world that was still healing from the mass carnage of the last decade. We hoped to provide you, our hurting artists and writers, with a safe space. More than that, we intimately knew the unique challenges women and marginalized voices face in today’s world, and we remain here still only for you.
In fact, the only reason we’re back at all is because of you.
Does that make us a little idealistic?
Sure, but we’re betting that you are, too.
The Concrete Sanctuary for the TMS Dream
The core value of The Missing Slate (TMS) is to amplify and promote representation of voices from marginalized communities through literary and artistic works and all editorial decisions. The core and editorial team working in the background believes it is paramount to uphold their integrity as editors, managers, and writers for this purpose. TMS upholds a strict policy against discrimination of any form, ensuring a safe, fair, and inclusive environment for contributors and all individuals.
No individual on the editorial team or otherwise is permitted to derive financial gain directly from their involvement with TMS, and TMS will never impose any fees for submissions or access to its content. Participation through any means with TMS is voluntary, allowing individuals the flexibility to come and go as travelers contributing their part to a grand adventure.
The TMS Dream
TMS dreams of supporting marginalized communities through actively uplifting and standing in solidarity with marginalized communities. The core and editorial team that helps in the realization of this dream does so by maintaining a platform for free expression for literary work and art, nurturing an environment where diverse voices can be heard without censorship or suppression.