Submission Guidelines for 2024 Anniversary Anthology

The IWN’s 8th Anthology is now open for submissions! Submissions are welcome from all dues paid IWN members. Dues must have been paid by February 5, 2024.

Mission

The purpose of publishing this anthology is for each contributor to go through the full writing/publishing experience, from getting the idea germination to writing, editing, and revising, all the way to marketing and selling. Working with an editor is a realistic part of the writing process. You want your piece to be the best that it can be. IWN wants the anthology to be a high quality product we can be proud to publish.

Until you are assigned an editor, please email questions to James Mallory (islandwritersbooks@gmail.com). Once your work is accepted and you are assigned an editor, you will work directly with that person.

Content Appropriateness

This anthology is intended for the general public. Please keep content PG-13. Before you submit, check our past anthologies for guidance.

Theme

Our theme is open. We encourage submissions that have a Lowcountry connection and reflect the diversity of our location. However, inclusion in the anthology will be based solely on writing excellence.

Submission Deadline

Rolling submissions up to Friday, April 5, 2024. You may submit as soon as you have polished and proofed each piece.

Anticipated publication date: October 25, 2024.

Any submissions not following the length guidelines shown below will be returned to the writer, who may revise them and resubmit, if s/he so chooses, within 3 weeks of returned manuscript, but by the April 5 deadline.

Again, submissions are welcome from all dues paid IWN members. Dues must have been paid by February 5, 2024.

Writing Standards and Conventions

Editors will use Chicago Manual of Style (CMS, for uniformity issues).

Self-edit for spelling, grammar, and typos. It is also good to have a second person read your manuscript before it is submitted.

Submissions

Length and Formatting — All manuscripts will be submitted electronically, as attachments to an email. Editors will standardize formatting, but submissions must follow certain guidelines, depending on the genre.

PROSE — You may submit up to 2 prose pieces.

  1. Length: A maximum of 2,500 words each.
  2. Font: Times New Roman, type size 12.
  3. Margins — 1 inch on all 4 sides (left, right, top, and bottom).
  4. Center manuscript title on page, normal font and size, one line drop after it. NOTE: Do NOT put your name on the manuscript pages.
  5. Double space (2.0).
  6. Indent each paragraph 1/2 inch using header tabs for automatic indent or press the TAB key. (Never use the space bar to indent.)
  7. Avoid hard returns (pressing ENTER on a PC or RETURN on a Mac) except at the end of paragraphs. The word processor will automatically wrap your text to the next line.
  8. Do not insert a line drop (blank line) between paragraphs.

FILE PREPARATION FOR PROSE

  1. Each prose submission should be in a separate file (MS Word format as .doc or .docx).
  2. Name each file with your first and last name and the title: FirstName LastName — Title
  3. Use the Title of the submission or key words of the title. For example, for a story titled, “Over the Hills and Through the Woods,” use a shorter filename like: James Mallory — Over the Hills.docx.

POETRY — You may submit up to 5 poems.

  1. Length: no restrictions per poem.
  2. Font: Times New Roman, type size 12. Consult editor if you have a special font request.
  3. Margins: 1 inch on all 4 sides.
  4. Center manuscript title on page, normal font and size, one line drop after it. NOTE: Do NOT put your name on the manuscript pages.
  5. Layout: Line spacing and indentations should be exactly as you wish each poem to appear on a page in final print.

FILE PREPARATION FOR POETRY

  1. All poetry submissions should be gathered into a single file (MS Word format as .doc or .docx).
  2. The filename should include your first and last name and match the title of the FIRST poem in the manuscript. Pleace a page break between each poem.

MICRO-LITERATURE

  1. Writers of micro-literature (brief poems or vignettes) may submit a pre-organized grouping on the same theme as a single piece, arranged as the author prefers, and gathered under an overarching title. Please feel free to confer with an editor as needed.

FILE PREPARATION FOR MICRO-LITERATURE

  1. Micro-literature collections (prose or poetry) should be arranged in sequence within a single line (Word format as .doc or .docx).
  2. The filename should match the overarching title for the collection. Place five blank lines between each item in the collection. NOTE: Do NOT put your name on the manuscript pages. The editors will do blind editing.

ART OR PHOTOGRAPHS — Art or photographs that complement your pieces should be submitted as black-and-white photos — .jpg file, 300 dpi or better. Convert color photos to black and white first to see if they maintain clarity and contrast. We encourage you to suggest photos that might accompany your work. We will work with local camera clubs to illustrate the anthology.

Submission Process

  1. You may submit up to 2 prose pieces and 5 poems. The Editorial Board accepts original unpublished work only. The Board will not accept work generated by artificial intelligence (A.I.). Do not submit work previously published in printed form, on a blog or as a webpage. You must own the exclusive copyrights to anything submitted. Please notify us as soon as possible of any work simultaneously submitted to us and accepted for publication elsewhere.
  2. By submitting your work, you agree to grant IWN first North American serial rights at no cost. All other rights revert to the author at publication, but we ask that whenever an author reprint work that first appeared in the anthology, Island Writers’ Network and/or the anthology be given acknowledgement for the specific work(s) involved.
  3. Submit manuscripts as attachments to an email. Your submission email must include:
    • your name
    • phone number
    • email address
    • title of all attached submissions, and parenthetically, the genre of each submission (e.g., poem, poetry collection, short story, vignette collection, non-fiction).
    • Word count for each prose, short story, or nonfiction story.
    • 2-4 suggestions for photographs or artwork that might complement your submission(s).
  4. Send the email with attachment(s) to: islandwritersnetwork@gmail.com.
  5. You may send all your submissions under one email, or in several batches as they become available.
  6. Receipt of your submission will be acknowledged within 24 hours.
  7. The Editorial Board will review all submissions and select content for the anthology. The Editorial Board’s decision is final.

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