Submissions for Issue 16 are open until August 31
Issue 16: The Theory of Perpetual Change
The theme for Issue 16 is “evolution”.
Change is everywhere. We are constantly in new growth and the earth is always evolving with us. We cultivate into new spaces, change into new people. How you interpret evolution is up to you.
From emotional transformation to cultural shifts, from personal reinvention to planetary change, evolution is not just biological, but deeply human and artistic. This issue explores the many paths of becoming.
Theory of perpetual change: Evolution is an ongoing process, with species constantly changing over time.
Submissions are accepted through the Google Form as flash fiction, short story, poetry, creative nonfiction, nonfiction essay, digital art, and traditional art. You must be at least 13 to submit and no older than 30. We ask your age for demographic purposes and it will not be published. Please submit all pieces in the same genre in one submission per issue but as separate files or documents. You must submit to multiple genres in the same form submission, if submitting to more than one. Do not re-submit the same material during the same cycle. Please polish your pieces as much as possible before submitting.
Genre Guidelines:
Flash Fiction
You may submit up to 3 flash fiction pieces with no more than 1000 words each. All writing must be in font size 12 in any legible font (i.e. not cursive or weird display fonts). Ensure you cite any sources or credit any inspiration. Please use Chicago (author-date or notes-bibliography), APA7, or MLA8
Short Story
You may submit up to 3 short stories of 1000-3000 words each. All writing must be in font size 12 in any legible font (i.e. not cursive or weird display fonts). Ensure you cite any sources or credit any inspiration. Please use Chicago (author-date or notes-bibliography), APA7, or MLA8
Poetry
You may submit up to 2 poems of up to 50 lines each. All writing must be in font size 12 in any legible font (i.e. not cursive or weird display fonts). Ensure you cite any sources or credit any inspiration. Please use Chicago (author-date or notes-bibliography), APA7, or MLA8
Creative Nonfiction
You may submit up to 2 pieces of no more than 2000 words each. All writing must be in font size 12 in any legible font (i.e. not cursive or weird display fonts). Ensure you cite any sources or credit any inspiration. Please use Chicago (author-date or notes-bibliography), APA7, or MLA8
Nonfiction Essay
You may submit up to 2 pieces of no more than 3000 words each, not including citations, footnotes, or the bibliography. All writing must be in font size 12 in any legible font (i.e. not cursive or weird display fonts). Ensure you cite any sources or credit any inspiration. Please use Chicago (author-date or notes-bibliography), APA7, or MLA8
Art
You may submit up to 5 individual pieces of art (traditional or digital drawn or painted). Please submit as a PNG or jPEG file. Photography is not accepted. Collections do not count as one piece. Each piece is counted individually.
General Guidelines:
Accepted File Types
Pieces must be inserted into the google form as a link. The link must be to a Google Doc or Word Doc. If submitting multiple pieces to the same genre, please insert a link to a folder containing all of them OR put a separate link for each piece. Do not put your pieces all in one document, and do not combine pieces from multiple genres into one folder. If all your pieces are in one document, it is grounds for disqualification for all of them.
Status of Pieces
We do not accept any pieces that have been previously published in anything other than your personal social media or a defunct magazine where you no longer have access to the publication. You can submit to us and other magazines simultaneously, but you must notify us if your piece has been accepted elsewhere. Your piece will thus be considered retracted should you decide to accept the other magazine’s offer. For more details please see FAQ.
Plagiarism, AI, & Citations
We don’t accept fanfiction, or anything derived from preexisting work. If you are inspired by anyone, please credit them at the end of your piece. If we discover your work is plagiarized, we will immediately reject your submission and not allow you to submit for a certain period of time. We do not accept work done by AI. We will also do our best to protect your submitted pieces from plagiarism and will immediately notify you if plagiarism of your work has been found. Any sources must be credited using proper citation methods with a bibliography. This is not included in your word count limits. You may use MLA8, APA7, Chicago Notes-Bibliography, or Chicago Author-Date.
Language
As long as you also submit a version in English, we accept submissions in any language.
Profanity
Please keep your work PG-13 in terms of swearing and only use it when absolutely necessary. If we like your piece but there is too much profanity we will censor it before publishing.
Content
Do not include any identifying information in the document such as your name, email, etc. We do blind reads, so if you include any identifying info on your document the piece will be disqualified. If you have any potentially triggering topics in your work, please put content or trigger warnings at the very beginning of your piece.
What We Won’t Accept
We will not accept any work that is in itself racist, sexist, transphobic, homophobic, ableist, anti-semitic, xenophobic, anti-immigration, islamophobic, and all other hateful isms and phobias. The exception to this rule are pieces that focus on the negative impact these hateful beliefs have, or a focus on overcoming it. We also won’t accept anything overly sexual, graphic, or violent. Remember: PG-13.
After the Decision
Acceptance
If your piece is accepted for the issue we will email you to let you know. Any minor grammatical errors will be fixed before publishing to ensure you have a fully polished piece. Make sure to check spam for any emails.
Rejection
If your piece(s) are rejected, it’s not a credit to you or your abilities. More likely than not we feel your piece doesn’t match the theme. We will email you to let you know if you are rejected.
Feedback
There’s an option to request feedback on your work. This is different than editing as it is an overview of your piece. It is optional, but we will regardless do some basic copy edits to polish your piece before publishing (should it be accepted). Feedback is complementary and can be requested upon receiving a decision email, regardless of the decision. You are not eligible for feedback if your piece has been disqualified or retracted.
How to Submit
Click the button above or below to begin your submission on Google Forms! If you have any questions or problems, please email submissions@seaglasslit.org and we’ll gladly help you. Please do not use a school email on your submission as our emails may not go through.
Extras
Expedited Response
If you would like expedited response to your submission, you must donate min US$2 to our donation page. Please screenshot the proof of payment and email it to our email, submissions@seaglasslit.org with the subject line as “name Expedited Response Request”. We will then get back to you within 7 days of submission. You must submit for an expedited response before you submit the form or the same day you submit the form. If you send the payment and request after you submitted, the 7 days will be counted from the date of request.
Line Editing
If you would like your piece(s) to be line edited, you must donate $1 to our donation page for each piece you would like edited. Please screenshot the proof of payment and email it to submissions@seaglasslit.org with the subject line as “name Editing Request”. Please include the titles of the pieces you would like edited in the body of the email.
