Submissions:
Journal, Radio Program, and Reading Series
The following types of submissions may be made online, using Submishmash:
- Contest submissions from international or U.S. addresses
- Submissions of poetry and prose to the journal from international addresses only
- Submissions of artwork to the journal (international or U.S.)
- Radio-program proposals (international or U.S.)
- Reading series queries (international or U.S.)
All submissions except radio-program proposals may be made in hard-copy/via mail. Book Trailer Contest entry forms must be mailed in hard-copy.
Click here for all contest guidelines. Detailed guidelines for each of the other categories are below.
Journal
Quiddity seeks prose and poetry from emerging and established writers around the world. International submissions to the journal may be made either using Submishmash online or in hard-copy via mail. U.S. submissions to the journal should be made in hard-copy via mail. (It is our hope to eventually offer the option of Submishmash for U.S. submissions to the journal.)
Submission Guidelines
- Prose: one work (no more than 5,000 words)
- Poetry: up to five poems (no more than ten pages total)
- Artwork: up to eight images
- Include a cover letter.
- For poetry and prose, please be sure your name is listed on each page of your work. You may list contact information on each page as well, if you wish.
- U.S. submissions should include both an email address and a self-addressed, business-size (#10), stamped envelope (SASE).
- International submissions for the journal may be made online using Submishmash. If submitting in hard-copy, include (if possible) your email address in your contact information.
- Work must be previously unpublished. All manuscripts will be recycled.
Submissions made in hard-copy should be addressed to either Prose Editor or Poetry Editor at
Quiddity, Benedictine University at Springfield, 1500 North Fifth Street, Springfield, IL 62702 USA
We look forward to receiving high-quality prose and poetry from both established and emerging writers. We do not limit general submissions to specific subject-matter or style. Novel excerpts are welcome as long as the work can stand alone. Translations are welcome as long as permission, in writing, has been granted.
We accept simultaneous submissions but require notification immediately if the work is accepted elsewhere. Work submitted must fit the guidelines listed above.
Quiddity's international literary journal is a publication of Benedictine University at Springfield. It is published semi-annually in the fall and spring. Quiddity's companion public-radio program is produced by Illinois Public Radio’s hub station, NPR membe/PRI affiliate WUIS. Contributors may be invited to read their work for the public-radio program.
General submissions are read year-round. Subscription and back-issue information may be found here.
Radio Program
Contributors may be invited to read their work for the public-radio program and will receive detailed instructions for submitting audio if it is solicited.
Unsolicited audio submissions may be proposed via Submishmash. However, if you have work under consideration for the journal, you should NOT also propose that work in audio form here.
Audio proposals should be made by those who wish to have audio that they have produced—audio that is apart from any submission they may have made to the print journal—considered for feature in the radio program. Use the following guidelines to submit an audio proposal.
- Provide a one-page cover letter that contains a brief overview of the material you wish us to consider.
- The overview should include information about the content and length of the material and whether or not the material has been previously broadcast (if so, list where and when, specifically).
- The overview should also include a statement guaranteeing that you are able to grant electronic multimedia rights for use of the material. (If you cannot grant these rights, do not submit.)
- Upload a single audio file that contains a selection of the audio material you are proposing.
- The selection should be no longer than three minutes in length. If we like what we hear, we’ll ask for an opportunity to hear more.
- The selection may consist of a single excerpt from the material or multiple excerpts/highlights that together comprise a feature selection. Either way, the selection should be no longer than three minutes and should consist of a single audio file (MP3 format).
We look forward to hearing your work.
Reading Series
Although Quiddity solicits select participants for its popular reading series, poets and writers who will be traveling to the Springfield, Illinois, area are welcome to query via Submishmash or by mail about the possibility of scheduling a reading while you are here. Use the following guidelines to do so.
In fewer than 500 words, tell us about yourself, your work, and the type of reading/presentation you are proposing. We do consider traditional readings, but our audiences have indicated a particular inclination toward performance work, and as such, we give special consideration to performance poets and readers/speakers who seek to engage an audience with intriguing subject matter and vibrancy.
Don’t forget to let us know the dates you plan be in the area and available for an event. And please note that given the volume of correspondence we receive and the amount of care and time that goes into planning and promoting the series, considerable lead time is necessary. Queries should be submitted no fewer than four months prior to travel. If accepted for a reading, we do not require that you participate in a signing but we do ask that readers engage in an audience Q&A.
Best wishes surrounding your work, and safe travels.