THE END IS NEAR.
But could this be the beginning?
There are moments when the future no longer presents itself as a promise, but as a question. Ideas of progress, growth, and certainty are under pressure, as systems begin to falter and what once felt self-evident starts to shift. The end is increasingly invoked — as a threat, a tipping point, a necessary rupture — yet what that end actually means, and for whom, remains unresolved. It is a recurring motif that keeps resurfacing: from millennium bugs and apocalyptic prophecies to technological acceleration, climate crises, and economic systems revealing their limits.
For this open call, we invite writers and makers to explore the end of the world. Not as a fixed scenario, but as a space for thought. We are curious about perspectives that question, reframe, or even embrace the idea of an ending: the end of a system, a way of living, a future vision, or the belief that everything can continue indefinitely.
Think of moments when endings were collectively imagined or feared — such as the predictions surrounding 2012 and the Mayan calendar, the anxiety around systemic failure at the turn of the millennium, or contemporary horizons where AI, autonomous weapons, space exploration, and techno-utopian dreams intersect with hypercapitalism and ecological exhaustion. What remains when something comes to a halt, and what might emerge in the void that follows?
We welcome contributions that move between utopia and dystopia, or linger uncomfortably in between; that are personal, philosophical, or geopolitical; fictional, essayistic, poetic, visual, or hybrid; slow, sensory, critical, or speculative. Moments of uncertainty, whether individual or collective, often call for a creative response. After all, every ending also carries the potential of a beginning.
Formal suggestions:
Essays and opinion pieces
Fiction & speculative narratives
Visual work (photography/collage)
Experimental or hybrid forms
Tip: Try to focus on the bigger picture and explore a new reality.
Practical information:
Deadline: 8 February 2026
Word count: max. 1000–1200 words
Send your contribution as a Word document to: rephrasemagazine@gmail.com
