blackbird online journal spring 2002 vol.1 no. 1
poetry gallery features

A joint venture of the Department of English at Virginia Commonwealth University and New Virginia Review, Inc.

 

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SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

For current submission guidelines and contact information, always visit the most recent issue of Blackbird at blackbird.vcu.edu

Blackbird is published twice each year. When submitting unsolicited manuscripts, please be aware that we do not read from May 15 to August 15 (postmark dates). All submissions received during this period are returned unread. Manuscripts must be submitted through regular mail. We do not accept email submissions.

Send one prose piece or two to six poems at a time (mail genres separately). Accompany your submission with a brief cover letter that includes a short paragraph of biographical information. Poems should be individually typed either single- or double-spaced on one side of the page. Prose should be typed double-spaced on one side. Although in prose we look primarily for short stories, we occasionally will publish personal essays/memoirs. Novel excerpts are acceptable if self-contained. Unsolicited book reviews, short plays, gallery features, and criticism are not considered. Please do not send multiple submissions of the same genre, and do not send another manuscript until you hear about the first. Additional submissions will be returned unread. No more than a total of three submissions per reading period, please.

Mail your manuscripts in a page-size manila envelope, your full name and address written on the outside, to "Editor, Poetry" or "Editor, Fiction." All manuscripts and correspondence regarding submissions should be accompanied by a self-addressed, stamped envelope (SASE) for a response. Please also include a permanent email address if you have one. Expect three to five months for a decision. Do not query us until five months have passed, and if you do, please write to us either by email or by including an SASE instead of calling. Please indicate the postmark date of submission. Simultaneous submissions are amenable as long as they are indicated as such and we are notified immediately upon acceptance elsewhere. We cannot accommodate revisions, changes of return address, or forgotten SASE’s after the fact. We do not print previously published work. Translations are welcome if permission has been granted. We cannot be responsible for delay, loss, or damage.

If work is accepted for publication, expect to send it in electronic format. Payment is on publication. All published poetry, fiction, and essays will be permanently archived online after the issue in which they appear retires.

Send submissions to:
Blackbird
Virginia Commonwealth University Department of English
PO Box 843082
Richmond, VA 23284-3082

Direct questions to:
blackbird@vcu.edu
804.225.4729