Submission Guidelines
Submissions currently CLOSED! Please read the guidelines and send all submissions to southchildlitmag@gmail.com.
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For the current theme, please check out the Upcoming tab.
So you're stepping out into the world of publication. It's okay, I'm new at this too. Whether you've never gotten anything published before or this is your fifty-seventh mag, you are invited to come home to Southchild Lit.
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However, I am a team of one, so there are some guidelines to lay down so everyone can get the the attention and recognition that they very much deserve.
Why Southchild?
I started this magazine with the intent to find a home for work that, until now, has kind of wandered. Whether you've been rejected five times for the same poem or whether this is your first poem ever written, I want the world the see it.
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Don't get discouraged if you believe your work is not good enough for the public eye. It just hasn't found the right family yet, and I hope Southchild can be that.
What are we looking for?
(Short answer: everything)
We are accepting poetry, flash fiction, CNF, visual art, photography, and anything in that realm. If your piece seems like it might be a good fit, go on! Please send it on over.
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We like weird experiments with text and blank space, timeless pieces of joy or grief, catharsis, elation, and straight up frustration at the human experience. Send your kooky, your tired, your huddled masses. No holds barred. Did you write it on the shitter immediately before you submitted it? Wow, you're good. Did you write it seven years ago and just found it in your Grandma's attic? Very nice job.
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We do accept simultaneous submissions. If you are accepted anywhere else, just reply to your original email and let me know immediately. It'll be sad to see you go, but no hard feelings. Come back next submission window.
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We do not, on the other hand, accept previously published work. In the event that the journal your piece was previously published in becomes defunct, you're welcome to send it our way with proper notice!
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We are not accepting behavior or content that is racist, sexist, homophobic, transphobic, xenophobic, ableist, or explicitly sexual (check the FAQs for more info on this).
Poetry
You can submit up to three poems in a .doc, .docx, or .pdf file per submission window. Please try to keep each poem under 750 words, but I will stretch if it's badass. And if you have a three word poem that'll knock my butt off, SEND IT. We love.
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You can familiarize yourself with the theme on the homepage, but I'm fairly lenient. If you can show me how it fits, I'll take it.
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Send your submissions to southchildlitmag@gmail.com with the subject line [POETRY SUBMISSION] - TITLE - NAME. Please only submit once per cycle.
Prose
You can submit up to two prose pieces in a .doc, .docx, or .pdf file per submission window. Please try to keep your total word count for both under 6,000 words. And like I said with the poetry, if you've got some good micros, send them over. You never know. Familiarize yourself with the theme, but I am pretty lenient. We'll make it work.
Send your submissions to southchildlitmag@gmail.com with the subject line [FLASH/CNF SUBMISSION] (choose what fits) - TITLE - NAME. Please only submit once per cycle.
Art/Photography
UH HUH.
Please send up to five .jpgs of your work per submission window to southchildlitmag@gmail.com with the subject line [ART/PHOTOGRAPHY SUBMISSION] - Your Name. I ask that you familiarize yourself with the theme first, but if you send me something that fits better with a later (secret) theme, I may ask you resubmit during that submission window.
Cover Letters (ew)
In the body of your email (aka the cover letter), you don't have to be so formal. You're family now - no need to speak like a door-to-door vacuum cleaner salesperson. Unless form letters are just your vibe, in which case I respect it.
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If your piece has any content warnings, please state them in your email.
For the health of our readers and myself, if your piece requires content warnings and you refuse to include them in your submission, I will have to reject it automatically.
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You can give us a third-person bio (<75 words) and your social media handles as well. That way I can stalk you on Twitter.
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Also, I doubt anyone will read this far down, but feel free to pander. Send pictures of your pets, a Tik Tok you thought was funny, memes, or anything to soothe the editor's easily-amused baby brain. They will very much appreciate it.