We are creating the magazine we want to read
Think of us as your commonplace book, a collection of essential readings and images curated in one place.
Each magazine issue is arranged around a theme.
Readers can expect a blend of long and short form essays, interviews, historical and literary analysis, and visual essays accompanied by a robust reviews section on books, music, and art.
issue one INTERIORS
Releasing September 2026
What lives inside?
A room is never just a room.
The spaces we inhabit shape our lives and the projection of the life we want to lead.
For our first issue, Interiors, we considered what inner life looks like in an age of speed, distraction, and exposure.
Inside our print issue you'll find essays and interviews on interior design and the importance of shaping an interior life that can withstand the pressures of modern life.
Themes:
- Domestic interiors and architecture
- The historical life of rooms and objects
- Interior monologue and private consciousness
- Silence, contemplation, ritual, and solitude
- Sacred spaces, chapels, shrines, monasteries, and thresholds
- The interiorised self in literature, philosophy, and film
- The relationship between outer space and inner life
Photography • Essays • Fiction • Visual Art • Criticism
the fifth province
In Irish folklore, the “fifth province” refers to an imaginative, symbolic space beyond the four traditional provinces—Leinster, Munster, Connacht, and Ulster.
Traditionally situated in the centre of the island (Mide or Meath), it was a place for the rulers of various kingdoms to come together. During the period of the Troubles in Northern Ireland, Seamus Heaney and Brian Friel held the Fifth Province as a kind of neutral territory where people of different persuasions could meet and reconcile.
We think there is urgent need to reinvent the Fifth Province to protect and promote the arts against the encroachment of artificial intelligence and a shrinking creative ecosystem.
The fifth province is for everyone.
What we do
We publish work from human authors, and so, pay them in human money.
To do so, we engage in a business transaction with you, the reader, which involves the exchange of goods, aka dinero, casholla, the finger thing, paper, money, etc.
It’s distasteful but necessary.
We don’t charge much.
It’s an insult to the writers actually, how little we charge…
But nevertheless, a small sum, and you receive access to a little fountain of knowledge, a token of social currency, an emblem of esteem and badge of hierarchical success.You become in the parallax of your own mind, one of the enlightened ones.
Alternatively, you pay us a subscription fee, we post you a magazine and you have a really nice Saturday morning drinking coffee and reading it and then sounding extra smart at your next dinner party. Win-win.
Are you an author, musician, artist or creative ?
We would love to hear from you
We are actively recruiting writers and artists to contribute to The Fifth Province.
If you have an idea for a story, pitch us.
If you have a review of a book/ exhibition/ music album, get in touch.
We would like to develop a high caliber roster of featured writers and regular contributors.
Submission Guidelines
We want to hear from new talent and established experts.
Issue no 1 Interiors
- Essays (literary, personal, cultural criticism) 1,200-3000 words
- Interviews (writers, artists, thinkers, unexpected voices) 1,200-4,000 words
- Book reviews (sharp, opinionated, and well-written, does not need to be new fiction, we like to know about the classics we should be reading) 500-2,000 words
- Music Releases (what's hot, classics, new releases) 500-1,000 words
- Photo essays & standalone photography
- Visual art (prefer B & W, reproducible in print)
Details:
Send us your pitch!
- Simultaneous submissions: allowed (just let us know)
- Emerging and established contributors equally welcome
This is the first issue.
We’re building something with weight and longevity—something you’ll want to keep.
The Fifth Province
Window for submissions
issue 1 opens
10 may 2026
We don't want
Work that isn't your own
Work that has been published elsewhere
We are not interested in sensationalism or partisan argument.
We are drawn to clarity, depth, and wit.
Formatting Your Work
Please ensure all written submissions are formatted as a standard Word document (.doc or .docx).
Include a brief author bio (2–3 lines), along with links to any previous work where available.
Image submissions should be provided in the highest possible resolution.
Our Philosophy on Creativity
Please don't use AI tools to edit or create your work; we will work with you to make sure the piece is presented in tip-top shape.
The errors give character, just like that pimple on your nose. If you have used AI, please alert us as to how and why.
For images, we understand that AI may be part of your creative or editing process, please flag that to us in your submission.
issue no 2 everyday romance
The Fifth Province is looking for work exploring romance in ordinary life.
We are seeking work that explores romance not only as desire, but as atmosphere, ritual, memory, aesthetics, and way of life. We are interested in both traditional literary romanticism and contemporary forms of intimacy: courtship, marriage, heartbreak, friendship, domesticity, faithfulness, nostalgia, and tenderness.
We want to examine romance as a feature of the culture.
- Courtship rituals and old-fashioned romance
- Weddings, anniversaries, mourning rituals, and family traditions
- The romantic interior: bedrooms, kitchens, cafés, trains, gardens
- Cinema and the language of romance
- The decline (or revival) of ritual in modern life
- Dating apps, alienation, and contemporary courtship
- Fashion, gesture, and adornment
- Romanticism as an artistic movement and philosophical tradition
Tell us how romance survives in the twenty-first century
Seeking:
Photography • Essays • Fiction • Visual Art • Criticism
Call for Submissions
Issue no 3: The Irish Issue
The Irish Issue
From Belfast to Cork, Galway to Dublin, the Irish cultural scene feels alive with ambition.
For this special issue, we want to capture some of that energy.
What is happening in Irish culture right now that deserves attention?
Who are the artists, writers, filmmakers, musicians, photographers, publishers, playwrights, and thinkers shaping the conversation?
We welcome contributions on subjects including:
- Contemporary Irish literature and poetry
- Independent Irish publishing and little magazines
- Theatre and performance in Ireland
- Irish-language arts and criticism
- Rural artistic life and regional scenes
- Irish film, photography, and visual art
- The revival of craft, tradition, and vernacular culture
- Music scenes, traditional music, and experimental sound
- The Irish diaspora and cultural identity
- Reviews of books, exhibitions, films, performances, festivals, and cultural events happening across Ireland
Tell us what is exciting about Irish culture today
Seeking:
Photography • Essays • Fiction • Visual Art • Criticism
Call for Submissions
Issue no 4: The Western
There are few genres as mythic, contradictory, or enduring as the Western.
In recent decades, the Western has undergone a remarkable revival in film and literature, a vehicle for exploring violence, freedom, masculinity, landscape, and national myth. Reinvigorated by figures such as Clint Eastwood, The Coen Brothers, Sam Peckinpah, Cormac McCarthy, and Larry McMurtry, the genre has become darker, stranger, more philosophical, and more self-aware. The modern Western is as concerned with memory and moral collapse as it is with gunfighters and gold rushes.
The Western has shaped not only American culture, but global ideas of freedom, wilderness, heroism, and nationhood.
For this special issue, we are seeking work that celebrates, critiques, and reimagines the Western across literature, film, and art.
Tell us why the Western endures
Seeking:
Photography • Essays • Fiction • Visual Art • Criticism
Send us your pitch!
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