Submission windows:
CLOSED
I offer a swift turnaround - submission windows are only open for 2 days and you will receive the decision 2 days later. The entire process will take no longer than 4 days.
July 1st, 2nd (to be published in September): decisions sent by July 4th
October 1st, 2nd (to be published in December): decisions sent by October 4th
January 1st, 2nd (to be published in March): decisions sent by January 4th
April 1st, 2nd (to be published in June): decisions sent by April 4th*
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*Late opening in April 2023 due to illness - subs window will stay open until the 4th, decisions sent by the 6th
Submissions guide:
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The piece must be a hybrid able to be printed in 2D. At CUTBOW I define a hybrid as a piece that combines two forms and would not 'work' if one of those forms was taken away. Visual, concrete, found, and erasure poetry, asemic writing, hermit crab pieces, lyrical flash, narrative verse, lettering art and any other hybrid work are all of interest. Check out the page 'How to hybrid?' if you need guidance. Unfortunately I cannot accept audio/video pieces.
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The magazine is shaped like a square rather than the usual A5 - this doesn't mean you need to create work in a square shape, just a heads up.
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Pieces incorporating visual elements must be of at least 200dpi quality.
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No simultaneous submissions. I will have your work for a total of 4 days at the longest - please do not submit it if you do not want to wait that long.
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In order to keep up with the pace of decision-making, I send out form declines (copy/paste same message to everyone). If that's going to be a problem for you, don't submit. I also write if it is a decline or acceptance in the subject line of the decision email.
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You may submit 1 piece per submissions window - no multiple submissions. Written pieces should be 5,000 words max. There is no minimum word count. Do not send more than 1 piece. If multiple images/writings create one piece (e.g. a triptych) then put them all in one doc to send - but don't push your luck. Any more than three grouped together is likely to be an instant 'no thanks'.
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You can submit your piece in any common file type. If I have any issue in viewing/using it, I will let you know. There are no restrictions on fonts, spaces, or dimensions: however I cannot accept audio/video pieces.
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There is no fee to submit and no payment for publication.
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My pronouns are they/them. If in doubt, 'Dear Editor,' is always fine.
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Please include both the title of the piece and your name in the file name. So for example if I were submitting I might give my piece the file name, 'Golf Sonnet_Arden Hunter'.​
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All work must be submitted through the Google Form but if you have any problems with that, send an email to request help to cutbowquarterly@gmail.com. The Google Form link will be provided during open submission windows (see above). If submissions are currently closed, the form link will not be there.
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I will accept 21 pieces from the submissions call and solicit 5 pieces per issue. All pieces are considered for the cover. Solicitation and acceptance of pieces is purely at my own discretion and my decisions are final.
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I will not accept work that encourages or promotes hate of any kind e.g. racism, homophobia, transphobia, etc.
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I reserve the right to remove work from the site for any reason, including if I find out the contributor promotes racism, homophobia, transphobia etc.
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You retain all rights over your work.
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Previously published work is fine as long as you have the rights since initial publication. Let me know where/when it was first published so I can include a note alongside your piece should it be accepted.
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You will be asked to include an alt-text description of up to 100 words of any piece incorporating visual work.
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You will also be asked for a 3rd person bio of up to 75 words, plus social media handles and website if applicable. You may provide an optional author photo.
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You will be asked to provide details of where the piece was previously published, if applicable.
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If your piece is accepted:
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You can announce the acceptance whenever and wherever you like! If you tag @cutbowq on Twitter I will retweet for you.
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You will be sent a link and password to view the proof a few weeks before we publish so everyone can check it for problems/errors.
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Issues will be available free to download from this website as a PDF, with a printed version available for sale as well. I fund the magazine by myself so sadly no free contributor copies - any copies sold help me to pay our wonderful Layout Designer and Sensitivity Reader (though they get paid either way anyway) and to pay Wix for site hosting.