GENERAL SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
Our submission periods are January 25-April 25 for the summer issue and August 31-November 15 for the winter issue. Any submissions sent outside the posted submission periods will not be considered.
The editors invite submissions of poetry, fiction, nonfiction, and visual arts that fit within the mission of the journal. We do not publish unsolicited translations. We consider previously unpublished work only.
We accept simultaneous submissions, but we request that you withdraw the submission in Submittable if your piece is accepted elsewhere. To withdraw particular work(s) within a larger manuscript submission, email our editor with the title(s) you would like to remove from consideration.
All prose manuscripts should be double-spaced. All prose manuscripts and poetry manuscripts should use a 12-point Times New Roman. Please include your name and email address in the header of each manuscript page, and please include page numbers in the footer of each manuscript page. All submissions should be in a single manuscript file in .doc, .docx, or .pdf format. (We prefer visual art to be submitted in .jpeg format.)
Please include a short cover letter that includes your name, email address, and concise bio in the appropriate Submittable text box.
We try to respond to submissions as soon as possible. Please allow 4 months for a response. If you have not heard back regarding your submission after 4 months, please query our editor.
We acquire First North American serial rights. We do not offer payment at this time for accepted work.
POETRY
Please submit no more than 6 poems during a submission period (with a maximum of 10 pages total per submission). Save all poems in one document before submitting. SUBMIT
FICTION
Please submit a single manuscript (which may include any number of stories) of up to 7000 words. We consider novel excerpts. SUBMIT
NONFICTION
Please submit no more than two nonfiction pieces in a single manuscript submission (with a maximum manuscript word count of 4000 words). We are open to a variety of forms of nonfiction, though we enjoy essays that are both argumentative and personal. We do not publish scholarly articles or journalistic pieces, though we may consider essays with unique approaches. SUBMIT
VISUAL ART
We feature visual art in portfolio form and as discrete images, at times in tandem with prose and poetry submissions at the discretion of the editors. In such cases, we will contact the artist in advance to discuss our intentions. All visual media are welcomed. Submissions may include a portfolio of no more than ten images with details of medium, size, and title. An art resume with an exhibition record and any written information that you feel explains your work should be included in the cover letter. SUBMIT
Frederick Buechner Prize
The deadline for submissions will be announced each year in the spring.
All current students of YDS, Berkeley, Andover Newton, and the Institute of Sacred Music are invited to submit essays and compete for the Frederick Buechner Prize for creative nonfiction. The winning essay, selected by a panel of professors, will be published in LETTERS, and its author will receive a $1,000 prize.
The prize is named in honor of the writer and theologian Frederick Buechner, who, among his numerous honors, gave the Beecher Lectures at YDS in the 1976-77 academic year. The Buechner Prize was established thanks to a gift to YDS from the Frederick Buechner Institute.
Essays should be between 1,500 and 5,000 words and contain a religious theme or element. Essays should be unpublished at the time of submission. (An essay that has been accepted for publication at a later date is eligible.) Each student is allowed to submit a single essay.
The winner will be announced at Commencement if that winner is graduating, or at the fall awards ceremony next year if the winner is a continuing student. If either of these events needs to be rescheduled because of current events, we will adjust accordingly.