We've reopened to submissions for Issue 7, and will be open for another month or so, until it's time to dive into copy-editing Issue 6.  (Exact dates to be announced.)  We've got some great contributions on the Issue 7 shortlist, but we're looking for more, to round it out and make it the best issue we can. 

What are we still looking for?  Well, anything GUD, of course, but one thing that's especially on our wishlist is a little more cultural variety.  It's part of our general mission to put out something different and eclectic, something that challenges traditional boundaries and makes our readers (and us!) think about the world in new ways. 

It's a sad truth that English-language literary magazines (at least those based in the U.S.), when they're purportedly intended for a general, ethnically diverse audience, tend to default to a single, homogeneous cultural aesthetic.  That's been changing lately, and we like to think we're an important part of that change, but we're up against the fact that a majority of the fiction we receive for consideration is written by and/or about white Americans, in a white-American style.  And a lot of those submissions are great; we're happy to get them.  But there's also a lot of great work out there by and/or about people who aren't white Americans, and we'd like to put more of it in the pages of GUD Magazine.  That has to start with getting more of it in our slushpile.

So what are we saying here?  If you're a writer of color, or a writer from somewhere outside the U.S., Canada, the UK, Australia, etc., or any writer who undertakes to break out of (or just break) the dominant white American/Western-European cultural aesthetic, please give us a try!  It's not an easy in for anybody -- publishing four hundred pages a year, our acceptance rates are bound to be low -- but we'd really like to see a greater variety of what's out there.  And if you know any (other) such writers and you think their work might be a good fit for GUD, please send them our way.
 

4 comments; 6 subscribers

Wednesday, January 27, 2010 / 07:02:41

AHJennings

This is a great message to send. I'll tell everyone I know. As a writer of color who was born and raised overseas, I sometimes feel like I'm writing from a perspective that goes against the aesthetic of a lot of the markets.

 

Tuesday, February 23, 2010 / 08:26:19

ondraya

I also appreciate this message. I am a writer of color and have material I'd like to submit, but wonder how long Issue 7 will remain open for submissions?

 

Tuesday, February 23, 2010 / 08:29:54

kaolin

Issue 7 has actually been rolled over to Issue 8 now for fiction and poetry, but consider it an on-going call in terms of seeking a non-homogeneous cultural aesthetic. :)

 

Monday, July 26, 2010 / 09:15:30

Sinibaldi

El sonido de los sentimientos.

La noche me
llama, dulce
y llena de pasión;
escucho el aire
pasar suavemente
donde un vivo
destino cubre
la rima y la
timida suerte,
duermo en el
sueño de una
triste canción....

Francesco Sinibaldi