The submission period for Issue 10 is now open and will close at noon Pacific time, August 16, 2011. Snail mail submissions must be postmarked no later than August 16, 2011 in order to be considered.
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES: THE BASICS
PLEASE READ OUR SUBMISSION GUIDELINES CAREFULLY. FAILURE TO ADHERE TO OUR GUIDELINES WILL RESULT IN YOUR SUBMISSION BEING INELIGIBLE FOR OUR CURRENT CONTEST AS WELL AS BEING INELIGIBLE FOR PUBLICATION.
What to submit
Memoir (and) publishes memoirs in many forms. We strive with each issue to include a selection of prose, poetry, graphic memoirs, narrative photography and more. For our journal, a memoir is a first-person, autobiographical narrative of a personal experience or experiences.
Contests
In each of our two yearly submission periods, we select the most outstanding submissions and award five prizes:
Memoir (and) Prize in Prose or Poetry
* Grand Prize: $500
* Second Prize: $250
* Third Prize: $100
Memoir (and) Prize for Graphic Memoir
* Grand Prize: $100
Memoir (and) Prize for Photography
* Grand Prize: $100
There is no fee to enter. All works submitted are eligible to win.
Where to submit
We strongly prefer to receive submissions via our online Submission Manager. Snail mail submissions may be addressed to: Memoir (and), 1316 67th Street #8, Emeryville, CA 94608.
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES: ALL CATEGORIES
1. Only one submission per person per submission period.
2. Please submit either:
* Prose (one submission, maximum 10,000 words) OR
* Poetry (maximum of five poems of any length, all in one document) OR
* Graphic memoir (one submission that will fit on no more than twenty 7” x 10” pages) OR
* Narrative photography (up to five images)
3. We do not accept submissions previously published in print or on the web. (Note: a personal blog is not considered “publication.”)
4. We DO accept simultaneous submissions.
5. Prose and poetry submissions MUST be formatted as .doc .rtf or .txt files. WE DO NOT ACCEPT ANY OTHER FILE TYPES. Sending other file types will result in the rejection of your submission. We regret this strict policy, but it exists because we have software limitations and we must be able to open your submission.
6. Upon publication, we purchase one-time six-month rights, and pay with copies of the journal in which your piece would appear, as well as a one-year subscription. We do not give monetary compensation unless you win a prize.
Formatting for blind reading
Memoir (and) engages in “blind reading” of submissions. Blind reading is the process wherein an author’s name and publishing history are not attached to the submission so editors are “blind” to these details when reading, thus creating a level playing field for all submitters. Any submission with contact information on the work itself will be ineligible for publication.
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES: PROSE AND POETRY
1. When submitting online, do not include your name anywhere outside the body of the submission itself. Being referred to by name within your piece is acceptable, however. Your contact information is registered in the database and will remain tied to your submission.
2. When submitting via snail mail, you must include a cover sheet with your name, address, email, phone number and the title of the piece.
3. Whatever method you use to submit, so that we may do blind reading, please include only the title of your piece and the page number on each page of your manuscript.
4. All prose pages should double-spaced; poetry may be single-spaced.
5. Please include a self-addressed, stamped envelope ONLY if you do not provide an email address.
6. Manuscripts will not be returned. (Sorry!)
7. If you submit by snail mail and would like confirmation that we have received your work, please include a self-addressed stamped postcard and we’ll put it in the mail once we receive your submission.
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES: GRAPHIC MEMOIRS AND PHOTOGRAPHY
1. Please submit one graphic memoir, or up to five photographic images.
2. Our online Submission Manager only accepts files up to 500 K in size. Please upload a lower-quality non-source file for us to view, or email larger files to submissions (at) memoirjournal (dot) com. If you have a file or group of files over 10 MB in size, please email us to set up a way to transfer files.
3. For multiple page submissions, please submit one file per page and include the page number in each file name.
Please be advised that when going to print, we will need your files in the following formats:
1. Resolution:
* Photograph and grayscale images: 300-600 ppi at 6” wide
* Black and white and/or line art: 600-2400 ppi at 6” wide (higher resolution preferred)
2. TIFF, EPS or highest resolution JPEG (for scanned images) files only.
3. When exporting files from their native software application, please make sure that the compression feature is deactivated.
Contact Information:
For inquiries: submissions (at) memoirjournal (dot) com
For submissions: submit here
Website: http://memoirjournal.squarespace.com
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