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drafthorse welcomes
unsolicited literary manuscripts and visual art. Work submitted in February,
March and April will be considered for the summer issue. Work submitted in
August, September and October will be considered for the winter issue. We read
manuscripts on a rolling basis during these submission periods only.
What we're looking for:
We seek original fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry and visual art
that explores our constant theme of “work and no work.” While we’re
open to various interpretations, we expect the subject to be
fundamental to your submission in some way. We are interested in how
work, or the absence of it, affects people and communities on an
intimate level. While politics are inescapable, the magazine is not a
platform for partisan blunderbussing. We will not consider submissions
that do not relate to our theme in any way, so we strongly encourage
you to read our
About
page and look through prior issues before you submit.
We are
excited to feature known writers and artists who wish to lend their
voices to the important subject of work, but we are just as excited to
discover new and unknown writers and artists. So much the better if
drafthorse
provides the first publication for a strong writer or visual artist.
What we don't know we're looking for:
If you’re a writer, artist,
musician, filmmaker, etc. and have a submission that you believe is
relevant for drafthorse but doesn’t fit within the guidelines
stated above, we encourage you to query us. We’re interested in
various material that may be difficult to classify. While we don’t
accept reviews in their traditional form, we’re open to essays that
include in-depth analysis of relevant books, albums, films, etc. We
want to incorporate more music and film in the future, and we’re open
to your ideas about how to do that.
Logistics:
drafthorse accepts submissions through Submittable:
Creative Non-Fiction
Creative nonfiction may
include essays, memoirs, literary journalism, interviews, and opinion
pieces (but nothing overtly political, please, even if we agree with
you). We will read one long piece, or up to three short pieces, at a
time per author. The total word count should be under 3000 words,
although we will consider exceptional longer works. Submissions may
include short excerpts from longer works, but an excerpt must stand
alone as a discrete work.
Prose submissions should be
double-spaced and use a standard 12-point font, such as Times New Roman.
Please upload your entire submission as one MS Word file. PDFs are
accepted, but Word is preferred. Be sure to include your name and
contact information on the first page.
Fiction
We will read one long prose piece, or up to three (3) short pieces, at a
time per author. The total word count should be under 3000 words,
although we will consider exceptional longer works. Submissions may
include short excerpts from longer works, but an excerpt must stand
alone as a discrete work.
Poetry
We will read up to
five
(5) poems at a time per author. Poems should be single-spaced and use a
standard 12-point font, such as Times New Roman. Please upload your
entire submission as one MS Word file. PDFs are accepted, but Word is
preferred. Be sure to include your name and contact information on the
first page.
Visual Arts and Media
Visual arts submissions should include a brief artist statement along
with 5-10 representative sample images (resolution dpi, dimensions on
longest side 1000 pixels) and/or link to a web portfolio.
If
you’re an artist, musician, filmmaker, etc. and have a submission that
you believe is relevant for drafthorse but doesn’t fit within these
guidelines, we encourage you to query us. We’re interested in material
that may be difficult to classify. Please contact us at
[email protected].
It is our
policy to only accept previously unpublished work unless solicited.
Please do not submit previously published material, which means
published in other journals—print or online, as well as in blogs,
personal websites or anywhere accessible to the general public.
We're happy to consider simultaneous submissions with the understanding
that you will inform us if a piece is accepted by another publication.
Should this occur, let us know at
[email protected].
We recognize that literature’s job is to examine in an honest, intimate
and authentic way how people live and how they respond to obstacles and
adversity. In most cases, without that intimate and believable
relationship, neither characters nor readers would have the room
required to discover potential for redemption or an opportunity to
achieve an epiphany. Sometimes that close look requires the inclusion of
violence, sexual content or strong language in a piece of writing. We
are not, however, interested in work that uses these elements
gratuitously or for the sake of shock value.
Response Time
We strive to respond to
every submission in a timely manner, hopefully within four months. If
you have not heard from us by that time, feel free to send us a query
via email. Please do not send additional submissions until you’ve heard
back from us.
Rights
drafthorse acquires
first rights for publication. Upon publication, all rights revert back
to the author. We reserve the right to keep any work that we’ve
published available in the drafthorse archives on our website.
Should a piece first published in drafthorse be reprinted in
another work, we request the later publication include an acknowledgment
of drafthorse.
Thank you for your interest in
drafthorse!
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