FALL 2020 JOURNAL – OPEN FOR SUBMISSIONS

GUIDELINES (NOT RULES): NOTE – Follow us on our website to stay current on all journal submissions and contests. See follow button at the top of the sidebar on our homepage.

1. RAR is looking for short stories, poems and artwork (all media) that use content and form to express powerful emotions, aesthetics, ideas and/or revelations. We do not discriminate against any particular genre.
2. The RAR FALL 2020 Journal will appear In Print and as an Online Publication. Artwork and Writing also may be posted to the RAR’s home page as a Featured Work of Art. The In-Print version of the journal is a high quality, perfect-bound, full color cover and interior production. Author BIOs, which may include web and social media channel addresses, also appear in both versions of the book.
3. Submissions may also result in the artist/writer being selected as a Featured Artist in a dedicated gallery or library accessible from the RAR home page. (See Featured Artist Page)
4. FRONT COVER ART will be selected from Artwork Submissions to the Journal. FRONT COVER ARTISTS will receive a featured artist webpage.
5. There are no rules of form and content. The sole criteria for acceptance is the power of the emotional/psychological/spiritual/physiological impact on editors reading the poem. A piece of writing or artwork can be tightly wrought and beautifully organized or wild, unruly and improvisational.
6. There are no particular trade-craft requirements. Single or double space, left-center-right justification, long lines/short lines, standard use of punctuation or use of line breaks to set a poem’s rhythm, etc. NOTE: we attempt to maintain as much of your formatting as we can in the book production.
7. TYPOS – we understand it is difficult to catch all typos and other “errors”. NOTE: we will presume a typo or error is volitional, so for the purpose of maintaining your intent for the writing or artwork it is in your best interest to review carefully, get help from others, etc. NOTE: We do NOT do copy editing. Copy editing is the responsibility of the submitter.
8. Review of writing and artwork is blind. Please do not put your name or any other identifying information on your manuscript pages.
9. BIO is not required at this time. You can include a BIO if you want or you can use the cover letter space provided on the submission form to tell us about your artwork. Feel free to skip the cover letter entirely by putting something like “No BIO” in the field. NOTE: We do read and enjoy cover letters, but always and only after selections have been made.
10. Editors are prohibited from rejecting writing or artwork on first review. All writing and artwork gets at least 2 reviews before a decision is made.
11. Editors assume you are smarter than we are. We will strive to understand your intention ; stay open-minded and try to avoid imposing our presumptions on your work.
12. We will never use irresponsible, misguided and self-aggrandizing slurs to describe your work like “purple writing” or “that technique is a gimmick”.
13. We may use writing and artwork that has been accepted on a revolving basis during the submission period as blog posts on The Raw Art Review’s home page.
14. There is a $15 Fee for submission to help cover the cost of printing the journal. We are also offering a $5 expedite fee. Expedited work is reviewed and a response given within two weeks.
15. We value the slush pile. (Not a derogatory term among our editors). Writing or Artwork is not rejected as much as it is “completed” and saved, with your permission, in the slush pile for future consideration. We will of course seek your permission before anything in the slush pile is published and lay no claim to saved works.
16. 3 poems, 1 short story, 5 photos of artwork per entry. You may enter as many times as you like but the $15.00 fee applies to each entry. NOTE: We generally can not publish stories that are more than 5000 words. This is not a strict limit but is a guideline. If the story is too long for the journal but we like it, we may ask for you to submit an alternative and, occasionally, will publish a story longer than 5000 words.
17. Simultaneous submission is fine.
18. Previously published writing or artwork is fine as long as you own re-publication rights. We are happy to credit the original publisher upon your request.
19. Deadline for submission is SUNDAY, DECEMBER 06, 2020.
20. You must use Submittable for submissions. Submittable accounts are free to submitters, and the tool is great for organizing and tracking submissions. If this presents a hardship, please email us at editor@therawartreview.com.
21. We recognize that the fee may be a deterrent for some submitters who are challenged by financial hardship. We consider a limited number of requests for financial aid in covering the fee. Please send an email to editor@therawartreview.com to make a request for financial aid. PLEASE NOTE: RAR has its own financial challenges, so please do not request financial aid unless it is absolutely necessary. Thank you.
22. RAR has implemented a “3 Strikes and WE are out” rule. If you have been declined for publication in 3 OR MORE SUBMISSIONS, please notify us at our email address – editor@therawartreview.com. Your next submission to any RAR Journal Issue or Contest will be free, and all of our editors will be notified to pay particular attention to your submission. You will get a personal and detailed response to our decision – if you want one. NOTE – This is 3 separate submissions – not 3 works submitted as part of a single submission.