Tag: Submissions

You Must Be Crazy!: A Year-long Submission Bonanza!

Jaclyn12 Comments

Way back in July, I started my first Submission Bonanza!  This was an attempt to rack up rejections and embrace an aspect of writing that is difficult for me: putting myself out there.  My first Submission Bonanza was so successful and I learned so much from it that I resolved to keep it on the docket as something I did regularly.  I did another one in September and am starting to rack up more than just rejections from that one as well (news to follow!).

One of the habits that I resolved to develop in 2014 was to spend an hour a day on submitting my work to contests, literary magazines, etc.  I am hoping this means that I will be submitting something everyday, but there is a lot of work to do around submitting, so I’m not holding myself too hard to the number, more to the time I invest.  This, for me, is a year of forming habits over having goals.

In an effort to keep myself honest and also to share some great literary journals and contests, I’ll be posting a list here of where I submit to as I go.  Keep an eye on this spot for new magazines and competitions.  I’ll be updating it regularly.

  1. Classical Poets Contest
  2. California Genealogy Contest
  3. Glimmer Train
  4. The Paris Review
  5. Harper’s Magazine
  6. New England Review
  7. The Antioch Review
  8. The Southern Review
  9. EPOCH magazine
  10. The Gettysburg Review
  11. Yale Review
  12. Alaska Quarterly Magazine

Call for Submissions: Flash Frontier

JaclynLeave a comment

 

Submissions now open

In 2013 we are reading and publishing on a bi-monthly basis. Each issue follows a theme. See our Themes and Announcements pages for details. Also see Archives to read past issues and get a feel for stories we publish.

February 2014: one way (submitted by Brendan Way and among the top five themes from the winter 2013 comp)

April 2014: scattered (submitted by Bruce Costello and among the top five themes from the winter 2013 comp)

What we like

We are looking for variety and originality. Tickle us, haunt us, gobsmack us. Choose your words carefully and leave our readers wanting more. And do it in 250 or less (not including title).

Please submit only previously unpublished works. If the work has appeared in any other print or electronic journal, we consider it published. If it has appeared on a writing workshop site, we will consider it but please do let us know, and we expect Flash Frontierto be credited with first publication if your work appears in our pages.

We love original art in all forms — colourful and daring, muted and understated. We’ll choose art each month which reflects the theme.

How to submit

Stories

  • Electronic submissions only. Submit submissions in an email to: flashfrontier [at] gmail [dot] com
  • Write Submission: month / theme (that is, name the theme, as in: Submission: January / Frontiers) in the subject line.
  • Place your story in the body of the email. No attachments, please. If your story requires unusual formatting, the editors may ask for an different kind of document to confirm your formatting requirements.
  • Include the title of your story, your name, and the whole text in the email.
  • Please format your story by using double spacing between paragraphs and no indent on paragraph beginnings.
  • Provide a brief biographical sketch (approx. 60 words) about yourself that can be included on our Contributor page. You do not have to include your bio if you have submitted to us before.
  • Submissions are due by the last day of the month for the following month’s issue. Each issue will appear mid-month.
  • Remember to count: 251 won’t be accepted.
Art
  • If you are submitting art, please send your work(s) as an attachment. Provide a title for the piece and tell us where the artwork originated. Artists may send up to five pieces for consideration at once.
  • Please provide a brief commentary (approx. 60 words) about your art submission.
  • Provide a brief biographical sketch (approx. 60 words) about yourself that can be included on our Contributor page. You do not have to include your bio if you have submitted to us before.

Payment and Rights

  • We do not pay authors for their work, but there will be prizes awarded quarterly and at the conclusion of our first year.
  • An author must own full copyright of the work submitted.
  • First rights revert to author upon publication, although Flash Frontier reserves the right to anthologize material originally published here in electronic or printed format.

Please direct any questions to us at flashfrontier [at] gmail [dot] com

A Mess o’ News

JaclynLeave a comment

For those of you keeping track at home, you’ll notice that it’s been nearly two months since I posted.  It’s been a whirlwind around here and my poor little Lightning Droplets blog had been put on the backburner because of it.  Lots of exciting things have happened, though, and I’d like to share!

My last post was in November, when I — bravely? insanely? masochistically? — took on my first NaNoWriMo in the middle of my first semester of an MFA Program and my first semester teaching college composition.  I did not reach the goal of 50,000 words, but I did feel like I accomplished a lot.  I started a novel I’m quite excited about and reached my all time daily peak (6,000 words in one day!) and even my monthly best at 17,165 words on one piece (I did write a few other things in November).  You might know from my Write Fast post that I am not a fast writer, but in November, I averaged over 500 words a day.  This is about the same word count as Tom Robbins, who is a favie fave of mine, so I am feeling pretty good about that.

Also in November, I found out that I won a grant!  The grant pays for my class to publish a collection of essays written by my students.  It also pays for me to go to two writing conferences.  So, anyone going to AWP this year will see me there!  Woohoo for a free week in Seattle!  I’ll also be going to the Pacific Rim Conference on Literature and Rhetoric in Anchorage, so that will be a nice little weekend, too.

By the time the end of the semester rolled around, I had been nominated for Best of the Net, published in Yemassee, Flash Frontier, Exegesis, and Saw Palm (forthcoming), written 15 solid pieces in three different genres, done two panel presentations, a roundtable discussion, two craft papers, a position paper, and two Prezis, contributed to the WriteAlaska website, produced a full-length book with my students, read 18 books,submitted work to sixty literary magazines, and drank many, many pints of Alaskan beer.

You can see why my little blog here has been neglected.  I have lots planned for next semester as well, but Lightning Droplets will hopefully get a little more attention as I settle in more to my new life and my new home in the Arctic.

Update: Also, just to let people know, I have joined Amazon’s Affiliate Program. So… Lightning droplets is now a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

Racking up More than Rejections: Shards in Exegesis

Jaclyn12 Comments

So, the ripples of goodness from July’s Submission Bonanza! are still rolling in.  (Rejections are still rolling in too, so it is true that I am racking up rejections, but these small victories overshadow the rejections by so much.)  It’s amazing what happens when you just decide to put yourself out there.  I wasn’t expecting much back except for some experience and some notches on my writing bedpost.

But I’m in the latest issue of Exegesis, an academic journal at Royal Holloway, University of London.  They published Shards, a short short of mine, in their third issue: Landscapes:Digital, Real, Imagined.

Woohoo!

Call for Submissions: Yemassee

JaclynLeave a comment

The good folks over at Yemassee are open for submissions.  Check them out!

 

General Guidelines

Yemassee publishes all genres and forms of writing, including poetry, fiction, drama, creative nonfiction, reviews, and interviews, along with visual art. We publish in the fall and spring, printing three to five stories and twelve to fifteen poems per issue.  We do not favor any particular aesthetic or school of writing. Quality of writing is our only concern.

We’re seeking quality, previously unpublished work in these genres.  We are open to submissions year-round, and we suggest you familiarize yourself with our journal before submitting (Back Issues are available for $5 each).

Simultaneous submissions are accepted, given that you identify them as such on your cover letter and immediately notify us if the submission is accepted elsewhere.  Once you have submitted, please wait three months before submitting again.

We accept online submissions through our submissions manager at http://yemassee.submishmash.com/  As of May 2012, we no longer accept paper submissions.  Any paper submissions we receive will be recycled.  

Submissions Format

Submissions for all genres should include a cover letter that lists the titles of the pieces included, along with your contact information (including author’s name, address, email address, and phone number).

You should be sure to look at our masthead and address your submission to the appropriate editor.

Poetry submissions should include 3-5 poems combined into a single document, with no more than one poem per page.

While we have published longer work, we typically prefer fiction and nonfiction pieces be 5,000 words or fewer.

Art submissions should be uploaded as up to five separate attachments.  The following file types are supported: jpg, gif, tiff, png.  All art submissions must be at least 300 dpi at  6 inches x 9 inches or the equivalent.  Submissions that do not meet this requirement cannot be considered.  Yemassee prints in black and white, but we may consider color art for the cover or the website.

Guidelines specific to our contests are also available on our submissions manager.

Visit our submissions manager here.

 

Rights and Compensation

Contributors receive a copy of the issue in which their work appears, with the option to purchase additional copies at a discounted rate.

Yemassee acquires first-time North American rights. Copyright reverts to authors upon publication.

Submission Bonanza!: Second Time Around

Jaclyn13 Comments

So, you might have noticed that it’s October 19th.  You might have also noticed that it’s not September any more.  In fact, it’s nearly three-weeks-not-September already.

Way back in July, I set myself a challenge to do a Submission Bonanza!  It was incredible and successful.  I learned so much, and I’ve been published in three magazines so far (more on that to come later!).  It was so successful that I resolved to do it again in September.

Some of my cohorts looked at me like I was insane — and with good reason.  In September, I started an M.F.A. program, began lecturing on writing at university, and moved to the frontier (Why, hello, Alaska!) all in the same month.

It’s true that I didn’t finish my 30 litmags in 30 days.  It’s an ambitious challenge amidst so much transition.  I have, however, finally finished!  It took me much longer than I had hoped, but I still got work out to 30 litmags and ok, it took me 50 days, but better late than never, right?

So, in true Submission Bonanza! fashion, I’ve pasted below links to all the literary magazines that I submitted to.  They’re all magazines that accept submissions online and accept submissions for free, because those are some of the restrictions that I’ve currently set for myself.  You’ll notice that some of the magazines here are quite ambitious for such a fledgling like me to be submitting to (cough, cough, New Yorker, cough, cough, The Atlantic).  One of the things I learned during my first Submission Bonanza! was that I needed to be more choosy.  Once a piece gets published, those First Time North American Rights that all the magazines are asking for are gone, gone forever.  Because of this, I figured I’d start with the big boys and get real about racking up the rejections.

So, here it is, ladies and gents:  an incredibly ambitious September Submission Bonanza! 30 litmags in 50 days.

1. Glimmer Train
2. Subtropics
3. American Scholar
4. Podcastle
5. Writing Tomorrow
6. New Haven Review
7. AGNI
8. Nashville Review
9. A River & Sound
10. Journal of Compressed Creative Arts
11. The Pedestal
12. Poetry Magazine
13. Kenyon Review
14. Shenandoah
15. Devil’s Lake
16. The New Yorker
17. The Atlantic
18. Tin House
19. Cincinatti Review
20. TriQuarterly
21. A Public Space
22. Bomb
23. Chicago Review
24. One Story
25. West Branch
26. New Ohio Review
27. Willow Springs
28. Third Coast
29. Southeast Review

30. Pleiades

Call for Submissions: Permafrost Magazine

JaclynLeave a comment

Permafrost Magazine is now accepting submissions.

Permafrost Magazine is the farthest north literary journal for writing and the arts.   Founded in 1977, Permafrost is housed at the University of Alaska Fairbanks MFA program and run by dedicated creative writing graduate students. We publish a winter print issue as well as a spring online issue, both of which feature compelling poetry, fiction, and literary nonfiction by established writers and new voices alike.  In Alaska, our unique environment shapes our perspective, but Permafrost seeks original voices from all over the world.

Submit

Regular submissions for the print edition are read between September 1 and December 15. All pieces receive three independent readings from our staff of volunteer readers, all of whom are graduate students or faculty in the English Department at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. The average turn-around for regular submissions is approximately three months.

If your submission arrives after our December 15 deadline, it will then be considered for the May online edition.  The deadline for submissions to the online edition is April 15.

You can submit by mail or online here: http://permafrostmag.submishmash.com.  Please note that we are charging a $3 fee for submitting online, which is comparable to the cost of postage and mailing materials and helps offset some of the journal’s expenses.

To submit by mail, send to:
Permafrost
University of Alaska Fairbanks
Department of English
P.O. Box 755720
Fairbanks, AK 99775-0640

ALWAYS ENCLOSE AN SASE.
Your work will not be returned or responded to without one.

Contributors will receive one copy of the issue in which their work appears. Additional copies can be purchased at the reduced price of $5.

Email submissions will not be read.

PROSE (FICTION AND NON-FICTION): Typed and double-spaced with author’s name, address, phone, and email at the top of page one, with each page after numbered with name at top. We welcome prose submissions of less than 8,000 words (more if it’s really great). Notify us if you’d like your manuscript returned. Always include an SASE.

POETRY: Typed with author’s name, address, phone, and email at the top of each page. Poetry does NOT need to be double spaced; please submit it as you would like it to appear. Poems of more than one page should have the author’s last name, along with page number, at the top of each following pages. No length maximums, as we like the idea of publishing something truly epic. Please do not submit more than five poems at once. Include an SASE.

ARTWORK: Photographs, drawings, cover art, etc. will be considered.

Don’t be discouraged if your first submission is not accepted, and please specify if your submission is simultaneous.Permafrost also sponsors literary contests for fiction and poetry.

Racking up More than Just Rejections

JaclynLeave a comment

Inspired by a list of 100 Best Ways to Becoming a Better Writer on thecopybot.com, I decided in July that I was going to follow Number 66: Rack up Rejections.  I set off on a crazy adventure in which I submitted work to 30 literary magazines in 30 days.  At the time, I was really just expecting to get some practice in the litmag scene and also start steeling myself to the idea that if I wanted to write, I’d have to come to terms with being rejected.

It turns out, I learned more than I could have ever expected.  It was such a powerful learning experience that I am doing it again this month.

I have been racking up the rejections.  They are trickling in slowly due to slow response times.  This is kind of nice so that I don’t have to hear 30 No!s all at one time.  But I haven’t been getting only negative responses, either.

Flash Frontier, a purveyor of fine flash fiction, accepted a piece I wrote long ago about Alaska for their August 2013 Issue: Snow.

And that’s not the only positive response I’ve gotten.  More news on that front as the publications come out!

Call for Submissions: The Round

JaclynLeave a comment

The Round is a journal of literary and visual arts based at Brown University in Providence, RI.

Published biannually, The Round accepts submissions in all mediums and from all sources, inside and outside the Brown community.

The Round is happy to accept submissions of both literary and visual art. In the past we have published prose, poetry, plays, and translations as well as paintings, drawings, prints, and photography.

Submissions are accepted on a rolling basis. Typically, for the fall issue, we read through October, and for the spring issue, through March. Issues are published at the end of each semester in December and May.

To submit, please send us a brief bio and your mailing address, if not on Brown’s campus, along with your work. Written submissions should be sent in .rtf, .doc, or .docx format. Please send visual art as high quality .jpg images and include a piece’s title, medium, and dimensions.

 

Please email all work to theroundmagazine@gmail.com .

 

September Submission Bonanza Challenge!

Jaclyn13 Comments

September is here, folks and that means it’s time to celebrate Labor Day by expending a bit of my labor on my writing career.  All this month, I will be working on my second Submission Bonanza!

In my first Submission Bonanza! I racked up a few rejections, got some things published (more info to come on some of those things as the publications come out!), and learned a whole lot.  It was incredibly successful in more than just my initial idea that I would start racking up the rejections to get my work out there.  I am reading more critically and closely.  I found lots of new magazines.  I feel part of a larger literary conversation.  I am inspired to write more.  Also, I am inspired to keep up with submitting and submit more.

Like last time, I will be working on submitting to 30 magazines in a month.  I have my pieces picked out and edited.  I have a list of magazines that I want to submit to. And I have a cover letter and bio template ready to go.

Feel free to join me in this journey.  I loved doing this in July and I am excited about all the magazines opening their doors to submissions this month.  I would highly recommend that anyone who is wanting to grow and develop as a writer think about doing this in some form.  Maybe you don’t want to do one magazine every day.  Maybe you want to do one every other day, one a week, or even just one.  Maybe you want to do three a week or three a day.  Whatever the case may be, set a reasonable goal or yourself and get going.  Your work isn’t going to read itself.  If you do decide to join, please let me know.  I would love to be able to support and encourage each other as the months go on.  Good luck!