Editor Interviews
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Read all the editors' answers to Duotrope's interview question: Describe the ideal submission. Learn more.
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Here is a small sampling from our recent Editor Interviews. We have interviewed over 2,125 editors.
Q: Describe the ideal submission.
A: The ideal first chapter will make us crave the rest of the novel.
A: Legible font. Organized—whether it’s fifty poems or a single, book-length poem (yes, we love those, too). Surprising in how it does its work. Probably not heavily end-rhymed!
A: It can't be put down and makes us put together ideas that surprise us on every page thereafter. Make us get excited for when a character wipes his nose or ties his shoe. An ideal submission makes us bask in every small happening.
A: Something that leaps out. Something that generates an instant response.
A: I don't really think our contest ethos has an ideal submission. The promise our contest makes is to keep looking for something new, for what is next.
Our contest is not opposed to the sleek, weaponized manuscripts that MFA's hone and then release in packs but it is also not opposed to the fresh manuscript that does not understand all the rules it is breaking.
A: Our ideal submission is an intentionally crafted full-length manuscript of poems that embodies the author's own unique voice. We publish poetry across a wide range of styles, from verse in traditional forms to highly experimental work. Lean in to what makes your voice your own!
A: The Wise Owl Team believes in giving everyone an equal shot at publication, based solely on the quality of their work. We favour work that is original, fresh and innovative. We only accept work that has not been published before. We would request our contributors to take a few minutes to read our Contributor Guidelines ( https://www.thewiseowl.art/contributor-guidelines) before you submit. Submissions may be sent to [email protected]
A: An ideal submission is creative, depicts people as fully-fledged individuals, and contributes to anthropological knowledge about what it means to be human.
A: A moving, unique expression of a personal journey.
A: Ones that follow our submission guidelines.
A: A striking, memorable, and thoughtful work that makes me want to either reread, if it's a written work, or stop and stare, if it's visual art, any time I see it.
A: The ideal submission shows us something new– a new form, a new subject, a new combination of words. We don’t want to simply read your truth; we want to see it refracted into its disparate pieces and molded into what it should have been all along. We want you to show us how solid surfaces are fluid, and in doing so, to reveal something truly permanent beneath the clamor.