Submissions are now closed for the Yellow Arrow Journal spring 2024 (Vol. IX, No. 1) issue:
ELEVATE
Thank you to all who submitted and shared. We appreciate your dedication to the literary arts and independent publishing.
Look for the issue release May 2024.
The guest editor of ELEVATE is Jennifer N. Shannon. Jennifer has self-published three books: Silent Teardrops, for the LOVE, short stories and poems, vol. 1, and for the LOVE, short stories and poems, vol. 2. Her poetry, short stories, photographs, and essays have been in lit magazines such as North Dakota Quarterly, Yellow Arrow Journal, Deep South Magazine, Auburn Avenue, and others. In 2022, she curated the six-month artist exhibition “Black Joy Is My Protest,” which featured 12 artists from across the country and was showcased at Busboys and Poets in Baltimore. Jennifer was also a 2022 Baker Artist Awards finalist, a poetry fellow at The Watering Hole, and in 2023, she was selected as a Maryland State Arts Council Triennial Artist for Literary Arts. Jennifer is a proud South Carolinian and Gamecock who now lives in Maryland with her son and partner. Visit Jennifer’s website jennifernshannon.com or follow her @writerjns on Instagram and Facebook. Jennifer previously served on the Yellow Arrow board as marketing director and her poem “We Smile” was included in Yellow Arrow Journal RENASCENCE (Vol. VI, No. 1).
You can find past issues of Yellow Arrow Journal in the Yellow Arrow bookstore, on Amazon and through most online distributors, and in bookstores in Baltimore and beyond.
Support the journal by prepurchasing a bundle of the 2024 (Vol. IX) issues at a discounted price before the issues are released, for yourself, for your office, or as a gift. Bundles are also available for the 2022 (Vol. VII) and 2023 (Vol. VIII) issues. Learn more about our bundles at yellowarrowpublishing.com/store/yellow-arrow-journal-bundle.
Do you have creative nonfiction, poetry, or cover art you would like to share? Join our newsletter and follow us on Facebook or Instagram for up-to-date information about our next open submissions period (August 2024), future journal issues, and Yellow Arrow Publishing.
If selected, you will receive $10.00USD and a PDF of the journal issue. Note that payments are through PayPal; while we try to accommodate those that do not have a PayPal account, this is not always possible, especially for people outside of the U.S. Thank you for understanding.
We receive many wonderful submissions but have limited room in each issue. Please do not be discouraged if your submission is not accepted or you miss the deadline—there will be more opportunities available to you in the future.
We are grateful that you would like to share your story with us and our readers.
Any questions? Email submissions@yellowarrowpublishing.com.
Submissions Guidelines
Accepted submissions include creative nonfiction and poetry by authors identifying as women (cover art guidelines follow below).
Submissions must relate to the theme, as interpreted by the author, using provided guiding questions (these will change for each theme and will be available during open submissions).
Creative nonfiction (1 submission per author per issue) must be between 100 and 2,000 words. Poetry (up to 2 poems per author per issue, grouped into a single document) may be any length.
Submissions do not need to be in English but must include an English translation.
No previously published work will be accepted at this time—this includes all printed and online material; simultaneous submissions are okay but please let us know when you send in your submission(s) and if a submission is published elsewhere in the interim, email submissions@yellowarrowpublishing.com immediately.
cover art submission Guidelines
Cover art (1 submission per artist per issue) can be a painting, drawing, print, photo, graphic design, comic, or anything else that can be dreamed up by artists identifying as women, as related to the theme/guiding questions.
Artists must own all rights to the work submitted—if published or shown previously, artists must be able to list where and when.
If chosen, the artist must be able to supply the artwork at a resolution no lower than 300 dpi and at a size of 8 ½ x 11 cm, as a .jpeg/.jpg or .tiff/.tif.
Are you ready to submit?
To submit to an issue when submissions are open, send an email to submissions@yellowarrowpublishing.com and include:
Subject: Vol. #, No. # Theme – type of submission [nonfiction, poetry, or cover art] (required)
Your full name (and name you would want Yellow Arrow to use), nationality, and current city/state/country of residence (required)
Our writers and readers come from all walks of life and so do we. We are taking steps across our portfolio to increase representation and give greater visibility to the voices of underrepresented women-identifying storytellers. If you are comfortable doing so, please share with us which underrepresented communities you identify with that may make you uniquely positioned to connect with a particular group of readers (optional)
Your pronouns and age (optional)
Where you heard about us (optional)
For cover art submissions, a list of past publications/exhibits for the artwork you are submitting (required, if applicable).
Authors/artists should only submit one type of submission per issue; no agents.
Note that submissions are anonymously reviewed in-house; the information you provide above is used only to better understand the composition of our audience.
Attach your submission to your email. Accepted files for creative nonfiction and poetry submissions include .doc/.docx, .rtf, or .pdf (.doc/.docx preferred)—use minimal document styling and do not include identifying information (only within your email). Accepted files for cover art include .jpeg/.jpg, .tiff/.tif, .gif, .eps, or .psd—a low resolution is preferable at this time.
By sending your submission you agree to the following statements:
You are a writer or artist who identifies as a woman
You have completely read and submitted within the guidelines.
Due to the volume of submissions and the nature of our submission process, authors/artists will not receive an email confirming receipt of submission. Rather, all who submit within the guidelines, whether accepted to the next issue or not, will receive an email after submissions have closed—please do not email us to inquire about a submission.