Why We Write open Aug 1- Feb 28
Guest Edited by Mark Nowak
In 1947 George Orwell published an essay called “Why I Write,” a powerful articulation of his aesthetic and political motives in committing himself to creative expression through writing. Orwell’s enduring work serves as a template and inspiration for subsequent generations of writers who choose to contribute to aesthetic and political engagement through language. “Why I Write” has historically been a framework for established writers to narrate their relationship to their writing practice. This issue will bring established writers, emerging writers, and those new to writing together to discuss “why they write” as a way to bring about political change and social transformation.
We welcome fiction, nonfiction, and poetry that explores the act of writing or the writing life as well as work that examines or incorporates various texts—narrative, criticism, letters, forms, edicts, quotes, conversations, etc.—to illuminate unique perspectives on why we write.
The “Why We Write” issue is supported by a grant from the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs.
General Guidelines for the Print Journal:
Submissions for the print journal will be accepted from January 15 to April 1. Average turnaround time is six months, but we may take longer and ask that you do not query us until a year has passed.
- Simultaneous submissions are allowed, but please notify us immediately via Submittable if the manuscript is accepted elsewhere.
- Please do not submit previously published work, including work published on a personal website or blog.
- Writers are advised to inspect a back copy of the journal before submitting work.
- Previous contributors: please wait one year after your work appears in the journal to submit to us again.
- We ask that you do not contact us about revising your work once it has been submitted.
- MQR is a paying market.
Genre Specifications
Prose submissions: Manuscripts should be double-spaced, right margins not justified; 1,500-7,000 words. All stories accepted for publication will be passed on to a judge as finalists for the $2000 Lawrence Prize. There is no additional fee for the prize beyond submission.
Poetry submissions: Please submit in between 3-6 poems in one document, not to exceed a total of 12 pages. Poems published in MQR by early career writers (fthose who have not yet published a full-length collection) will be considered as finalists for our Page Davidson Clayton Prize.
Translations: Please submit translations in the appropriate genre. Please include biographical information for both the author and translator.
MQR Online: Submit author interviews and book reviews. Submissions should not be longer than 3,000 words. If there are photos to accompany your piece, please make a note in your cover letter.
See Open Calls for MQR Mixtape below
Curated by Bryan Byrdlong and Joumana Altallal
For this Mixtape theme on "Art in the Time of Resistance,” we are looking for a broad variety of approaches from poets, writers, and artists who work and live all around the world. What does resistance look like when you can’t be involved in protests/uprisings in the traditional sense? In what ways do you revolt in ordinary life? In what way is “Art” resistance, and how does it fail? We’re interested in work that complicates, and helps grow, our understanding of revolt and resistance.
Submit a poem or visual art piece about your local protest. What happened before, during, after? Submit your fiction, nonfiction, photography about the small ways people resist in their daily lives. We’re mostly interested in international perspectives on current global movements, so translations accompanied by work in other languages are welcome.
Mixtape is a new, online imprint of Michigan Quarterly Review. Four times a year, guest curators will select an eclectic group of texts and audiovisual material from a diverse group of writers and artists.
In addition to short stories, essays, and poetry, Mixtape welcomes work that isn’t standard fare in most literary journals.
A non-exhaustive list of the type of work Mixtape welcomes:
• Multimedia work
• Genre fiction (including, but not limited to, detective fiction and speculative fiction)
• Science writing
• Correspondences
• Conversations
• The opening pages of works in progress
• Photo essays
• Short films
• Meditations on favorite poems or stories
• Recorded conversations and podcast-style recordings
• Erasures
• Flash fiction
• Short plays
• Reminiscences
MQR Mixtape pays all contributors. Inquiries about this issue can be directed to the curators at byrdlon@umich.edu and jsja@umich.edu
Submissions should not be longer than 3,000 words. If there are images to accompany your piece, please make a note in your cover letter.
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Please do not submit previously published work.
The guest editor for the issue is Mark Nowak.
In 1947 George Orwell published an essay called “Why I Write,” a powerful articulation of his aesthetic and political motives in committing himself to creative expression through writing. Orwell’s enduring work serves as a template and inspiration for subsequent generations of writers who choose to contribute to aesthetic and political engagement through language. “Why I Write” has historically been a framework for established writers to narrate their relationship to their writing practice. This issue will bring established writers, emerging writers, and those new to writing together to discuss “why they write” as a way to bring about political change and social transformation.
We welcome fiction, nonfiction, and poetry that explores the act of writing or the writing life as well as work that examines or incorporates various texts—narrative, criticism, letters, forms, edicts, quotes, conversations, etc.—to illuminate unique perspectives on why we write.
We encourage submissions from writers at all stages of their careers.
Manuscripts should be double-spaced, right margins not justified; 1,500-7,000 words.
MQR does not accept previously published pieces.
--
All stories accepted for publication will be passed on to a judge as finalists for the $2000 Lawrence Prize. There is no additional fee for the prize beyond submission.
Manuscripts should be double-spaced. 1,500 words minimum-7,000 maximum.
MQR does not accept previously published pieces.
All essays will also be considered for publication online.
All reviews and interviews should be submitted directly to MQR Online.
Please submit in between 3-6 poems, not to exceed a total of 12 pages.
MQR does not accept previously published pieces.
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Poems by emerging poets who have yet to publish a book of poetry are considered for the Page Davidson Clayton Prize for Emerging Poets. All poems by poets who meet these criteria that are selected for publication are considered finalists for the prize and passed on to the judge.