The Apostrophe

Mental Ideas is collaborating with the Hong Kong Writers Circle on the publication of its quarterly literary magazine The Apostrophe. Every quarter, we match original artwork to five original stories or poems by writers all over the world. The artwork we choose usually reflects the theme or the stories in an abstract or whimsical way. Standalone pieces of art and one striking piece of cover art reflecting the theme are also chosen.

Writers, please take a moment to read the guidelines and submit directly to the editors. Artists may submit multiple artworks directly or via Mental Ideas (our creative director is Art Editor) at any time from anywhere in the world. There are no geographical restrictions and no limits on the number of art submissions! There is no fee to submit stories or art and no fee to read The Apostrophe.

The inaugural issue of The Apostrophe  was published 1 June 2023. Congratulations to our artists Charles Tang, Ricky Sadiosa, Kasra Shroff, Rebecca Dandridge Walker and Jade Bryant on being among the first to be featured! You can download all issues of The Apostrophe below and submit your art or photography here! Don’t forget to subscribe!

In April 2025, for the first time, we printed all eight published editions of the quarterly magazine as a print zine – something we hope to do again! The editorial team is Jan Lee (Editor-in-Chief), Sadie Kaye (Art Editor), Sam Powney and Jay Oatway (Associate Editors).