Wishbone Words

Please take the time to fully read our submission guidelines. Any piece that does not conform to these guidelines will be declined. If you have questions or concerns after reading these guidelines, please reach out to us, and we will be happy to communicate with you. This is a volunteer-run magazine, so please be patient with our response time, as most of the team members have other daily obligations and health concerns in addition to working to bring this magazine to life. It may take us some time to read and reply to all of our messages – be it through email or socials. Thank you.

Click here to view these guidelines as a PDF.

Important Information

Submission window and publication dates

We publish two issues per year.  In 2024, we will launch in May and November.  The submission period for the May issue has passed.  The submission window for the November issue will open March 1st until May 31st.

Turn-around time

You will be updated on the status of your submission by June 30 for the November issue and December 31 for the May issue. Please be patient with us! We read through each submission, and we cannot provide updates via social media or email.

Reminders

Just like our contributors, everyone who volunteers their time to Wishbone Words has their own health struggles.  Please be respectful with our team members when communicating on social media or through email.  We love to hype up past and current contributors, so if you are being published elsewhere, tag us – we love to see it!

General Submission Guidelines

Language/Profanity/Derogatory Terms

Please remember your submission is being read by a human being who has feelings and emotions.  We will not publish hateful or hurtful works.  If you have to ask if it’s hateful/hurtful, you should probably revise it before submitting.  Additionally, we do not publish racist, transphobic, ableist, or otherwise damaging content. Use your best judgment and, when in doubt, give content warnings for readers or ASK.

Simultaneous Submissions

Simultaneous subs are okay, but please let us know if your piece gets accepted elsewhere so it can be withdrawn from our submissions pile.

Re-submissions

f we have declined your piece for an issue, please respect our decision.  You are welcome to work on revising the piece and try resubmitting during our next submission window, and we will happily read your revised work.

Submitting After Publication

The Wishbone team encourages previous contributors to submit to future issues if they have more writing they would like to share.  However, being a previous contributor does not guarantee publication, and the piece of writing/artwork must go through the general submissions queue to make it into the magazine.

Payment

At this time, we cannot pay contributors.  Our staff is currently all volunteers, and the money we make from selling copies goes toward website maintenance.  However, contributors will receive free access to their issue of the magazine.

Genre-Specific Guidelines

Formatting Guidelines

• Font: All pieces should be written in a standard font such as Arial, Times New Roman, or Calibri
• Size: All pieces should be in font size 12-16pt
• Spacing: Prose pieces must be double-spaced; poetry can play with spacing as long as it remains readable.
• Individual Piece Titles: All pieces should be titled or be named “untitled.”
• Submission Title: Please title your submission as: First Name_Last Name_Individual Piece Title (Example: “John_Smith_Disability as Visibility.”) If sending more than one written pieces (like multiple poems or flash pieces) please send them in one document.
• File Format: Written submissions must be in .doc, .docx, or .pdf. Art submissions should be in .jpeg/.jpg or .png format. Please reach out to use if you are having difficulty formatting your submission.

If you have questions or concerns before submitting, such as needing help with exporting your submission into the proper file type or needing to withdraw a submission, please do not hesitate to reach out to us: Contact@WishboneWords.com.  Please be patient with our response time, we will likely not reply immediately, and it may take us some time to get back to you.  Thank you.

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Wishbone Words is currently accepting submissions via email. Please send your submission to contact@wishbonewords.com along with the following information:

• Author/Artist name
• Author artist pronouns (e.g. they/them)
• Author/artist bio
  Please share a short bio about yourself, written in third person. You may choose whether or not to disclose your disability/chronic illness/neurodiversity. Feel free to include where you have previously been published, if applicable.

Social Media Information

• Would you like us to share your social media profile(s) if your submission is chosen for publication?
• Instagram username*
• X/Twitter username*
• TikTok username*
• Website link*
• Other social media links/usernames*

*if applicable

Submission Information

• Title of submission(s)
• Genre (Poetry, prose, flash, hybrid, reviews, art/photography, translations)
• Content warnings if applicable