Submission Guidelines

We have moved our submissions to submittable. Please submit through our page https://antonymmag.submittable.com/submit/192500/antonym-submission

Do not send your submissions to anymore. We do not accept submissions through postal services.

The Antonym Submission Categories

Fiction

While there are no length restrictions, longer manuscripts (3000 words or above) or “flash fiction” manuscripts (500 words or less) must be truly exceptional to be published. We recommend writers familiarize themselves with fiction from previous issues before submitting. We are also committed to translated fictions and encourage such submissions.

Poetry

Send up to five poems (in a single document) per submission. We are also interested in translations of poems not published in English yet

Insight

We accept literary essays, creative non-fictions and in-depth analysis of a poet or writer’s work (including whose work has been mostly in languages other than in English). Length restriction of 3000 words apply.
We also accept translated nonfictions as long as the English version is not published in any other media.
In addition, we also accept a fleshed-out outline of your essay idea and an estimated word count. If we are interested on that topic, Editor will reach out to the submitter

Bookworm

We seek detailed book reviews; word limit is 1000-2500 words. We can also accept book reviews as podcast. We encourage reviews of translated books.
In addition, you can also submit request for reviews of books. In such requests, please provide softcopy of the book for our reviewers to take up.

Montage

Montage section is for poems, flash fiction or very short essays/comments along with appropriate photographs. Our guideline is 3-10 photos max. For flash fiction or essays accompanying photos, a word limit of 500 words will apply.

Artscape

In The Antonym, we feature one artist every month along with the artist interview. Six of the artist’s work are featured as covers for different sections of the magazine. Artists can submit their bios and few work example for us to consider.
Apart from this, we also accept review of artwork, essays on art in text as well as commentary in video format.

Voices

Voices feature audio/videos of poetry performances in English or any other languages. Recommended duration is 3 minutes. We need a short write up to accompany the submission. For a performance in a language other than English, apart from the write up, we also encourage translation of the poem but it is not a mandatory ask.

General submission is open all year through. However, apart from general contents, The Antonym focuses on a topic every monthly cycle which we call Front and Center. Please review the Front and Center topics lined up for next few months each of which has a deadline for submission.

Front and Center Topics

(There are some changes in the dates recently, please take note)

Dreams and Nightmares – On a razor’s edge (July - August 2021)

Refugees tread a tight path straddling both dreams and nightmares. Crawling, slithering, along the edge of a straight razor. There are heartbreaks, separation and a long wait for acceptance any way all in one lifetime. We will look for literary expressions that are shaped and inspired by such individual and collective memories.

Submission Deadline – 15th June,2021

Unheard Voices – Expression of Identities ( September- October 2021)

Folktales have been a part of the social and cultural life of all indigenous people regardless of whether they were sedentary agriculturists or nomadic hunters. As they gathered around a fire at night, the tribes could be transported to another world through the talent of a good storyteller. The effect was derived not only from the novelty of the tale itself but also from the imaginative skill of the narrator, who often added gestures and songs and occasionally adapted a particular tale to suit a certain culture. This topic will explore works by indigenous artists, writers and poets negotiating cultural, social and political identities through art and literature.

Submission Deadline – 30th July, 2021

Mobility and Displacement – Sun Rises in the West (November -December 2021)

Economies shift, new centers of power and wealth beckons people looking for greener pastures. Often those migrants come from nations with long memories to states with short histories. In addition to exile or emigration, the migrant also experience expulsion from the land of memory itself. The new immigrants in a balancing act try to live two lives, one they want to go towards and the other, they do not want to leave behind. The literary works by immigrants try to reclaim that lost historical link and feel the void.

Submission Deadline – 30th September, 2021

Mythical Memories – Tales with Wings (January-February 2022)

In all cultures, children grow up listening to myths, folktales and fairy tales, told time and again by the grandparents.  Or the oldest man of the village sits under the star spangled sky and recounts the stories of his life, of the lives of his ancestors, how did he killed a tiger or tame an elephant. The Villagers hear him attentively. Some of his tales spread wings, flying from one village to the other. Myth are created. Art and literature is inspired by or in some way draws from the tropes, themes and symbolism of myth, legend, folklore, even fairy tales.

Submission Deadline – 30th November, 2021

Maze of Mystery –Hunt for Unknown ( March -April 2022)

The term mystery comes from the Latin mysterium, meaning “a secret thing.” Mysteries are important because they feature topics that are usually both fascinating and troubling to the human mind—unsolved crimes, unexplained questions and events in natural and human history, shadowy memories, supernatural curiosities, and so on.

Submission Deadline – 31st January, 2022

Truth and Reconciliation – Post Conflict Reckoning (May-June 2022)

When war is over, literature can help us make sense of it all. Ours is an era of “new wars” in which political violence is protracted. Today’s wars are more often intra-state affairs. Contemporary examples are as in Kashmir, Syria, Bosnia, and Egypt to recall few relatively recent strife. Post conflict literature brings truth and reconciliation, post-traumatic memory, historical reckoning and therapeutic storytelling.

Submission Deadline – 31st March, 2022

General Guidelines

We do not consider work that has appeared elsewhere (this includes all Web sites, sharing the content in audiovisual medias and personal blogs) unless we have specifically invited such writings.

Formatting Your Manuscript

All manuscripts should be in 12-point type, with at least one-inch margins, and sequentially numbered pages. Fiction and nonfiction should be double-spaced. Poetry should be single-spaced. The author’s name, address, telephone number, and email address should be typed at the top of the first page. Contributors are requested to include a brief biographical note and a photo with their submissions.

File name should have  Title of the content.

Spelling and Grammar 

The Antonym prefers American usage/grammar/spelling.  If a writer uses current British English and there is a clear reason for the use , that can be considered though. In that case the writer should mention the same while submitting.

If required, the editors can ask the writer to have the content edited/corrected and send it back with corrections.

As for deliberately using wrong spelling in poetry, there should be a stylistic or logical reason for purposefully doing that. The writer should mention the same while submitting.

Timing

General Submissions may be sent to us at any time, year-round. For each Front and Center topic , there is individual deadlines.

Simultaneous Submissions

We accept simultaneous submissions. We want writers to have every possible opportunity for success, so we’re willing to risk losing a story we want when someone at another magazine may have done their reading before we have, and in that case we’ll be sorry to lose the piece but happy for the writer. We expect the writer to immediately inform us if their piece is already accepted somewhere else. However if we have selected your content and informed you, we would not expect your withdrawal. If that happens, any future submission may not be considered.

Republishing

In case you plan to submit your content  already published in our webzine for any other webzine or printed magazine, you are advised to seek our permission ahead of the same.  In this subsequent publication, you need to expressly mention  publishing details with The Antonym.

Response Time

It may take upto three months for selecting a submission. You will be able to see the progress of your submissions through your submittable account. You will receive mail from us on receipt, acceptance or denial.

 

Last Updated on 13th April 2021