+ Submissions are now closed until 2024 +
Contributor Q & A
What topics/themes are you looking for?
worlding, futures, identity, technology, hyperreality, embodiment, healing, mourning, the tarot/divination, memory, small press culture, captivity/confinement/incarceration
What mediums can I use in this space?
poetry (erasure poetry, found poetry, experimental poetry, all poetry!), collage, critical essays (academic-style essays are considered), reviews, interviews, mixed media, audio recordings, visual art (drawings, paintings, photographs), creative non-fiction, science fiction, flash fiction, letters, mix tapes
Do I relinquish my rights to my piece once you publish it?
No. We actually don’t mind if you’d like to submit your work for consideration somewhere else after we’ve published it. However, we’d like to receive credit for publishing it first. We also understand people grow and change, so if there’s ever a time when you’d like us to remove a piece just let us know.
Do ya pay?
Yes. We offer what’s known as a “semi-pro” payment of $15. It’s not a lot, but we’re just a tiny guy. At the moment we’re trying to build more infrastructure to support a bigger payment.
What are your length requirements?
For anything considered an essay we’d expect it to be however long it needs to be in order to do its job. We’re also volunteers, so please: nothing over 5,000 words. If it’s longer than that we’d maybe consider breaking it down into a series. Pitch us if you are toying with sending us a super long piece.
In submitting reviews, we ask works to be under 1,000 words if possible. We prefer reviews for titles that have been published in the last 1-3 years, and we ask that you include the title, author, press, and year in your submission.
There is no minimum length requirement for poems; however, we do ask that you keep single pieces under 5 pages.
Who can submit?
Creative people who want opportunities in publishing and have an affinity to social justice and activist worlding technologies. We work with both emerging and established writers.
How much can I send at one time?
2-3 finished pieces of any medium.
How long do you usually spend reviewing submissions?
At the moment we aim to respond to all submissions. If you have not heard back from us regarding a submission in 4-6 weeks, please feel free to send a follow up.
What’s a sure way to be rejected immediately?
You’ll be rejected immediately if there are any racist, homophobic, sexist, transphobic, xenophobic, ableist or otherwise abusive issues. Your piece will also be removed without explanation if we find out you are publishing this trash elsewhere and we just didn’t know about it when we published you. This also goes for the email you send along with your submission.
Do you accept simultaneous submissions?
No. While we have accepted pieces in circulation previously, we are no longer able to review work submitted to other outlets. Our reason for this is, especially when reviewing longer pieces, writers were not letting us know in a timely manner when a piece was accepted at another journal. You can understand this leads to extra confusion. We also would like to be respectful to editors’ time.
How often do you publish?
As often as we are able to. Generally 2-3 times a year.
Anything else I should add to my submission?
Yes. Please include biographical information, pronouns, and any social media links or blog info. We like to know more about our contributors before we work with them.
Who are the editors?
We have an extensive list of current and former editors, each with varying degrees of involvement. A current list is as follows:
Kate Wilson {managing editor}
Jordannah Elizabeth {contributing editor}
Mauve Perle Tahat {founding editor}
How do I submit?
Sample submission:
“Dear [find editors’ names above for submission],
Here is my piece _______. It is [explain what your piece is about and what your intention was in writing it in one or two sentences].
This is my short bio:
Here are my social media links:”
Anything else I should know?
Prose submissions should be 12 pt. Times New Roman font. No more than 5 poems per one submission. We ask that work be submitted in doc, docx, or pdf format. Works with particularly tricky or inventive formatting may be edited slightly to accommodate the restrictions of our website. We do our best, but we ask for your understanding. Pieces will be lightly copyedited as needed, but we promise not to change anything huge without asking first! If you would like us to consider reviewing your book or collection, please send over a press kit or pitch & any other information you think would be helpful for us to consider.
Submit via our email: terseeditor@gmail.com
We’ve been fortunate: over a short time we’ve worked with tremendous contributors who’ve written about art, technology, embodiment, critical theory, and self-discovery (among other topics). Take a look around to see what we’ve published to get a feel for TERSE.