How will de/construction work for the artist?

CONTENT, LANGUAGE AND GEOGRAPHY:

We will publish poetry, fiction and visual art from anywhere and everywhere in the world, with substantial context provided with respect to the art and the artist, as well as a Showcase section in which the artist presents her background, work, thesis, method and at least one schematic/dissection/process flow of a piece or pieces of her work.

Written pieces, context for all pieces, and Showcase sections will be presented be in English.

SUBMISSION CATEGORIES AND TENTATIVE RATES:

Poetry - up to 4 poems (12 pages) max, $7

Translation (Poetry) - We will not publish a translation unless the poet or someone contracted by the poet translates her own poem(s), from another language into English.

Translation-plus-original counts as one poem for submission count purposes.

Showcase - $15. Design however you want. Generally, include bio, samples, thesis, method/process, breakdown or dissection of one or more pieces as a demonstration. This will include visuals. Send in one PDF and provide contact information, as we will need to reach out and coordinate re: image and text files.

Showcase submissions that are not selected for a near-term Showcase will automatically be considered on a piece-by-piece basis for regular contribution purposes. We will contact you to confirm availability and to discuss interest in deferring for a quarter or two - if we do this, then our concerns relate to timing and space, not quality.

Fiction: under 3,000 words $15. Please provide very brief synopsis.

Over 3,000 words $25. Please provide brief synopsis.

Over 7,000 words, feel free to submit, but accepted pieces may be pooled for the print edition. This does not mean that we are not interested in long fiction - we very much are.

Hybrid: under 5 pages, please submit as Poetry (see above), 5 and up, please submit as Fiction (see above), and please note in the submission that it is a “Hybrid.”

Visual: Photo of textile/fabric art, painting, sculpture, etc…. 3 pieces, $5 [image file, format TBD].

Photography: 3 images, $5 [image file, format TBD]. Note that the print edition will feature one color photo, on the back cover, and b/w photos within the edition. Digital, seasonal editions will feature color and b/w photography.

Cultural Content: The first few issues will feature solicited cultural content.

SUBMISSION PROCESS:

Submission portal will open in 2027 for issues that will begin in February 2028.

Submission window will thereafter be open permanently, on a “rolling” basis.

There is no reason to wait to submit in the Showcase column for work other than poetry. While the first two issues will present only poetry showcases, we will diversify thereafter.

Some issues may include more than one Showcase. This is likely, once we get a rhythm going.

We will establish submission portals through one or more of the leading vendors - this has not been decided yet, and we expect to open submissions in September for a mid-February “Season One” minimalist issue and an April “Spring” issue.  We believe that that late winter / early spring period when the weather isn’t quite still winter and yet isn’t quite spring is its own season - which we call “Season 1” because it is the first season of the new year, and because it mimics the first season after humans were banished from Eden - the first such season for humans and for Eden. It tends to be the time of year in which people spend the least time outdoors (and in which, as a result, the outdoors are often devoid of people).

EDITORIAL HIGHLIGHTS - Why contribute to de/construction?

Most of the below directly relates to poetry, but the principles apply to all categories:

We will accept reprints if the artist retains all rights and provides the name and location of the journal(s) that published the piece(s) earlier. We ask that you comply with the first publisher’s exclusivity period. We prefer that you submit something that has not previously been published, so that we have the opportunity to print new material alongside the reprint.

Selection criterion is quality, not a particular aesthetic, vibe or form. We will not adjust or narrow selection criteria mid-process based on acceptances to-date. Our objectives for the publication are described above - connect creative talent and experiences with enthusiasts, across multiple genres and experiences. “What we seek” and “what we do not seek” are described below and relate directly to our objectives. There is no preferred aesthetic, form, structure, topic or vibe, within this journal or within any edition* and there does not become one based on the first three or four acceptances for an edition. If we have already accepted two pantoums, that will not preclude acceptance of your pantoum. You can replace “pantoum” with “concrete poem,” or “poem about [a bird, a turtle, a triangle, the color red, the Iberian Peninsula, igneous rock, glam rock].”

*We will typically try to align seasonal content with that season, unless the artist informs us that that is not her wish.

We will not tap out or cap out. We may accept a submission in January for publication in spring, summer or autumn, depending on space considerations.

We will consider submissions that are revisions of previously declined work. However, we make no promise to accept it as revised.

Background Content. Every artist will have more space to discuss her background, hometown(s), influences, theory, and/or part of the story behind the piece, plus pub and/or exhibit history, than is the case with most journals.

Emphasis on the Artist, Not Just the Art: Doubling down on the last highlight, we want to give the artist an opportunity to build her image, her brand, her fan base. Send, for example, up to three artist photos for potential publication. A headshot, a candid in your natural environment, a visual or your workspace, the choice is yours. We may use all, two, or one of them, but generally there will be more exposure, more engagement with the readers. It is also perfectly fine if you do not want to provide photos. It is your brand - we merely give you the opportunity to share and develop it.

Showcase: Poets, writers and visual artists will be able to submit a longer exposé to be presented in a Showcase section, in which you will have an opportunity to discuss your thesis in greater depth, and your method and execution - take us through a few of your pieces and show us some of the mechanics - how your process works, how we might interpret the result.

Poetry-first is not poetry-exclusive – we will feature poetry Showcase in the first two seasonal journals and at least two editions per year for the first few years and also leave room for other artists.   All artists are encouraged to provide context and backstory in regular and Showcase submissions, and non-poetry showcases will be presented on an equal or greater footing after the first two seasonal issues.

Publishing Schedule Flexibility:

Because of the rolling submission process, we will have flexibility to accommodate requests to publish in a particular quarter, or to defer publication if an accepted piece is accepted by a journal that has a wider circulation and/or represents better “feather in the cap” for the writer’s career and publish the piece(s) as a reprint six to twelve months later. We want to publish quality work, and the fact that 100 readers, or maybe 20, saw the piece in another journal six months earlier should not disqualify the piece from our journal. As such, we do not require you to withdraw a submission that is accepted elsewhere, but as noted above, we do insist that you comply with the other publisher’s exclusivity requirements.

Emphasis on Regular Contributors:

We understand and laud most journals’ desire to use their platforms to get as many writers as possible published. Most journals try to achieve this objective through a post-acceptance blackout - once you’re accepted, you’re asked to refrain from submitting new material for a few quarters or years. But we plan to do the opposite.

We actively want to build a roster of regular contributors, and an audience of regular readers. This is how we will provide a level of consistency and familiarity for contributors and readers alike. We also understand that, when publishing in an ecosystem dominated by independent journals seeking a “vibe” that may or may not be the writer’s typical “vibe,” and by academic journals with a low publishing frequency (typically annually or semi-annually), an artist may run out of places with which her work is a “fit.” Our basket will be much broader than most independent journals’ “vibes” and we think that once there is a match among an artist, a media outlet and an audience, it is logical to maintain that. This is unlikely to translate into the same exact writers every quarter, but it should translate into some writers or visual artists being presented every two or three editions. This will enable the artist to build and maintain an audience, and to expose that audience to other high-quality art and artists.

Cross-Genre Artists:

It is perfectly fine to submit at the same time, in different categories - just mention this in the submission. There is no discount - we still have to read all the submissions.

Other Notes:

We do not “read blind.” However, “pedigree” is not a factor determining acceptance, and you can structure your pub history however you want. It is fine to “list them all,” and it is fine if there are no previous acceptances. We will “get it” from the piece(s) and your descriptions of process and context.

Not all content featured in our online seasonal editions will make it into the print edition as a highlight. This is due to space constraints and other considerations, rather than relative quality.

Anthologies are not an immediate consideration. Eventually, we may produce a print anthology comprising pieces that were published earlier and that relate to a particular theme. We would solicit and accept submissions for the remaining space in such anthologies.

Submissions will be limited in scope and size, but you may submit an unlimited number of submissions. Yes, this involves more payment, but, again, we have to read all the submissions.

We will indeed read/view all submissions, and we do not intend to cap the number of submissions.

CONTENT GUIDELINES:

We do not do current-events political. It is not our trade. Submitting a piece about how we should love or hate this or that politician is a waste of your money, no matter who that politician is.

Social commentary, yes, we are interested, but remember, “show me, don’t tell me.” Don’t write a screed that lectures us about homophobia, for example, and tells us that it is bad. Write a narrative, a story, paint a picture - that on the surface could be about a few things, at least at the beginning, but that, in the end, leaves us at the end realizing just how harmful, and unnatural and counterproductive, homophobia is. See the difference? The latter is much more powerful.

A note on sexuality: we will not market this publication directly to people under 18, and we think that sex and sexuality among consenting adults are part of human existence - and are not solely for reproduction. For some reason, other art forms accepted sex and nudity a long time ago. Take a walk through the Musee d’Orsay, and tell me why Olympia is on the wall, and why that level of provocation does not belong in a story? That said, do not send graphic painting or photography or overly graphic or tawdry writing. We are doing this to fill voids, and there is no such void with that type of writing - there are other venues for it, and some of them are very good. If discussing a sex act, or describing behavior that mimics a sex act, serves a purpose in the piece, then yes, we want that. The last word on sexuality is that the writer or visual artist should employ the subtlety and nuance that she employs with respect to any other subject. If the quality is there, we will not shy away from it.

A note on sexism: with respect to the references to nudity above, yes, we have read Marilyn Board and agree with her and with other essayists addressing sexism in art, and there is no such thing as having too much art that challenges sexism.

A note on seasonality: we may respond that we want to publish a seasonal poem during or approaching a season. Conversely, if you put the finishing touches on a spring poem but it is June, you can feel free to submit when it is ready and ask us to hold off until Season 1 or Spring of the following year. And if someone else picks it up, and we have already accepted it, then we are fine publishing it later as a reprint, either when in season or when next in season. We will not assume that receipt of crocus poem in April means that your crocus poem is the verse equivalent of the beer recipe that became Corona after nobody else wanted it. Even if it made the rounds and nobody picked it up, that may have been because other journals approach some or all of the above matters from another angle.

‍A note on diversity: we ‍want poetry, fiction, visual art, and cultural content from individuals who are members of underrepresented communities. You can, but we do not ask or expect you to, write about life as a member of that community, or write about the plight of that community, etc… We are just as happy if you write about a hawk or a seagull or a blue jay. Write what you want to write. Photograph what you want to photograph. We seek to provide an opportunity for true representation – representation with no conditions.

Lastly, we do not emphasize the EIC on this site, we do not encourage you to try to “write like he writes,” and we do not want to push the line, “read prior issues to know what we like.” The point of this journal is not to encourage or promote writers who “write like” our EIC or our “favorite” writers.

If it so happens that a few issues in a row feature formal, or blank, or concrete, pieces, or feature Petrarchan sonnets or haibun, or translated pantun from Malaysia, that does not reflect a trend or shift in taste and does not mean that, “now that we’ve done those, we are less likely to do more.” Write what YOU write, do what YOU do, share what YOU seek to achieve, and your background and process.