Call for Art Submissions

Submissions are open for Artists for Volume 21, 2023: Myths and Hauntings.

Deadline for Artists: April 24, 2023

(Deadline for the poetry, prose, flash, etc has passed).

Windward Review is exploring the ethereal beauty and horror of Myths and Hauntings in its annual print and digital publication. We seek creative works in all genres: fiction, poetry, creative essays, flash, plays, screenplays, multilingual works, translations of original works, visual poetry, and hybrid genres. We also publish a small amount of art in each volume and we are looking for cover art.

All interpretations of the theme “myths and hauntings” are allowed and welcomed. We appreciate creative freedom, genre fluidity, experimentation, and innovation. We aspire to be an inclusive space for diverse viewpoints to encounter one another and create the narrative of “myths and hauntings”.

Here are further approaches to understanding the theme:

As Joy Harjo says, “Our forgetfulness stalks us, walks the earth behind us.” What is the relationship between myths, truths, and space? How do forgotten connections between our narratives and the land we inhabit create an emptiness? What is "truth" and is it ethical to own it? How does "truth" inhabit our stories and beliefs? What creates a sense of belonging?
The human condition, to borrow a term from Hannah Arendt, is created through biologies, family, landscapes of existence, and cultural realities. The human condition can create mysterious shapes of hauntings that perpetuate via an invisible mythology: regrets, anxieties, trauma, illness, colonialism, racist, sexism, genocide. How do myths permeate a 21st century existence? How do the ghosts of society haunt the stories we share, and vice versa? What do we purposely cut (or exorcise) out of our history or ourselves?
According to the Oxford Dictionary, a haunting is “poignant and evocative; difficult to ignore or forget.” Hauntings can be echoes of the past, blistering grief, gnawing guilt, or the haunted body. Myths, on the other hand, are open to interpretation, and can be adaptive, especially in the face of personal and public trauma. How do myths or hauntings concretize or complicate lived realities? Do myths harbor hauntings, or exorcise them? What haunts our memories? What myths allow us to heal?
“History became legend. Legend became myth,” as Galadriel says from the Lord of the Rings. History is a culturally designated symbol of reality, while myths are stories about how something came into being. How does history become myth? What are some hidden "truths" behind history or mythology? Why and how does history dilute (or concentrate) into something supernatural? What can supernatural stories help us contemplate?

We are passionate about transforming the not-for-profit publishing landscape and work to make creative expression accessible to all. We accept submissions from well-established as-well-as emerging writers. Though we love to support Coastal Bend creators, we also accept work from national and international writers (location is not a part of the review process). We especially ask for submissions from marginalized voices i.e. people that identify as BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, neurodivergent, or disabled.

Submission Guidelines

For all submissions:

Submit your work via our Google Form.
Work submitted should be previously unpublished in order to prevent copyright concerns. Work can be “published” informally through social media accounts, etc., but please remove the work from the internet while we consider it for publication. (You are permitted to share the work on social media after we publish it, if it is accepted.)
We accept simultaneous submissions, but please let us know if the work in your submission becomes no longer available.
To prevent biased viewing, personal information should not appear anywhere on the submitted document(s).
If you include images in your submission document(s), we assume these are meant to be considered with the rest of the submission, but please let us know if the images are optional.
Collaborative submissions: We review collaborative pieces (i.e. works with multiple authors or a writer and an artist), but please provide names and email addresses of all artists.

Art Submission: should contribute to the theme of myths and hauntings

We are creative, open-minded, and considerate, but please contact us if you have any questions!

Submissions By Genre

We suggest 12 point font with 1 in. margins on all sides, with clear formatting: please ensure that we are not confused about what the title of a piece is how it should be formatted (if it has sub-titles, etc.)
Writing should be generally free of typographical and grammatical errors, but everyone makes mistakes.
Maximum length of 5,000 words (approximately) – word count should be included in the submission if possible.
You may submit more than one piece, but we typically only accept one long fiction piece per submission. Though we may accept more than one smaller/ medium length pieces of fiction (see directions below regarding micro fiction).

You may submit up to 5 works.
Multiple poetry submissions should be included in a single document, with each poem on a new, titled page.
Please ensure that formatting is clear: ensure that we are not confused about the titles of pieces, line breaks, etc.
- For visual poetry or concrete (shaped) poetry, submit a PDF to ensure that what we see is correctly formatted.
Writing should be generally free of typographical and grammatical errors, but everyone makes mistakes.

Submissions should be approximately 10 minutes of material or less. Excerpts of longer material can also be reviewed, (please indicate in your email that the work is an excerpt). Monologues are also acceptable.
- You may submit more than one piece, but we don't typically accept more than one longer piece per writer, per volume.
Please make sure that there is no identifying marks on the manuscripts (your name or school, etc.), but if you need to provide context. Please email thewindwardreview@gmail.com to provide context to a play/ screenplay submission.
You are permitted to include an Artist's Statement/ Memo if you feel that your work needs an introduction (in order for readers to understand how it relates to the theme, for example).
You may submit work that has been previously produced or is in production. But please ensure that you are comfortable giving us first publishers rights.
- You can publish your work elsewhere after we publish it, so long as you acknowledge us as the first publisher. You can also produce your plays after publishing with us (rights revert back to you after we publish it).

We consider art and art collections in any medium. Visual poetry is also considered.
You may submit up to 5 pieces, not including alternative visuals of the same piece. Our preferred presentation style is to showcase a collection of work from a single artist, so please be sure that your pieces compliment one another.
Our ability to review your work is contingent upon the quality of photos/ scanned documents that you send us. That said, please let us know if a lack of photography resources is an inhibiting factor for you.
Please provide an Artist’s Statement to compliment your work/ collection, unless you believe that you work must absolutely speak for itself.
- This statement should help us to understand the impulse behind your work and enrich our appreciation of it, as well as connect it to our theme more explicitly.
- There is no minimum or maximum word count on the Statement. Also, we may choose to print it next to your artwork, unless you prefer us not to.

We believe that "standard English" archetypes of language are just one form of expression. We accept works that explore alternative literacies and multiple literacies. We especially look to publish Spanish language works.
Translations: we accept translations, but the translation must be approved by the copyright holder. Otherwise we don't have permission to publish it. For original works of translation, please submit both versions of the work if possible.
For genre-related conventions, please look at the guidelines listed for Prose and Poetry.

Call for Art Submissions

Deadline for Artists: April 24, 2023

Submission Guidelines

Art Submission: should contribute to the theme of myths and hauntings

Submissions By Genre

Submitting Prose (Fiction/ Creative Non-Fiction)

Submitting Poetry/ Micro Fiction

Submitting Screenplays/ Plays

Submitting Art

Multilingual Work/ Translation