ALL SUBMISSIONS (EXCEPT CHALLENGE SUBMISSIONS) ARE CLOSED UNTIL WE CAN CATCH UP!
I am deeply sorry to temporarily shut down all submissions but our backlog is becoming unmanageable. We need a chance to catch up on hundreds of submissions. We're aiming to open up in August but please check here before sending anything!
Challenges continue as usual at the challenge submission address.
Thank you for your understanding.
I am deeply sorry to temporarily shut down all submissions but our backlog is becoming unmanageable. We need a chance to catch up on hundreds of submissions. We're aiming to open up in August but please check here before sending anything!
Challenges continue as usual at the challenge submission address.
Thank you for your understanding.
Submit to Lorette C. Luzajic at theekphrasticreview@gmail.com.
There is no mandatory submission or reading fee. We ask you to consider making a voluntary donation of $5 CAD (about $4 USD) to support the publication, promotion, and maintenance of The Ekphrastic Review.
We RECEIVE submissions during the months shown:
poetry
August
November
fiction, flash fiction, microfiction, creative nonfiction, book reviews, interviews: anytime
Translations: (including poetry) anytime
The Ekphrastic Writing Challenges continue with their own deadlines for all genres. The challenges have their own submission address, so please follow the instructions posted with each prompt.
It goes without saying that all submissions in all categories must be ekphrastic!
We only publish literature inspired by or responding to visual art in some way. Our definition is flexible, but we are a niche journal and an ekphrastic writing archive and do not consider or publish non-ekphrastic work. Submissions that are not connected in some way to visual art will be deleted without response.
By submitting to The Ekphrastic Review, you are also automatically joining our subscribers' list. Your submission is your permission. We don't send Spam and we don't send many emails- you will not receive forty-four emails a day! We send a newsletter zero to two times a month, with hopes of more consistency in the future. It updates you on challenges, news, contests, prize nominations, ekphrastic happenings, prompt ebooks, the podcast, and more.
Our Ekphrastic Mission
The Ekphrastic Review is committed to the growth, expansion, and practice of the art form of creative writing inspired or prompted by visual art.
We define ekphrastic writing simply as "creative writing inspired by art." The piece can be an in-depth experience of the art work, or it can use the art as a starting point for expression. The connection to the artwork or artist can be subtle, or it can be central to the work.
Work that is not in some way ekphrastic will be deleted without response. We simply do not have the time to respond to writers who have not even looked at our journal.
Best Chances of Publication
Here is the current nitty gritty on your best chance for publication in The Ekphrastic Review.
1. Ekphrastic translations. We are hungry for ekphrastic work from all over the world, in its original language, and translated into English.
2. Stellar flash fiction, microfiction, small fictions: fiction from 50 to 1000 words. We have naturally evolved as a poetry-centric publication. We love poetry and always will, but we do receive a constant deluge of poetry, much of it stellar. We want to grow with great fiction. We like beautiful fiction that reads like poetry. We like interesting fiction. We like fiction that packs an emotional punch. We like fiction with language that stabs you in the heart, that you want to tape onto your fridge. We like fiction that shows us something new about art. Send your best!
3. Ekphrastic Writing Challenges. Our biweekly prompt series is your best chance overall, as they are ongoing throughout the year. We have received as few entries as 10 and as many as 300, but we do publish multiple responses for each painting in one post, which gives you higher odds. We seek to reward regular challenge contributors by choosing their work frequently as well as giving space to new names and encouraging them to join our community. The goal of the challenge is to inspire our community to an ekphrastic practice, to showcase a range of writers from first timers to world famous, and to show a variety of perspectives on a single work of art. We still can only publish a handful of what we receive, but we see the challenges as a joyful chance to come together to write and share our work, regardless of the outcome.
4. Sequences of poetry or fiction on a theme, artist, style, etc. We are interested in more groups of related works as an interesting aspect of ekphrastic art.
5. We encourage you to engage with a variety of art, old and new. Art by living artists requires permission to show. If you supply that permission, or contact information, that helps make things easier for us.
6. Surprise us with interesting artwork. It's okay to write about any era or style of visual art, and it's okay to write about art you've seen covered already in the Review. However, we have received thousands of works on Van Gogh and Hopper over the years and published lots of them. We love these artists but the chances of accepting poetry on these anytime soon is very slim. They'll really have to be extraordinary.
What to Include
Include your work (up to three stories or poems. Sequences and themed groups of poetry or stories may include more. )
Include your publishing name, and a BRIEF bio (50 to 150 words.)
Your work and bio must be finished. We will not make changes after your initial submission. We will not update your bio to include your latest publication credits. Write a bio that tells us about you as a person with a few literary highlight. We don't need the name of every journal you've appeared in or a list of all your books and articles.
There is no mandatory submission or reading fee. We ask you to consider making a voluntary donation of $5 CAD (about $4 USD) to support the publication, promotion, and maintenance of The Ekphrastic Review.
Donations have no influence or impact on outcome of editorial decision.
Edits
We do not make extensive edits to anyone's work. We prefer to leave the voice and intention of the writer. We won't overhaul a piece to improve it or make it more like our editors' voice/s. Nor will we accept author changes or go back and forth. We do not have the time or budget or manpower to rewrite, change posts, and alter works after the fact of receipt. Your work will be posted 90% as is, with minimal editorial changes. Any changes will be simple typo corrections or extremely small changes for clarity, spelling, etc.
Any experimental spacing and margin may be reformatted. As a rule, we cannot encourage experimental formatting as it is impossible to post online.
Major changes or major corrections are rare, but if we want to make them, we will ask you, other than what is outlined above.
Payment
We cannot pay. This journal is a volunteer effort, run out of pocket by the editor. Sorry.
The contests that have cash prizes are clearly noted, and the entry or ebook fees from those contests helps us offer the prizes. We hope to proceed with more of these and appreciate your support.
Ekphrastic Poetry
Submit one to five poems in the body of an email, with a cover letter and brief bio 50 to 150 words.
Any kind of poetry that responds to or explores or is inspired by a work of art or artist is eligible for consideration. We consider and enjoy all forms and styles.
It is very difficult to use experimentally formatted poetry, even if we love it. Flush left works best.
Please paste your poems in the body of the email. You can include a duplicate copy in PDF or Word.
We welcome themed multiples on a single artist or artist. For example, if you have five poems on women artists in the Prado, or a sequence of poetry on a series by a local artist whose permission you have received to showcase their work, we would love to see them. If this is the case, you can send up to ten poems at a time, or you can query first to give us a heads up that you have written forty four haiku for Franz Kline and do we want to see them?
Check out the ebook Fifty Ekphrastic Approaches if you aren't sure how to find new ways to approach a work of art.
Please see the poetry receiving schedule at the top of this page.
Please note, by submitting to The Ekphrastic Review, you are also automatically joining our subscribers' list. Your submission is your permission.
There is no mandatory submission or reading fee. We ask you to consider making a voluntary donation of $5 CAD (about $4 USD) to support the publication, promotion, and maintenance of The Ekphrastic Review.
Small Fictions, Flash Fiction, Microfiction, Prose Poetry, Hybrid Forms, Short Fiction
The way our journal evolved naturally through submissions and readership has been heavily slanted to poetry. We love poetry, and always will. However, we are VERY interested in publishing more short fiction. We love very short forms, whatever you want to call them- micro fiction, small fictions, flash fiction, haibun, prose poetry, sudden fiction, etc.
We want small fictions from 50 to 1000 words. We will consider longer short stories as well, but please note we are very fond of very short stories.
We will consider longer stories, too. If you have something that will knock us out, send it. Know our preference and our passion is for very short stories.
We want to expand the practice of ekphrastic writing in short fiction forms. We always have a preference for work that is poetic, moving, character driven, and beautiful in language. While plot, organization, conflict, etc. are important aspects of stories, we do not care for dry fiction with wooden dialogue that matches plot graphs. Killer openings and killer last lines are very important to us, and we love stories that surprise us by engaging with or responding to art in a new or unusual way. Stories that read like poetry, surprise, and invite contemplation are highly preferred over stories that clumsily conform to plot diagrams common in too many fiction workshops. Of course we want something to happen, of course we want a structure, but art and soul are the most important things.
We welcome experimental stories, hybrid stories, and imaginative stories, and all genres, but please understand that unusual spacing may be impossible to accommodate online.
We welcome themed multiples on a single artist or artist. For example, if you have five microfiction on women artists in the Prado, or a sequence of flash on a series by a local artist whose permission you have received to showcase their work, we would love to see them. You can also query first to give us a heads up that you have written sixteen 100 word stories for Warhol's soups and do we want to see them?
Check out the ebook Fifty Ekphrastic Approaches if you aren't sure how to find new ways to approach a work of art to tell a story.
Please note, when you submit poetry, fiction, or prose, if it is chosen for publication it may also be chosen to be featured read aloud on one of our upcoming podcasts. Your submission means permission.
Please see the fiction receiving schedule at the top of this page for submission dates.
Please note, by submitting to The Ekphrastic Review, you are also automatically joining our subscribers' list. Your submission is your permission.
There is no mandatory submission or reading fee. We ask you to consider making a voluntary donation of $5 CAD (about $4 USD) to support the publication, promotion, and maintenance of The Ekphrastic Review.
Prose
We love to see prose. We are moved by beautiful language, insight, illumination, creativity, provocation, curiosity, contemplation, and witty repartee, not by tedious, stuffy academia or pretentious curatorial theory.
We publish creative nonfiction writing inspired by art, not academic or critical work.
Brief is best. From 50 to 1500 words is ideal, but we will consider longer pieces that fit our diverse enthusiasms.
Please note, when you submit poetry, fiction, or prose, if it is chosen for publication it may also be chosen to be featured read aloud on one of our upcoming podcasts. Your submission means permission.
Please see prose receiving schedule at the top of this page.
Please note, by submitting to The Ekphrastic Review, you are also automatically joining our subscribers' list. Your submission is your permission.
There is no mandatory submission or reading fee. We ask you to consider making a voluntary donation of $5 CAD (about $4 USD) to support the publication, promotion, and maintenance of The Ekphrastic Review.
Book Reviews/Author Interviews/Profiles/the Ekphrastic Experience
We want more articles that engage with ekphrastic books, features, author interviews or profiles, and articles about ekphrastic writing in general.
The subject matter must include and focus on ekphrastic writing. We are hesitant to use the words "book review" and are looking for literary prose about your experience with the ekphrastic writing you have read. We want literary, experiential, informative, funny, expressive, and insightful book reviews and author features, not utilitarian and uninspired, and not pedantic, academic criticism.
You can query your intentions to determine if the subject matter is right for us or to work out the best angle in advance.
200-1500 words is a good number to aim for, but we're flexible when there is cause to be.
Please see our reviewing and interview and feature receiving schedule at the top of this page.
It is okay to query anytime.
Please note, by submitting to The Ekphrastic Review, you are also automatically joining our subscribers' list. Your submission is your permission.
There is no mandatory submission or reading fee. We ask you to consider making a voluntary donation of $5 CAD (about $4 USD) to support the publication, promotion, and maintenance of The Ekphrastic Review.
Translations
We welcome the opportunity to publish more translations of ekphrastic writing, whether from English into another language, or from another language, into English. You must have permission to publish the original version of the poem you are translating.
At the moment, you can send translations anytime.
Please note, by submitting to The Ekphrastic Review, you are also automatically joining our subscribers' list. Your submission is your permission.
There is no mandatory submission or reading fee. We ask you to consider making a voluntary donation of $5 CAD (about $4 USD) to support the publication, promotion, and maintenance of The Ekphrastic Review.
Throwback Thursdays Guest Editor
Would you like to be a guest editor for a Throwback Thursday? Pick up to 10 favourite or random posts from the archives of The Ekphrastic Review. Use the format you see above: title, name of author, a sentence or two about your choice, and the link. Include a bio and if you wish, a note to readers about the Review, your relationship to the journal, ekphrastic writing in general, or any other relevant subject. Put THROWBACK THURSDAYS in the subject line and send to theekphrasticreview@gmail.com.
Submit your list anytime!
Check out the feature and general format here.
Reprints/ Simultaneous submissions
YES! SIMULTANEOUS SUBMISSIONS AND PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED WRITING ARE WELCOME AND ENCOURAGED!
Our objective is for poets and writers to be as widely read as possible, not to monopolize your work.
If your work has been published before, let us know where so we can credit it appropriately.
Drop us a line with "WITHDRAW" in the subject if any of your submitted works are chosen elsewhere. Congratulations!
Reading Fees
The Ekphrastic Review is free to anyone with Internet connection. We do not charge mandatory reading fees, never have and never will.
Please consider a small gift if you are able. It takes an incredible amount of time to maintain an open submission and democratic submission policy. Your gift will not influence whether or not we accept your work, but it will help support and maintain a unique arts journal that publishes and promotes ekphrastic literature. Click here to send us a coffee or some web maintenance fees!
Who Can Submit
We welcome submissions from anyone, anywhere.
Attachments
Word or any common sense document format is fine, but include your work in the body of the email as well in case we can't open it.
A PDF is great to check for italics and spacing intentions that might disappear in transmission, but make sure to include the work in the email body as well.
Response Time
We do our best to respond within twelve weeks. This is not always possible.
Rights
You always own your work and we never do. We do keep your work in our archives online if we accept it. We will not remove it just because you decide you no longer like it or want someone else to have it instead.
You are free to use your own work anywhere, anytime, before, during, or after we publish it. We do appreciate it very much if you acknowledge The Ekphrastic Review when work we published appears elsewhere. Thank you!
Information About Choosing Artwork
We consider poems and prose inspired by any visual artwork including paintings, sculptures, photographs, installations, collages, graffiti, advertisements, posters, mixed media, and more.
The artist can be famous or obscure, ancient or living down your street, important or important only to you. The artist can even be you.
We don't censor your inspiration and want you to explore and discover all kinds of art. That said, it can be much more difficult to get permission for living artists' work than it is for old masters in the public domain. Intimidating and expensive processes can prove a barrier to getting your work up with the art. It is easier to publish images in the public domain.
That said, we very much want to promote living artists and to encourage ekphrastic writing that responds to the art of living artists. If the art you are writing about is someone you know or have contact with or access to contact with, you are most welcome to help us out by providing that connection. Any information you have can help make it easier for us. If you have their permission to publish the artwork along with your writing, that is the best case scenario. We don't need a formal declaration- just screenshot their email or forward it to us.
There are times we accept a piece of writing and cannot get permission to use the artwork. In these cases, we substitute an image with an explanatory note and a link if possible to the source of inspiration.
Info on How to Include Artwork in Submission
Please include a link to the artwork or a low to moderate resolution jpeg attachment and organize the information in a way that makes it apparent what work goes with what poem or story.
Please include the title, artist, artist's nationality, and year of artwork creation. Example of preferred format for this information:
Las Meninas, by Diego Velázquez (Spain) 1656
Asking For a Friend, by Lorette C. Luzajic (Canada) 2017
Do not put artwork into Google Docs or Word document.
It can skew the format of your writing and we cannot always extract the image anyhow. Use a jpeg or a link to the image.
Miscellaneous
We can no longer consider ekphrastic Rattle outtakes.
We are a community and family and therefore love to feature regular contributors and be in contact with each other on Facebook, etc. For this reason, we do welcome multiple submissions and don't limit the number of times a year or ever that a writer can submit. But please keep common courtesy in mind and remember that a real live person reads through thousands of submissions in her "spare time."
A good rule of thumb is to wait to hear back about work in the queue before sending more.
Join our Facebook page here. https://www.facebook.com/EkphrasticReview/
Writing that is not ekphrastic and relates in no way to art will be deleted without response. We receive hundreds of submissions like this and cannot spend time explaining our purpose and passion to those who have not read even a single post on our site.
A Note on Rejection
Despite what you may believe or have been told, the editorial process is a highly subjective one and also something of a lottery.
We strive to publish quality writing in a variety of voices and styles, but cannot possibly publish all the worthy work submitted.
We hate sending rejections.
Please understand that we receive thousands of works. The Ekphrastic Review simply cannot post them all.
We don't send criticism or detailed reasons when we politely return your work. There are many reasons we can't use a piece, but the most likely is that we simply don't have room for all of the good writing we get.
Sample Submission
We are flexible and approachable and no one will be ousted for a faux pas.
That said, it takes a surprising amount of time to edit, arrange, and coordinate a post, and that time can be reduced exponentially for us if you follow this easy format!
subject line in email: Ekphrastic submission from Bob Smith/ a poetry submission on Monet/ Bob Smith sending more flash fiction on Edward Hopper paintings
Dear Lorette,
Note from you where you introduce yourself- or remind me if we've corresponded before -or update me briefly on your life if we know each other, because I'm curious about you and what you do.
Here are (one to five) poems/short stories/nonfiction observations for your consideration. My bio follows.
poem/story 1: link to Still Life With Apples, by Clod Money (France) 1903
www.link-to-image.com
Title of Poem
Poem
here
it is.
Do you like it.
Haiku!
Mary Jane Sziezmogalskojmanoff-Jones
Mary Jane Sziezmogalskojmanoff-Jones is an unknown writer living in Iceland with her 719 cats./ John Doe is a 150 time Pushcart winner who writes art features for The New York Times. She has had 209 poetry collections published by Cool Press Books. She lives in Calgary, Alberta on a ranch and volunteers helping kids with art at St. Mary's Church.
Ebooks
We offer some ebooks to inspire and expand your ekphrastic writing practice. Your purchase is a tremendous support to The Ekphrastic Review, and will also give you ideas and inspiration.
Fifty Ekphrastic Approaches
The Ekphrastic World: 60 Prompts From Around the World
This ebook is the big book of prompts. It was used for our first anthology, deadline now past. We encourage you to pick up a copy even though the project is over. The artwork was carefully chosen to inspire and ignite curiosity about art all over the world and deepen your writing. Purchasing a copy is extremely helpful to overhead and maintenance of the Review, and we are grateful to everyone who buys one. Thank you.
There is no mandatory submission or reading fee. We ask you to consider making a voluntary donation of $5 CAD (about $4 USD) to support the publication, promotion, and maintenance of The Ekphrastic Review.
We RECEIVE submissions during the months shown:
poetry
August
November
fiction, flash fiction, microfiction, creative nonfiction, book reviews, interviews: anytime
Translations: (including poetry) anytime
The Ekphrastic Writing Challenges continue with their own deadlines for all genres. The challenges have their own submission address, so please follow the instructions posted with each prompt.
It goes without saying that all submissions in all categories must be ekphrastic!
We only publish literature inspired by or responding to visual art in some way. Our definition is flexible, but we are a niche journal and an ekphrastic writing archive and do not consider or publish non-ekphrastic work. Submissions that are not connected in some way to visual art will be deleted without response.
By submitting to The Ekphrastic Review, you are also automatically joining our subscribers' list. Your submission is your permission. We don't send Spam and we don't send many emails- you will not receive forty-four emails a day! We send a newsletter zero to two times a month, with hopes of more consistency in the future. It updates you on challenges, news, contests, prize nominations, ekphrastic happenings, prompt ebooks, the podcast, and more.
Our Ekphrastic Mission
The Ekphrastic Review is committed to the growth, expansion, and practice of the art form of creative writing inspired or prompted by visual art.
We define ekphrastic writing simply as "creative writing inspired by art." The piece can be an in-depth experience of the art work, or it can use the art as a starting point for expression. The connection to the artwork or artist can be subtle, or it can be central to the work.
Work that is not in some way ekphrastic will be deleted without response. We simply do not have the time to respond to writers who have not even looked at our journal.
Best Chances of Publication
Here is the current nitty gritty on your best chance for publication in The Ekphrastic Review.
1. Ekphrastic translations. We are hungry for ekphrastic work from all over the world, in its original language, and translated into English.
2. Stellar flash fiction, microfiction, small fictions: fiction from 50 to 1000 words. We have naturally evolved as a poetry-centric publication. We love poetry and always will, but we do receive a constant deluge of poetry, much of it stellar. We want to grow with great fiction. We like beautiful fiction that reads like poetry. We like interesting fiction. We like fiction that packs an emotional punch. We like fiction with language that stabs you in the heart, that you want to tape onto your fridge. We like fiction that shows us something new about art. Send your best!
3. Ekphrastic Writing Challenges. Our biweekly prompt series is your best chance overall, as they are ongoing throughout the year. We have received as few entries as 10 and as many as 300, but we do publish multiple responses for each painting in one post, which gives you higher odds. We seek to reward regular challenge contributors by choosing their work frequently as well as giving space to new names and encouraging them to join our community. The goal of the challenge is to inspire our community to an ekphrastic practice, to showcase a range of writers from first timers to world famous, and to show a variety of perspectives on a single work of art. We still can only publish a handful of what we receive, but we see the challenges as a joyful chance to come together to write and share our work, regardless of the outcome.
4. Sequences of poetry or fiction on a theme, artist, style, etc. We are interested in more groups of related works as an interesting aspect of ekphrastic art.
5. We encourage you to engage with a variety of art, old and new. Art by living artists requires permission to show. If you supply that permission, or contact information, that helps make things easier for us.
6. Surprise us with interesting artwork. It's okay to write about any era or style of visual art, and it's okay to write about art you've seen covered already in the Review. However, we have received thousands of works on Van Gogh and Hopper over the years and published lots of them. We love these artists but the chances of accepting poetry on these anytime soon is very slim. They'll really have to be extraordinary.
What to Include
Include your work (up to three stories or poems. Sequences and themed groups of poetry or stories may include more. )
Include your publishing name, and a BRIEF bio (50 to 150 words.)
Your work and bio must be finished. We will not make changes after your initial submission. We will not update your bio to include your latest publication credits. Write a bio that tells us about you as a person with a few literary highlight. We don't need the name of every journal you've appeared in or a list of all your books and articles.
There is no mandatory submission or reading fee. We ask you to consider making a voluntary donation of $5 CAD (about $4 USD) to support the publication, promotion, and maintenance of The Ekphrastic Review.
Donations have no influence or impact on outcome of editorial decision.
Edits
We do not make extensive edits to anyone's work. We prefer to leave the voice and intention of the writer. We won't overhaul a piece to improve it or make it more like our editors' voice/s. Nor will we accept author changes or go back and forth. We do not have the time or budget or manpower to rewrite, change posts, and alter works after the fact of receipt. Your work will be posted 90% as is, with minimal editorial changes. Any changes will be simple typo corrections or extremely small changes for clarity, spelling, etc.
Any experimental spacing and margin may be reformatted. As a rule, we cannot encourage experimental formatting as it is impossible to post online.
Major changes or major corrections are rare, but if we want to make them, we will ask you, other than what is outlined above.
Payment
We cannot pay. This journal is a volunteer effort, run out of pocket by the editor. Sorry.
The contests that have cash prizes are clearly noted, and the entry or ebook fees from those contests helps us offer the prizes. We hope to proceed with more of these and appreciate your support.
Ekphrastic Poetry
Submit one to five poems in the body of an email, with a cover letter and brief bio 50 to 150 words.
Any kind of poetry that responds to or explores or is inspired by a work of art or artist is eligible for consideration. We consider and enjoy all forms and styles.
It is very difficult to use experimentally formatted poetry, even if we love it. Flush left works best.
Please paste your poems in the body of the email. You can include a duplicate copy in PDF or Word.
We welcome themed multiples on a single artist or artist. For example, if you have five poems on women artists in the Prado, or a sequence of poetry on a series by a local artist whose permission you have received to showcase their work, we would love to see them. If this is the case, you can send up to ten poems at a time, or you can query first to give us a heads up that you have written forty four haiku for Franz Kline and do we want to see them?
Check out the ebook Fifty Ekphrastic Approaches if you aren't sure how to find new ways to approach a work of art.
Please see the poetry receiving schedule at the top of this page.
Please note, by submitting to The Ekphrastic Review, you are also automatically joining our subscribers' list. Your submission is your permission.
There is no mandatory submission or reading fee. We ask you to consider making a voluntary donation of $5 CAD (about $4 USD) to support the publication, promotion, and maintenance of The Ekphrastic Review.
Small Fictions, Flash Fiction, Microfiction, Prose Poetry, Hybrid Forms, Short Fiction
The way our journal evolved naturally through submissions and readership has been heavily slanted to poetry. We love poetry, and always will. However, we are VERY interested in publishing more short fiction. We love very short forms, whatever you want to call them- micro fiction, small fictions, flash fiction, haibun, prose poetry, sudden fiction, etc.
We want small fictions from 50 to 1000 words. We will consider longer short stories as well, but please note we are very fond of very short stories.
We will consider longer stories, too. If you have something that will knock us out, send it. Know our preference and our passion is for very short stories.
We want to expand the practice of ekphrastic writing in short fiction forms. We always have a preference for work that is poetic, moving, character driven, and beautiful in language. While plot, organization, conflict, etc. are important aspects of stories, we do not care for dry fiction with wooden dialogue that matches plot graphs. Killer openings and killer last lines are very important to us, and we love stories that surprise us by engaging with or responding to art in a new or unusual way. Stories that read like poetry, surprise, and invite contemplation are highly preferred over stories that clumsily conform to plot diagrams common in too many fiction workshops. Of course we want something to happen, of course we want a structure, but art and soul are the most important things.
We welcome experimental stories, hybrid stories, and imaginative stories, and all genres, but please understand that unusual spacing may be impossible to accommodate online.
We welcome themed multiples on a single artist or artist. For example, if you have five microfiction on women artists in the Prado, or a sequence of flash on a series by a local artist whose permission you have received to showcase their work, we would love to see them. You can also query first to give us a heads up that you have written sixteen 100 word stories for Warhol's soups and do we want to see them?
Check out the ebook Fifty Ekphrastic Approaches if you aren't sure how to find new ways to approach a work of art to tell a story.
Please note, when you submit poetry, fiction, or prose, if it is chosen for publication it may also be chosen to be featured read aloud on one of our upcoming podcasts. Your submission means permission.
Please see the fiction receiving schedule at the top of this page for submission dates.
Please note, by submitting to The Ekphrastic Review, you are also automatically joining our subscribers' list. Your submission is your permission.
There is no mandatory submission or reading fee. We ask you to consider making a voluntary donation of $5 CAD (about $4 USD) to support the publication, promotion, and maintenance of The Ekphrastic Review.
Prose
We love to see prose. We are moved by beautiful language, insight, illumination, creativity, provocation, curiosity, contemplation, and witty repartee, not by tedious, stuffy academia or pretentious curatorial theory.
We publish creative nonfiction writing inspired by art, not academic or critical work.
Brief is best. From 50 to 1500 words is ideal, but we will consider longer pieces that fit our diverse enthusiasms.
Please note, when you submit poetry, fiction, or prose, if it is chosen for publication it may also be chosen to be featured read aloud on one of our upcoming podcasts. Your submission means permission.
Please see prose receiving schedule at the top of this page.
Please note, by submitting to The Ekphrastic Review, you are also automatically joining our subscribers' list. Your submission is your permission.
There is no mandatory submission or reading fee. We ask you to consider making a voluntary donation of $5 CAD (about $4 USD) to support the publication, promotion, and maintenance of The Ekphrastic Review.
Book Reviews/Author Interviews/Profiles/the Ekphrastic Experience
We want more articles that engage with ekphrastic books, features, author interviews or profiles, and articles about ekphrastic writing in general.
The subject matter must include and focus on ekphrastic writing. We are hesitant to use the words "book review" and are looking for literary prose about your experience with the ekphrastic writing you have read. We want literary, experiential, informative, funny, expressive, and insightful book reviews and author features, not utilitarian and uninspired, and not pedantic, academic criticism.
You can query your intentions to determine if the subject matter is right for us or to work out the best angle in advance.
200-1500 words is a good number to aim for, but we're flexible when there is cause to be.
Please see our reviewing and interview and feature receiving schedule at the top of this page.
It is okay to query anytime.
Please note, by submitting to The Ekphrastic Review, you are also automatically joining our subscribers' list. Your submission is your permission.
There is no mandatory submission or reading fee. We ask you to consider making a voluntary donation of $5 CAD (about $4 USD) to support the publication, promotion, and maintenance of The Ekphrastic Review.
Translations
We welcome the opportunity to publish more translations of ekphrastic writing, whether from English into another language, or from another language, into English. You must have permission to publish the original version of the poem you are translating.
At the moment, you can send translations anytime.
Please note, by submitting to The Ekphrastic Review, you are also automatically joining our subscribers' list. Your submission is your permission.
There is no mandatory submission or reading fee. We ask you to consider making a voluntary donation of $5 CAD (about $4 USD) to support the publication, promotion, and maintenance of The Ekphrastic Review.
Throwback Thursdays Guest Editor
Would you like to be a guest editor for a Throwback Thursday? Pick up to 10 favourite or random posts from the archives of The Ekphrastic Review. Use the format you see above: title, name of author, a sentence or two about your choice, and the link. Include a bio and if you wish, a note to readers about the Review, your relationship to the journal, ekphrastic writing in general, or any other relevant subject. Put THROWBACK THURSDAYS in the subject line and send to theekphrasticreview@gmail.com.
Submit your list anytime!
Check out the feature and general format here.
Reprints/ Simultaneous submissions
YES! SIMULTANEOUS SUBMISSIONS AND PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED WRITING ARE WELCOME AND ENCOURAGED!
Our objective is for poets and writers to be as widely read as possible, not to monopolize your work.
If your work has been published before, let us know where so we can credit it appropriately.
Drop us a line with "WITHDRAW" in the subject if any of your submitted works are chosen elsewhere. Congratulations!
Reading Fees
The Ekphrastic Review is free to anyone with Internet connection. We do not charge mandatory reading fees, never have and never will.
Please consider a small gift if you are able. It takes an incredible amount of time to maintain an open submission and democratic submission policy. Your gift will not influence whether or not we accept your work, but it will help support and maintain a unique arts journal that publishes and promotes ekphrastic literature. Click here to send us a coffee or some web maintenance fees!
Who Can Submit
We welcome submissions from anyone, anywhere.
Attachments
Word or any common sense document format is fine, but include your work in the body of the email as well in case we can't open it.
A PDF is great to check for italics and spacing intentions that might disappear in transmission, but make sure to include the work in the email body as well.
Response Time
We do our best to respond within twelve weeks. This is not always possible.
Rights
You always own your work and we never do. We do keep your work in our archives online if we accept it. We will not remove it just because you decide you no longer like it or want someone else to have it instead.
You are free to use your own work anywhere, anytime, before, during, or after we publish it. We do appreciate it very much if you acknowledge The Ekphrastic Review when work we published appears elsewhere. Thank you!
Information About Choosing Artwork
We consider poems and prose inspired by any visual artwork including paintings, sculptures, photographs, installations, collages, graffiti, advertisements, posters, mixed media, and more.
The artist can be famous or obscure, ancient or living down your street, important or important only to you. The artist can even be you.
We don't censor your inspiration and want you to explore and discover all kinds of art. That said, it can be much more difficult to get permission for living artists' work than it is for old masters in the public domain. Intimidating and expensive processes can prove a barrier to getting your work up with the art. It is easier to publish images in the public domain.
That said, we very much want to promote living artists and to encourage ekphrastic writing that responds to the art of living artists. If the art you are writing about is someone you know or have contact with or access to contact with, you are most welcome to help us out by providing that connection. Any information you have can help make it easier for us. If you have their permission to publish the artwork along with your writing, that is the best case scenario. We don't need a formal declaration- just screenshot their email or forward it to us.
There are times we accept a piece of writing and cannot get permission to use the artwork. In these cases, we substitute an image with an explanatory note and a link if possible to the source of inspiration.
Info on How to Include Artwork in Submission
Please include a link to the artwork or a low to moderate resolution jpeg attachment and organize the information in a way that makes it apparent what work goes with what poem or story.
Please include the title, artist, artist's nationality, and year of artwork creation. Example of preferred format for this information:
Las Meninas, by Diego Velázquez (Spain) 1656
Asking For a Friend, by Lorette C. Luzajic (Canada) 2017
Do not put artwork into Google Docs or Word document.
It can skew the format of your writing and we cannot always extract the image anyhow. Use a jpeg or a link to the image.
Miscellaneous
We can no longer consider ekphrastic Rattle outtakes.
We are a community and family and therefore love to feature regular contributors and be in contact with each other on Facebook, etc. For this reason, we do welcome multiple submissions and don't limit the number of times a year or ever that a writer can submit. But please keep common courtesy in mind and remember that a real live person reads through thousands of submissions in her "spare time."
A good rule of thumb is to wait to hear back about work in the queue before sending more.
Join our Facebook page here. https://www.facebook.com/EkphrasticReview/
Writing that is not ekphrastic and relates in no way to art will be deleted without response. We receive hundreds of submissions like this and cannot spend time explaining our purpose and passion to those who have not read even a single post on our site.
A Note on Rejection
Despite what you may believe or have been told, the editorial process is a highly subjective one and also something of a lottery.
We strive to publish quality writing in a variety of voices and styles, but cannot possibly publish all the worthy work submitted.
We hate sending rejections.
Please understand that we receive thousands of works. The Ekphrastic Review simply cannot post them all.
We don't send criticism or detailed reasons when we politely return your work. There are many reasons we can't use a piece, but the most likely is that we simply don't have room for all of the good writing we get.
Sample Submission
We are flexible and approachable and no one will be ousted for a faux pas.
That said, it takes a surprising amount of time to edit, arrange, and coordinate a post, and that time can be reduced exponentially for us if you follow this easy format!
subject line in email: Ekphrastic submission from Bob Smith/ a poetry submission on Monet/ Bob Smith sending more flash fiction on Edward Hopper paintings
Dear Lorette,
Note from you where you introduce yourself- or remind me if we've corresponded before -or update me briefly on your life if we know each other, because I'm curious about you and what you do.
Here are (one to five) poems/short stories/nonfiction observations for your consideration. My bio follows.
poem/story 1: link to Still Life With Apples, by Clod Money (France) 1903
www.link-to-image.com
Title of Poem
Poem
here
it is.
Do you like it.
Haiku!
Mary Jane Sziezmogalskojmanoff-Jones
Mary Jane Sziezmogalskojmanoff-Jones is an unknown writer living in Iceland with her 719 cats./ John Doe is a 150 time Pushcart winner who writes art features for The New York Times. She has had 209 poetry collections published by Cool Press Books. She lives in Calgary, Alberta on a ranch and volunteers helping kids with art at St. Mary's Church.
Ebooks
We offer some ebooks to inspire and expand your ekphrastic writing practice. Your purchase is a tremendous support to The Ekphrastic Review, and will also give you ideas and inspiration.
Fifty Ekphrastic Approaches
The Ekphrastic World: 60 Prompts From Around the World
This ebook is the big book of prompts. It was used for our first anthology, deadline now past. We encourage you to pick up a copy even though the project is over. The artwork was carefully chosen to inspire and ignite curiosity about art all over the world and deepen your writing. Purchasing a copy is extremely helpful to overhead and maintenance of the Review, and we are grateful to everyone who buys one. Thank you.