Submission Guidelines

 

We’re so glad that you’ve selected Blossom Magazine: Issue 07 as your chosen platform to share your creativity with the world! Here are our specific criteria for submissions to Issue 07:

 

General Information

 

The official title and theme for Issue 07 is Blossom Magazine Issue 07: Unity. September 21st is the International Day of Peace (known also as World Peace Day), and we hope to take this time to recognize what it means to have peace in the absence of intolerance, hostilities, war and violence, as well as to recognize our own responsibilities for achieving that peace. We are interested in reviewing work surrounding the importance of achieving peace and unity both locally, within our own communities, as well as internationally. For this issue, we are looking for prose (flash fiction, creative nonfiction, microfiction, etc.), poems, visual artwork, photography and animations that reflect the important values of unity, teamwork, and peace through words and images. We especially welcome BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ creators to submit. We accept simultaneous submissions, but please let us know immediately if your work has been accepted elsewhere. Blossom Magazine is not a paying publication.

 

Available Mediums

 

We currently accept four forms of art:

1. Creative Writing 

   1. Microfiction (work between 100 and 400 words)

   2. Flash Fiction (work between 401 and 1000 words)

   3. Short Stories (work between 1001 and 3000 words)

   4. Creative Nonfiction (work between 1000 and 3000 words)

   5. Poetry (work between 10 and 40 lines)

2. Visual Art 

3. Photography

4. Animations 

 

You may submit up to 3 times per issue. Submissions that fall into different categories or have content that fall into more than one category are admissible. 

 

How To Submit

 

Email blossommagsubmissions@gmail.com using the subject line: BLOSSOM MAGAZINE: Issue 07 Submissions. Please attach your work as a separate file along with your name, an optional statement (maximum 80 words) of what the work means to you or why you’ve chosen to share it with Blossom Magazine, the title of the piece, and whether or not you’d like to have your work featured on our Instagram or website in the future. If you would like for this statement to be published in the magazine, please add this provision in the statement. If your work has been previously published, you must state which publications it can be found in. You should receive a response in no more than 6 days alerting you that we’ve received your submission. If you do not receive a similar email in 6 days, please contact us through sending a separate email. 

 

Submissions Periods

 

Submissions to Blossom Magazine Issue 07 officially open on August 17th, 2023 and close on September 5th, 2023. The process is divided into two distinct periods:

 

Period 01: August 17th-August 26th

 

August 26th at 11:59pm EST is the priority deadline for applicants submitting their work in the Period 01 submissions pool who would like to have their submission(s) featured in Blossom Magazine. Submissions during this time will have the strongest consideration for placement in the magazine. Submitters in this period will receive a response in regards to the status of their submission by September 2nd, 2023.

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Period 02: August 27th-September 5th

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September 5th at 11:59pm EST is the final deadline for applicants submitting their work in the Period 02 submissions pool who would like to have their submission(s) featured in Blossom Magazine. Submitters during this time period will receive a response in regards to the status of their submission by September 12th, 2023.

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Works submitted after the final deadline of September 5th will not be considered for the seventh issue of Blossom Magazine.

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Submissions Process

 

After submissions are received during each submissions period, each piece is individually reviewed and considered for placement in Blossom Magazine. Emails are then sent to each applicant concerning the status of their submission(s). Any and all creative writing pieces are then sent directly to editors, who edit and carefully review each piece in a span of less than 5 days. 

 

Creative Writing Format

 

We currently accept creative writing in the forms of prose and poetry. Fan Fiction will not be accepted. Creative writing pieces may be submitted to Blossom Magazine in any language, but must include a translation to English to accompany the original work. 

 

Transferring of Rights

 

By submitting your work to Blossom Magazine, you grant us first North American serial and electronic rights  and allow us to publish and distribute your work. After Issue 07 has been released, all rights to each individual piece return to the contributor. Additionally, by submitting to Blossom Magazine, you allow us to make any technical revisions necessary to meet our standards for publication. 

 

Issue 07 Format

 

Blossom Magazine is currently an online magazine, and all issues are to be accessed electronically. Issue 07 will be available in document form and you will have the opportunity to view each individual page as you please. However, certain animations and songs featured in the magazine may only be accessible through video format. Issue 07 will also be available in video (mp4) format, a hands-free method that allows you to watch and potentially listen to animations and music all while viewing the magazine.

 

Ethical Conduct

 

You must maintain all rights to any artwork, creative writing piece, or animation submitted. You may not replicate or reproduce the work of others. For musical submissions, you must also maintain all rights to the song you’ve chosen to submit. Covers of other artists’ songs are no longer permissible. Violations of any of the above approaches will result in rejection of the creator’s submission as well as the potential rejection of any future submissions by the creator if they are not able to provide sufficient justification. The creator’s work will also be reviewed with heightened scrutiny on any future submissions. If an editor notices that the author of a creative writing piece has not properly listed all authors or references to other author’s work, the author will be contacted to revise their creative writing piece to include all necessary information. The creative writing piece will not have the opportunity to be published until after the author has made these changes. If the author does not effectively revise their work at least 3 days before the magazine is to be published, the creative writing piece will not be published in that issue of the magazine. 

 

Subject Matter

 

Content intended to be promotional (ie. advancing the status of a brand or with the purpose of achieving a monetary value) will not be featured in the magazine. All works submitted to Blossom Magazine must be respectful of all identities, cultures and communities. Work that falls into any of the categories listed below will not be accepted into Blossom Magazine: 

 

1. Hate speech-work intended to target a particular individual or community will not be accepted.

2. Promoting harmful/destructive behaviors-work that consciously promotes a practice or behavior that could be detrimental to the health of our audience. (Work intended to raise awareness for, or that methodically includes this behavior is acceptable, but any work that glorifies or celebrates this behavior is unacceptable.) Examples of such behaviors include smoking, drinking, and drug abuse.

3. Inappropriate content-Work featuring elements of inappropriate/explicit behavior or profanity will not be accepted. 

4. Adult Themes-Work containing scenes depicting graphic violence, gore, or erotica will not be accepted.