WRITING FOR CROSSING GENRES

submission information and guidelines

This article is the most current reference for information on writing for Crossing Genres, what type of material we are looking for, and our submission guidelines. Please subscribe to Crossing Genres for the latest changes to these guidelines.

WHO WE ARE

Crossing Genres, or CG, is a politically progressive publication, home to written and photographic work in multiple styles, including poetics, free flow narrative prose, various styles of flash fiction, memoir, literary nonfiction, photo essay, op/ed pieces, and social justice theory.

We welcome new, emerging, and established writers; our current roster covers the full range of author experience, from first time published to seasoned writers with several novels under their belt. Provided the guidelines below are followed, we read and consider every submission sent to us. Women, writers of colour, and GLBTQ writers are especially encouraged to submit.

WHAT WE WANT

As our tag line says, intentional subversion is our only submission requirement. To most writers who would be a good fit with the publication, what we say above is in no way unclear. Defined broadly, that might mean well written, creative pieces that have something unique or important to say and are written from a progressive bent, often employing alternative or experimental writing styles and approaches, though this is not specifically required. A tighter definition might ask that you write something we don’t see often, something that makes us cheer, cry, belly laugh, or all of those. Attempt to peak our interest, blow our minds, turn us on, anger the fuck out of us, or shows us a way to become a better human. Do that in a unique style, or even a fucked up one that works, and you will no doubt be a great fit.

At the risk of appearing cynical, another way to think about what “intentional subversion” means is through what it doesn’t mean. In other words, we ask that your submission not be a manipulative, list based, click-centric piece of crap that tows the party line and makes a reader want to scratch their face off. Those pieces are far too prevalent and hold zero interest for us.

By far the best way to decide if your writing is appropriate for this or any other publication, is to spend some time reading the publication, checking out a number of published works by different authors in various styles. Ask yourself if your work would be a good fit standing alongside those pieces.

While we accept and publish submissions of all types, currently we are especially interested in social justice theory, memoir in various forms, poetics, and alternative or experimental writing.

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

For your work to be considered, it should be free of obvious mistakes and typos and be properly formatted with title and subtitle (if applicable) under your image.

1. If you are a prospective writer for CG, using the subject line FIRST SUBMISSION, please email us a short (200 words or less) bio and a link to your Medium draft. After review from our editorial team we will let you know the status of your submission within approximately seven to ten days.
2. If you are already a writer for CG, please submit your draft via the “…” button, then choose “add to publication.” Your piece will normally appear within 2 to 4 days, or you will receive an email letting you know our reasons for refusal (this is very rare). Depending on the volume of publishing at the time you submit, it may be up to 7 to 10 for your piece to appear. If you have not heard from us within 10 days of submission feel free to inquire via the CG email: crossingenres@gmail.com.
3. We do not accept word documents, in-line submissions, submissions via the mail service, or unsolicited inquiries on Twitter, Facebook, or any other social media venue. If you send a submission in this manner it will not be considered.
4. As we are a publication with a large number of regular writers, we like to keep submissions to no more than four per author per month, though we are flexible here. You are welcome to talk to us about special situations or projects and we will do our best to work something out.
5. We are interested in work that is under 6000 words. Any flash fiction submissions must be under 1000 words. Exceptions may be made with sole editorial discretion.
6. We are not accepting work that is currently appearing, or has previously appeared in a Medium publication. As is the policy with most all publications on Medium, publishing with CG then removing work and attempting to showcase it in another publication will result in permanent removal as a CG writer. We do accept work that has appeared on Medium independently (not in a publication). Work that has been published outside of Medium (blog, magazine, thesis etc.) will usually be accepted. Simultaneous submissions are always accepted. We ask that you please notify us immediately if your piece has been accepted elsewhere.
7. Please include an image relevant to content (how that is defined is solely up to you). The reason for the image requirement is specific to the page layout CG uses, since the full screen layout requires an image or the front page may not render correctly in some browsers. Until now, if an image was not included I would normally add a generic paper texture graphic. With the workflow of publishing increasing due to a greater number of submissions, unfortunately that is no longer possible. Therefore please remember to include an image with all submissions (ideally 1100 px wide, though any image equal or larger than your text width will do). If an image is not included, the submission will not be considered.
8. Layout and archiving options for Medium publications are severely limited. Therefore in order to keep your work on our homepage as long as possible, please adhere to the following. When tagging your piece you may use up to three tags in total, but please use only one CG section tag per submission. If more than one is used, the system reads that as an error and your work will not be placed in either section. The current CG section tags are: Poetry, Prose Poem, Flash Fiction, Opinion, Memoir, Social Justice, HIV, Alternate Form, Photojournalism, Creative Non Fiction, Serial Fiction.

PUBLICATION INFORMATION

If your piece is accepted, we may sometimes work with you to make sure it’s the best it can be before it appears in CG. CG will not make any edits to your work without prior approval, unless it is to add a photo, facilitate layout, or correct obvious typos.

At CG our goal is to publish seven to ten pieces per week, rarely less, and occasionally more. The specific length, style, and tone of work chosen will be intentionally diverse. As such, submissions are not published on a first received basis, thus time between submission acceptance and appearance on the homepage will be highly variable by necessity. If accepted, your work will normally appear on our homepage within 2 to 4 days, sometimes less, occasionally more.

WHAT WE ASK OF YOU

If you become a writer for Crossing Genres we would ask that you be generous in support of the publication and your fellow writers by:

1. Subscribing to the CG publication.
2. When you enjoy a fellow authors work, please show your appreciation through recommends, responses, and / or highlights.
3. If you have a Twitter account please follow the CG Twitter page below.

TO SUBMIT

Send a short (under 200 words) bio and a link to your draft to: crossingenres@gmail.com

If you have questions not answered in this guide, please feel free to email us at the above address.

We look forward to your submission.

Sincerely,

Allan G Rae (alto)
Editorial Director
Crossing Genres