Ampersand Magazine is a curiosity journal based in Melbourne, Australia. We have been annual, we have been bi-annual, we have been quarterly. These days we are as frequent as necessary. Meaning, infrequently.
Ampersand explores creativity, societal change and the human condition through multiple disciplines. We are interested in the discussion of any subject matter, particularly that which is unfashionable, unorthodox, illuminating or rare. Ampersand brings together academia and popular culture, enquiry and humour, innovation and tradition, opinion and evidence. We have a penchant for history and echoes of the past. We are interested in all modes of visual art. We are political, and interested in the fallout of religion and globalisation. We intertwine it all with absurdity, sex and cheap laughs.
CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS
Ampersand is now calling for non fiction, fiction, poetry and art submissions for issue 6 – Love.
We invite you to take a look at the provocations below, taken from A Lover’s Discourse by Roland Barthes.
Check out the submission guidelines below, and try to get your hands on a copy of Ampersand to familiarise yourself with what we do. When your homework is done, email drafts or finished articles (not pitches or proposals) to:
Non fiction and art submissions to Alice: alice’at’ampersandmagazine.com.au
or Simone: simone’at’ampersandmagazine.com.au
Fiction and poetry submissions to Charlie: charliegarber’at’gmail.com
Deadline is June 14 2012.
We do our best to reply to all submissions within 2–3 weeks, but time and volume may prevent us from providing individual feedback.
LOVE – we are looking beyond the euphoric light and into the shadows; of course you can’t have one without the other. The longing, the battle for individuality, the internal discourse, the extreme solitude.
But let there be light, too. We’re looking for good stories about incredible love affairs, about love within families, about how love can change the world.
As a further provocation, consider this list of the concerns of lovers, from A Lover’s Discourse by Roland Barthes.
s’abîmer / to be engulphed
absence / absence
adorable / adorable
affirmation / affirmation
altération / alteration
angoisse / anxiety
annulation / annulment
attente / waiting
cacher / to hide
casés / pigeonholed
catastrophe / catastrophe
circonscrire / to circumscribe
coeur / heart
comblement / fulfillment
compassion / compassion
compendre / to understand
conduite / behavior
connivence / connivance
contingences / contingencies
corps / body
déclaration / declaration
dédicace / dedication
démons / demons
dépendance / dependency
dépense / expenditure
déréalité / disreality
drame / drama
écorché / flayed
écrire / to write
errance / errantry
étreinte / embrace
exil / exile
fâcheux / irksome
fading / fade-out
fautes / faults
fête / festivity
fou / mad
gêne / embarrassment
Gradiva / Gradiva
habit / habiliment
identification / identification
image / image
inconnaissable / unknowable
induction / induction
informateur / informer
insupportable / unbearable
issues / outcomes
jalousie / jealousy
je-t’-aime / I-love-you
langeur / languor
lettre / letter
magie / magic
monstreux / monstrous
mutisme / silence
nuages / clouds
nuit / night
objets / objects
obscène / obscene
pleurer / crying
potin / gossip
pourquoi / why
ravissement / ravishment
regretté / regretted
rencontre / encounter
retentissement / reverberation
réveil / waking
scène / scene
seul / alone
signes / signs
souvenir / remembrance
suicide / suicide
tel / thus
tendresse / tenderness
union / union
vérité / truth
vouloir-saisir / will-to-possess
COLUMNS
Columns appear at the front of the magazine, and include opinion pieces; true stories; dissections of art, literature, politics and history; reportage; commentary and criticism. 500 – 1500 words
FEATURES
Ampersand is open to a variety of authorial voices, from academic to idiomatic, from journalistic to idiosyncratic. Please familiarise yourself with Ampersand’s ethos and previous content before submitting. Essays must reflect the theme in some way. We appreciate supporting imagery if available, and are open to image-based features (just keep in mind they will be printed in black and white). 3000 – 4000 words
REVIEWS
Ampersand’s reviews are not about selling or unqualified opinions. Our reviews are on general subjects, and involve a first person narrative and exploration of one thing – an artist’s whole body of work, a place or a service, for example. We do not publish unfounded rants or matter related to mainstream culture unless they are striking, contextualised interestingly or humourous. 500 – 1500 words
VERSE (FICTION AND POETRY)
Ampersand publishes two short stories and the work of one poet in each issue. 2000 – 4000 words
SPECIFICATIONS – Please submit your work as a Word document, accompanied by an introductory email giving a brief explanation of what you are sending, its word count, and which section you think it would suit.
OTHER THOUGHTS:
– We pride ourselves on excellent editorship, and have pride in our writers for their superior research.
– Please no physical submissions (email only)
Email submissions to the editor – alice@ampersandmagazine.com.au
CONTACT INFORMATION:
For queries/ submissions: simone’at’ampersandmagazine.com.au (non-fiction), charliegarber’at’gmail.com (fiction)
Website: http://ampersandmagazine.com.au
This blog is no longer updated. Please instead visit Writers For Diversity for new opportunities for women/ LGBT writers and writers of color. Thank you.
