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Submission Guidelines
Though Wordgathering is
deeply committed to poetry, we also accept literary essays, short fiction, drama, art and books for review.
Our aim is to give voice to the emerging genre of disability literature; therefore, we seek work related to
disability or by writers with disabilities. The following guidelines are for the submission of poetry.
Guidelines for submission of essays, fiction, art and books for review are given below th epoetry guidelines.
Poetry Submissions
- Writers with disabilities can submit poems on any topic.
For topics unrelated to disability, Wordgathering will ask
you to confirm that you have a disability upon acceptance.
- Non-disabled writers must submit work that relates in some
way to disability.
- Submit up to 5 poems.
- We prefer poems under 75 lines.
- Any style of poetry may be submitted.
- Previously unpublished work is given preference. If a work
has been previously published, please let us know where.
- Work should be submitted to
submissions@wordgathering.com
- Write submission in the subject line of the e-mail.
- Cover letters in the body of the email by writers submitting to Wordgathering for the first time are appreciated.
- If poems are available as an audio file, please indicate that in the cover letter. Upon acceptance, poets will be asked to
either provide an audio file of their poem or to grant permission Wordgathering staff to record it.
- Please send poems as attachments. On the attachment include
your name, conventional mail address and e-mail address.
Essays:
Writers interested in submitting essays should first send a query to the editors at
submissions@wordgathering.com describing
the proposed essay. Essays are generally
between 1000 and 2000 words and should in some way contribute to the development of the genre of disability
either theoretically or through personal experience as a writer with a disability. The editors strongly
recommend
that potential contributors read past essays. Laurie Clements Lambeth's "Poetry as Erasure"
and Jessica Penner's "Almost Right",
as examples of the kind of literary and personal essays Wordgathering looks for.
Book Reviews:
Wordgathering is also very interested in reviewing books of poetry, fiction, memoir and drama by writers with
disabilities, as well as books in disability studies related to literature.
As with essays,
it is a good idea to read previous book reviews. The reviews of Ona Gritz's
"Geode" for a single author
120
poetry book, Adam Pottle's "Mantis Dreams" for
fiction, or Kathryn Allan "Disability in Science Fiction" for a non-fiction book
in disability studies would be good places to start.
Writers of short fiction, novels or plays who would like their works reviewed or excerpted should first send
a query to submissions@wordgathering.com. The query should include a statement that allows the editors to know how the work qualifies as disability
literature.
A word of caution: Wordgathering is
unlikely to review books whose primary purpose is to be inspirational, uplifting, or therapeutic.
Fiction and Drama:
Guidelines for fiction and drama are the same as those for essays except that in the case of fiction, inquiries shoud
briefly explain how their story is related to disabily. Previous published work can be considered as long as the
author has permission from the previous publication.
Art, Photography and Music:
Emphasis is placed on work that focuses on disability and pushes some limits. Submissions of art, photography,
and music should be accompanied by a proposed text. Prospective contributers might want to pay special attention
to the work of painter Nancy Rourke. Submissions of artwork should be made to work as jpg files and music as audio files, preferably mp3.
Acceptance of work will generally come within 4-6 weeks. As with most online journals, work submitted can not be
returned. Unfortunately, due to its non-profit nature, Wordgathering cannot provide compensation for
work that is accepted for publication.
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