Have you ever wanted to be published in a literary magazine? Maybe you’re an aspiring author or poet, or you’re an avid photographer or artist. Getting your work published by a literary magazine could be the first step in your career. But what is a literary magazine, and why might you want to submit to one? And if you do want to submit to one, why choose Inklings?
A literary magazine is a publication, either in print or online, that usually publishes art, such as poetry, short stories, creative nonfiction, photography, digital art, sketches and others. Different literary magazines publish different types of art; some only publish poetry, for example, and others only publish in certain genres, such as science fiction. Some magazines are also more selective than others, so your chances of being accepted to a magazine vary depending on where you submit.
Literary magazines are often a great place to begin a publishing career. For any aspiring artist, getting your work out to the public is an important step. However, it can also be fun just to submit work somewhere that you can share it with others, so even if you aren’t considering a career in the arts, publishing in a literary magazine might still be a fun challenge.
So where does Inklings come into all of this?
Inklings is the literary magazine run by Eastern students. It is open to submissions from all undergraduate students, not just Eastern students, so if you have friends from other universities who you think would like to submit, they’re also welcome to! Inklings is open for submissions from now until March 7th, 2021, and they accept poetry, fiction, nonfiction, photography and art. In order to submit, go to the Inklings’ website: https://inklings.eastern.edu/ and click on the “Submission Guidelines” tab. There will be several paragraphs of information about what Inklings is interested in publishing generally, and then specific guidelines for each medium below. If you’re submitting, make sure you check the specific guidelines for your work, because adhering to the guidelines will keep your work from getting automatically rejected! Please also note that Inklings asks for blind submissions, meaning that the readers won’t know who the author is when they’re deciding what to put in the magazine, so make sure that the document you submit does not have any identifying information on it, like your name or email.
Inklings is primarily a literary magazine, but it’s also a club on Eastern’s campus. This semester, it meets entirely online, so commuters can attend as well as residential students. At these meetings, which take place every Tuesday evening at 8:30 p.m., students will be able to hone their writing skills through experimenting with prompts and different techniques, as well as connecting students with other writers and artists. If you’re interested in getting the Zoom link, email inklings@eastern.edu and you’ll be added to the mailing list!
Art is an important part of our lives, especially during trying times. Art can unite us and remind us that beauty still exists, even when the world around us seems less than lovely. If you’d like to share your art with others, submit to Inklings!