Submission Guidelines

GUIDELINES FOR THE BEZINE BLOG AND ISSUES

Only SEND SUBMISSIONS by email

• Read our Introduction & Mission Statement.
• Read these guidelines in full, including the material after them that gives details about themes and submissions periods of the quarterly online issue and about themes on the ongoing blog (rolling, rather than periodic submission deadlines).
• Work that is submitted at dates OTHER THAN the stated submission periods will not be read. See themes and submissions periods below.
• Work that is not on theme for the quarterly issue will not usually be accepted—although if related to any or all of our themes, moving, and timely, it is possible (see Themes below).
• Read The No-Nos at the end.

• We accept previously published work. You must have the copyright, though. Please include prior public information and any relevant link if the publication is online. We want to promote other sites that publish our contributors and will include the link with your work.
• We accept work that has been posted on social media. Do not provide links to social media posts. Simply note that the work appeared and on which platform.
• We do not accept unsolicited multiple submissions to The BeZine in the same genre for the same issue. See the genre guidelines for more information about what you may include in a single submission.
• We do accept simultaneous submissions.

• Work submitted for the blog or an issue of The BeZine may be accepted for either, depending on our needs. We will give you the choice of whether or not to publish in the other outlet from the one to which you submit your work.

• By submitting work to The BeZine, you are confirming that you own and hold the rights to the work and that you grant us the right to publish on the blog or in the BeZine if your submission is accepted.

• Include a 50–70 word bio in a separate word processing file.
  • In your bio include links to specific publications you mention (but not to your social media, web page, or blog—see next item). Please put the links in ( ) or [ ] after the title of the publication or journal (we will add the hyperlink to the text to make it clickable).
  • After your bio include a list of links you would like to share: social media profiles, web page, and blog. We will have these as buttons below your bio.
  • Attach to the email a headshot JPG of high resolution (at least 1000 dpi width) in “portrait” (not landscape) shape (ie, higher than wide).
  • DO NOT PLACE the headshot in a word processing file. Only attached jpg files can be used.

How to submit

• Only email submissions will be read.
• Prose, poetry, and hybrid: please submit as a word processing file attachment (Word, Pages, Open Document, or RTF — NOT PDF, NOT GOOGLE DOC).
• Work must be submitted in English and properly edited. Submissions in other languages are encouraged but please forward with a high-quality English translation.
• Prose submissions should be limited to no more than 2,000 words in an attached file (Word, Pages, Open Document, or RTF — NOT PDF, NOT GOOGLE DOC).
  • Flash fiction or nonfiction (750 words or fewer) is welcome, as are short stories (750–2,000 words), essays (2,000), and hybrid prose (up to 2,000 words).
  • Work under 1,500 words will receive preference, as we are an online journal.
  • Send a query for prose over 2,000 words that tells us why you think it belongs in The BeZine.
• Poetry submissions should be no more than three poems and total no more than 180 lines (i.e., 1 poem = 180 lines, 2 poems = 180 lines, 3 poems = 180 lines, maximum) in an attached file (Word, Pages, Open Document, or RTF — NOT PDF, NOT GOOGLE DOC).
  • We prefer stanza or section breaks in longer poetry.
• We may make editorial suggestions for submitted work before we accept it.
  • Check your work carefully before submitting. We may on occasion send work we like back to the writer for copyediting.
  • Please note that we are less likely to accept work where language errors (as opposed to clear experimentation) get in the way of its message or our reading of it.
  • We may make corrections without consultations for obvious typos or grammatical mistakes and to match the style of the publication where the content is not affected.
• Please suggest a short collective title for groups of works that you expect to be published together (for example, 3 poems or 3 flash fiction pieces).
  • If you don’t suggest a group title, we likely will create one for the page the group appears on. This makes our ToC easier to read.
• Photographs or artwork: submit as an attached jpg file of high resolution (preferably 300 DPI and resolution of at least 1800 x 1800 pixels).
  • Do not submit files over 5MB, please.
  • Note: We will proportionally resize accepted work to fit our format and layout of particular pages where the artwork is used.
  • We may use details from an artwork in some layouts.
• Video / music: submit links to audio or video work in the body of the email with a short (50–75 word) synopsis of the work and how it connects to the issue theme or our blog.
  • If you submit music with lyrics, please include the lyrics in a separate file (Word, Pages, Open Document, or RTF — NOT PDF, NOT GOOGLE DOC).
• We accept previously published work, including work appearing on Social Media, so long as you hold the copyright.
  • Include relevant citations and links (we like to link to previous publications so interested readers might find new work / journals to read—this supports publications and editors who have supported writers whose work we include in our publication, so it is win-win).

BEST PRACTICES
Ongoing theme for both blog and Issues

We are interested in learning about peace, sustainability and social justice initiatives that are working no matter where in the world. These will be considered for both blog and Zine. We encourage work that doesn’t just define or highlight a problem but offers solutions, especially when those solutions are already in place somewhere, proving productive, and might reasonably be implemented elsewhere. Indicate in your email subject line AND body if your submission is a “Best Practices.” We will consider best practices for either the blog or the quarterly issue, according to our needs. How to submit.

SEND SUBMISSIONS to this email only