Submissions
Big Bend Literary Magazine seeks poignant, breathtaking submissions written or created by those deeply affected by the nature, beauty, and culture of the Big Bend region. Big Bend has long inspired and harbored creators.
SUBMISSION WINDOW OPEN The submission window is now open for Issue Six โCreationโ. The desert is always creating, even in dormancy, inspiring us to create and re-create ourselves. Whether created by the hand of God or Man, the cycle of creation and destruction is all around and within us. All the world is art. You are art. For this issue, we want you to make art and share it with us. We want to see your creation, read your thoughts on the process, hear your tales of working on your opus, see artwork and photography you pined over, and feel that feeling you had when you spontaneously formed a masterpiece, the delirium that was creation. SUBMIT HERE
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:๐๐ก๐จ๐ฎ๐ ๐ก ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐ฎ๐ฉ๐๐จ๐ฆ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ข๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ฆ๐๐ "Creation", ๐ฐ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ฉ๐ญ ๐ ๐๐ง๐๐ซ๐๐ฅ ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐๐ฆ๐ข๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐ฌ, ๐๐ฌ ๐ฐ๐๐ฅ๐ฅ. ๐๐จ๐ญ ๐๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐๐ฆ๐ข๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐ฌ ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ญ ๐๐จ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐จ๐ฐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ฆ๐, ๐ข๐ง ๐จ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ซ ๐ฐ๐จ๐ซ๐๐ฌ. ๐๐ ๐ฅ๐จ๐จ๐ค ๐๐จ๐ซ ๐ช๐ฎ๐๐ฅ๐ข๐ญ๐ฒ ๐๐ง๐ ๐ฆ๐๐ญ๐๐ก ๐๐ซ๐ญ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ฐ๐ซ๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐ง๐ . ๐๐ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐ก๐๐ฏ๐ ๐ฌ๐จ๐ฆ๐๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ ๐ซ๐๐๐ญ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐๐ฆ๐ข๐ญ, ๐๐ฎ๐ญ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ'๐ฏ๐ ๐๐๐๐ง ๐ฐ๐จ๐ซ๐ซ๐ข๐๐ ๐ข๐ญ ๐๐จ๐๐ฌ๐ง'๐ญ ๐๐จ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐จ๐ฐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ฆ๐, ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐๐๐ฌ๐ ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐๐ฆ๐ข๐ญ ๐ข๐ญ ๐๐ง๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐ฒ!
We submit nominations for Pushcart Prizes, Best Small Fictions, Best of the Net, the O. Henry Prize, PEN/Robert J. Dau Short Story Prize for Emerging Writers, Best American Series, Four Quartets Prize, and more.
Submission Guidelines:
All works are to be 12-pt. double-spaced, preferably in a doc. format.
Under 5500 words per piece
Unedited pieces that have not been crafted for publication will not be accepted.
DO NOT provide a bio. Cover letters are not necessary, either. We want to read your work blind.
DO NOT submit works that contain more than one type of submission (i.e. creative nonfiction with photography, poetry with art, etc.) Submit each work seperately.
Simultaneous submissions are fine. Please indicate if the work has been published and/or let us know if it has been accepted for publication elsewhere.
Please indicate your full name within the file name.
Fiction, flash fiction, book excerpts, and prose: Submit no more than two pieces. Please wait to hear back from us before submitting new work.
Creative nonfiction, reviews, articles, and other nonfiction: Submit no more than two pieces. Please wait to hear back from us before submitting new work.
Poetry: Submit no more than five poems. Please wait to hear back from us before submitting new work.
Art: Submit no more than five pieces. Please wait to hear back from us before submitting new work.
Photography: Submit no more than five pieces. Please wait to hear back from us before submitting new work.
Music & Lyrics: Songs will be carefully coaxed into poetry for the print edition but showcased in all their audio glory oin the electronic publication. Translations for print from Spanish to English are accepted. Submit in 12-pt. single-spaced format.
Please refer to the submission guidelines for all submissions but music and lyrics. Specific guidelines may be found in the submission forms. Submissions that do not follow the guidelines will not be considered.
Big Bend Literary Magazine retains First North American Serial Rights and First Electronic Rights for all work that it accepts for publication. Upon publication, all rights immediately revert back to the author. We simply ask that any future publications of work that we publish recognize Big Bend Literary Magazine as the original publisher.
We may consider previously published works for those local to the Big Bend area ONLY. Please indicate if the work has been previously published, where, and any pertinent information regarding citation for this work. Please also provide a link to the work on the publisher's site. If this is not available, please provide a link to the publisher.
Please consider a donation for reading fees, website hosting, and other costs by using the donation button below. Your donation or lack thereof will have no bearing on whether or not your work is published. Unlike many other literary journals, we are not sponsored by a university, foundation, or corporation. In the spirit of Big Bend, we desire to remain a maverick publication, beholden to no other than whoever happens to be masthead at the time. Money may later sponsor awards and prizes for creative works. In order to nominate our contributors for awards, we must pay submission fees to those award contests. The sky is the limit, especially here in Big Bend.
What we are looking for:
Any genre of prose or poetry with overtones of the Big Bend region
Creative nonfiction - emotional, raw, thoughtful, deep, esthetic
Essays on the region or its culture and people
Fiction set in the Big Bend region or by a native/local person
Diverse voices
Photography that is beautiful, clear, artistic, and shows some difficulty or complexity in obtaining the shot
Book reviews of works by local authors or works pertaining directly to the Big Bend region
Art by local artists or art inspired by the Big Bend region
Works that are not a specific category (such as book excerpts) may also be considered
Local myths, legends, or stories passed on orally
Works that appreciate geology, landscape, nature, desert culture, open spaces, history, etc.
What we are not looking for:
Anything overtly political or ranting
Writing that does not make sense
Generic photographs of the area
Children's art or other youth works
Spam/multiple submissions outside of the guidelines above
Works that do not at all pertain to the Big Bend region or are not by a local/native of the area
Works that are not edited and ready for publication
Overly filtered or altered photographs
Work that could be considered pornographic, overly violent or graphic, or offensive to a specific group/race/gender/etc.
Editorials or letters of complaint unless satirical or creative in nature and purpose
Header photograph by Matt Baker