A SPECIAL EDITION: Writing in the Time of the Global Pandemic-This Moment
We are living in unprecedented times and we think it calls for a special edition of the Birdland Journal. How have you been impacted? How have you been coping? From what do you take comfort, find inspiration and humor? What does it mean for us, our country, the world on the other side of the pandemic? Now, on top of this, another consequential event is sweeping the country, sparked by a tragic death that has brought about protests and some deep thinking. Are we living in a hopeful moment? There is a lot to unpack.
Please submit your stories, poems, memoir pieces, even song lyrics that reflect this moment. Humor is welcome. We hope to publish this as a summer issue as it is all so timely.
Deadline is July 14th. We look forward to reading what you send.
Please follow the guidelines below. Anything other than a .doc or .docx file will not be accepted. If you use Pages please convert the file to Word doc before sending it to us. Thank you!!
Wishing us all peace. Stay well.
—Sharon H. Smith and Marleen Roggow
Our Mission
We are looking for quality unpublished fiction, flash fiction, poetry, and creative non-fiction from established and emerging Northern California writers. We welcome all kinds of writing, including voices that explore place through prisms of race, gender, and ethnic/social identity. Through the art of language, show us what makes Northern California breathe. Send us work that reflects our environment, cultural tolerance, and creative spirit. We are especially interested in writing that incorporates Northern California settings or topics. Our editors look for compelling voices and work that demonstrates attention to craft. We want writing that surprises us with its unique perspective.
To submit please carefully read and follow these guidelines:
We accept simultaneous submissions, but let us know as soon as possible if you choose to publish elsewhere.
All submissions must be in the English language. You must reside in Northern California. WE DO NOT ACCEPT PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED MATERIAL. This includes publication in any public venue, including print, web, and personal blogs and yes this includes Facebook.
PROSE Fiction, flash fiction, creative non-fiction pieces should be under 3,000. No paragraph indents, but please separate paragraphs by the double carriage return. Pages should be numbered. Only one space following a period, exclamation point, question mark etc.
POETRY No more than 5 poems per entry. Multiple poems in one document. Poems may be single-spaced.
FORMAT Anything other than a .doc or .docx file will not be accepted. If you use Pages please convert the file to a Word doc before sending it to us. Thank you!! Please submit all work in 12 pt. Times New Roman or similar font. Include your name and the title of your work in the file name. Only one space following a period, exclamation point, question mark etc.
No artwork, photos or images of any kind.
We do not accept previously published material. This includes publication in any public venue, including print, web, and personal blogs.
RIGHTS: All contributing authors of Birdland Journal retain the rights to their own work. Any subsequent publication will note that the work was first published in Birdland Journal. As appropriate, we may also choose to nominate published work for awards or other recognition.
We regret that we are unable to pay our writers, but we do our best to promote your work on our site and through our social media networks.
Please review our guidelines before submitting then send your work to birdlandjournal@gmail.com
The editors will make every attempt to respond to your submission in a timely manner. Please note Birdland Journal is staffed by volunteers.
We look forward to reading your work.