Submissions

General Submissions Guidelines:

Literary Matters currently accepts submissions only from ALSCW members in good standing. If you are not a current member of the ALSCW, you may apply by following the instructions here. Simultaneous submissions are not considered at this time, nor does Literary Matters publish re-prints.

Submissions to Literary Matters are accepted between September 1st and December 1st and between February 1st and May 1st. Submissions should be sent by e-mail to literarymatterssubmissions@gmail.com or by post to:

ALSCW
The Catholic University of America
McMahon Hall B10
620 Michigan Avenue NE
Washington, DC 20064

Submissions Guidelines for Hot Rocks:

Hot Rocks explores a new age of verse composition, a revolution-in-verse that started with blues and jazz, and has continued to evolve since rock, hip hop, and poetry intertwined in the sixties and seventies. Our goal is to present a wide range of work from the worlds of poetry, song, and the other arts. We believe artists’ personal stories are vital to understanding creativity and why poetry, song and art are necessary to the human condition. We seek pieces that take chances, and speak from the soul as well as the mind. Please send questions and queries to mike@scrapomatic.com and suarez@cua.edu

Submissions Guidelines for Non-Fiction (Book Reviews / Critical Essays / Memoir):

Submit one essay (not exceeding 6000 words) or one review (1,500-3,500 words) at a time. All submissions must be type-written. Please use a 12-point font (preferably Garamond) and 1.15 spacing (except for block quotations, which should be single-spaced and indented). Be sure to paginate all submissions. Please use a 16-point font in bold for the title, and space down four spaces between the title and the text. Also, please double-space between paragraphs. The author’s name and contact information along with a short biographical note (approximately 150 words) should appear with the submission’s title on the cover sheet / in the body of the submission’s e-mail. If you are submitting a review, below the title please include the book’s title, the author’s name, and the press, year of publication, page count, and price, as below:

Book
by X. Y. Z
(ABC Press, 2021, 100 pp. $25)

Finally, please include a copy of your biographical note below the text of the essay / review.

Submissions Guidelines for Poetry:

Submit two to six poems, all single-spaced and totaling no more than twelve pages, with each poem in a separate document (word.doc, doc.x, or .rtf) if submitting by e-mail. All submissions must be type-written. Please use a 12-point font for the text of the poem and a 16-point font in bold for the title, separating the title from the text by four spaces. Double-space between stanzas / verse paragraphs. Include the author’s name and contact information along with a short biographical note (approximately 150 words) in the submission’s cover sheet / in the body of the submission’s e-mail, and include an identical biographical note below the poem’s text in the body of each document if submitting by e-mail.

Submissions Guidelines for Fiction:

Submit one or two stories, totaling no more than 25 pages with 1.15 spacing. All submissions must be type-written. Please use a 12-point-font for the text and a 16-point font in bold for the title, spacing down four spaces between title and text. Please double space between paragraphs and indent for each new paragraph. The author’s name and contact information should appear along with a short biographical note (approximately 150 words) in the cover sheet / body of the e-mail, if submitting by e-mail. If submitting by e-mail, please also send each story in a separate file (word.doc, doc.x, or .rtf), and include an identical biographical note below the text of each file. If submitting by post, be sure to paginate submissions.

Submissions Guidelines for Translations:

Submit 2-5 translated poems, or 1-3 translated stories. Submissions of translated poems should not exceed 15 pages total; submissions of translated stories should not exceed 25 pages total. If you are submitting a translation of a work not in the public domain, please include with your submission verification that you have the right to publish a translation of the work. Submissions of translated poems should, generally, follow the guidelines for Poetry Submissions, though translators should also include the text of the original poem in the file with each translation. Submissions of translated stories (or novel excerpts) should, generally, follow the guidelines for Fiction Submissions: texts in the original language are not required for translations of works of Fiction, though translators are encouraged to submit these original texts in separate documents.

In all cases, please use a 12-point font (preferably Garamond) for the text, a 16-point bold font for the title, and space down four spaces between title and text. Otherwise, please follow the spacing guidelines appropriate as listed under Poetry Submissions or Fiction Submissions. The translator’s name and contact information should appear in the cover sheet / body of the e-mail, along with a biographical note (approximately 150 words) and a biographical note about the original author (approximately 150 words). If submitting by e-mail, the translator’s biographical note should also appear below the text in each document, and all submissions should be sent as attachments in word.doc, doc.x, or .rtf format. Please name each submission in the cover letter / body of the submissions e-mail.