RHODE ISLAND (a state)

I’ve never heard of Rhode Island

Do I have to be from Rhode Island to submit?

Not necessarily. This issue is focused on Rhode Island so obviously we really really really (really) want to uplift RI artists whether they’re from this weird little place or they call it home right now. But we’re also open to work by people who have visited here before (remember when we mentioned small businesses?) or have work about Rhode Island based on some kind of connection. It’s oddly specific so we’re willing to consider it. If you send us regular fiction with stuff you’ve made up (for lack of better words), there is an exceedingly small chance we’ll publish it. Just throwing in the word “Rhode Island” isn’t good enough. Keep in mind, like most Rhode Islanders, we were born and raised here so there’s a really good chance we’ll catch on if you just make things up. Risk it if you’d like, you’ve been warned.

So….there’s a theme? Or nah?

Nah….maybe. So. Our priority is to publish Rhode Island artists, who can submit whatever they’d like (so long as they follow the guidelines). Beyond that….we’re open to pieces about RI if they give us full body chills or something. So the answer is: No but also yes.

What if I’ve already submitted to you recently?

Tbh we’re throwing most of the rules out the window for this project so go ahead and submit again.

Woah, no rules?

Jk, not completely. See our guidelines for general info re: word count/requirements/another word I can’t think of, etc. 

When do submissions close?

TBD. We’d love to give you a date but given how very specific this call is and how very small Rhode Island is….it could be a couple months, could be more than a couple months, could be a lot more than a couple months, you get the idea. Keep an eye on our unhinged Twitter for updates. #shamelesself-promotion

What if I have a question that your very short FAQs didn’t answer?

Go ahead and email us, but only if that email is NOT a submission (barring special circumstances that is approved/clarified before aforementioned email is sent). As a friendly reminder, submissions sent via email will be deleted without being read. Also we might be mild-moderately annoyed.

One last question, what happens if you get annoyed?

We support small businesses, specifically local liquor stores. 

Poetry

We love all types of poetry except forced rhyming and meter. Send up to three poems, all on the same document. Please make it clear when a new poem begins. No real length requirements but keep it reasonable. Anything more than five pages is too much.

Creative Non-Fiction

We’re looking for almost every type of CNF except academic pieces or critiques. We love lyric essays, memoir, personal essays, etc. Please limit length to 1,500 words. 

Fiction

We’re interested in micro, flash fiction and short stories. Being a small, print edition magazine means we can not publish your book. Please limit length to 2,000 words. 

Visual Art

We love photography most of all – especially photography that includes people (consenting or in a public place). We also love digital art, painting, calligraphy, mixed media, and graphic design. Absolutely no AI for visual art pieces. No exceptions. 

Formatting

Our submission manager, Duosoma, will guide you through this, but we accept doc, docx, pdf, jpg, tif and png files.

We’re not picky about font but for the love of God do not use Comic Sans (even if graphic design is your passion). Reasonable font size please and preferably 1.5 or double spaced.

Oh, by the way

We’re looking for stand alone pieces. Please only submit one piece per submission period and do not submit another piece until you’ve heard back about the first one.

Third person bio. 50 words max. We find the most intimidating part of submitting to be cover letters so we’re not asking for a whole lot. A simple “oh hey!” Or even “whaddup” will suffice. Maybe just tell us a fun fact about you (like what your favorite color or shape or dinosaur is!). Just acknowledge that we exist because our therapists said it’s good for us. 

.Alright, folks, here are the details that we really really really need you to read. 

Artificial Intelligence

If you include AI as part of your piece and there’s a genuine purpose that it serves, please disclose this with your submission. Other than genuine, necessary, brief use….absolutely no AI.

Absolutely no hate

We do not tolerate bigotry of any sort: racism, homophobia, sexism, antisemitism, transphobia, ableism, etc. If you’re wondering if your piece may fall on this list, please do not submit. We do not tolerate hate speech or discrimination. This is not negotiable. Work that violates this will be disregarded and submitters may be banned. 

NSFW

We’re really not into reading super NSFW pieces. Swearing is fine, but we’re not interested in smut or gratuitous violence, especially sexual violence. 

Content Warnings

We’re people and because we’re people, we’ve lived through some shit. While CW/TW are not required, they are greatly appreciated when it comes to sensitive topics. If you’re unsure if your piece needs one, add it.  

Unpublished pieces only, please

We’re reasonable, though, so if it’s appeared on social media or a blog, we’ll consider it but please disclose this when you submit. 

Simultaneous submissions

YES. Definitely. We’re writers, we get it. Send your work out into the universe but please notify us immediately if it’s accepted elsewhere. 

Editing

Look, we’re not looking for perfection but please send us work that you want out in the world. While a couple of spelling or grammatical mistakes are understandable, work that will require significant editing will not be published. 

Compensation

Published authors and artists will receive a print edition of the issue they are published in. We’re hoping to be able to compensate contributors but unfortunately are unable to right now. 🙁 

Resubmitting

If your piece is not accepted, please wait one month before submitting again. Unless specifically requested, do not submit a piece that has already been turned down but edited. We understand that rejections suck and we try to include feedback or a personal response rather than those form rejections that can sometimes extra suck (and trigger imposter syndrome and rejection sensitivity dysphoria? No? Just us? Weird, but ok)

If your work is accepted, please sit one print issue out before you submit again.

Rights

We publish under First North American Serial Rights. We ask that you credit Waffle Fried as the first publisher when submitting or posting elsewhere.