Anomaly Literary Journal: Issue 3 is coming later this month. In our first two issues we have striven to curate a journal that is stocked full of the most talented literary voices we can find- Zelda Chappel, Scherezade Siobhán, Ace Boggess, Jack Warren, Thomas Stewart, Laura Pavlo, Lindsay Parnell, Grant Tarbard, Morgaine Merch Lleud and Luis Neer to name a few. Artwork and photography have been integral to the journal from the outset featuring artists and photographers such as Sofia Monika Swatek, Gabrielle Montesanti, David Reali and Erik Brede.

Issue 3 is pushing the boat out even further. As well as up and coming poets and writers, we are joined by well established names on the literary scene and are very proud to present poetry from Vona Groarke, Kevin Higgins and Blas Falconer. Our artwork this issue comes from non other than Alyam Moser, descendent of American painter James McNeill Whistler, whose work is of such arresting talent one art college told him simply ‘Go paint’, as they had nothing more they could teach him. It is our biggest and best issue yet and we are delighted to present it later this month.

We are already accepting submissions in all categories for Issue 4 next March. We look forward to reviewing even more poetry, fiction, nonfiction, artwork and photography and we very much hope readers enjoy Issue 3 (we’d highly recommend reading to see the flavour and style of the journal) and and get submitting!

We read submissions all year round. If you miss a deadline, your work will automatically be considered for the next issue.

Please take care to submit according to our guidelines. Unfortunately, we are not in a position to pay our contributors at present. If you are submitting for the first time, please ensure you have read all our guidelines in full.

Before submitting please take some time to have a read through of Anomaly Literary Journal: Issue 1 &Issue 2 to familiarise yourself with the various styles of work we are looking for. They should be a good indicator of the styles of poetry, fiction and non-fiction we like- as well as artwork.

We are now accepting submissions in all categories for Issue 4 in Spring ’17.

For poetry:

We ask that you send a cover letter with a brief bio, with up to ten poems in an attachment (.doc, .docx, .rtf, formats please or if you prefer, in the body of the email. Whatever is easiest for you. Just no PDF files and do not double space). Poems are not limited to a particular length, though we do ask you be reasonable. However should the poem be 150 lines long and a piece of brilliance, we will take a look. Five or more poems is best as it gives us a broader understanding of your work.

Please, for the love of all that’s decent and holy, give the poetry in past issues a read through to ensure you’re submitting the kind of poetry we prefer to read.

We want poets who are serious about their work, who have worked long and hard to develop themselves. We want to see that even a line break is done for a reason- not just because it looks good, and that each word needs to be there. We love poetry that is written to be read aloud. Assonance, alliteration, vivid imagery, metaphor- you name it, we relish it.

We can, if you ask us and we have the time, respond with constructive criticism. However this will only be our humble opinion and we are fast to state that we do not think you are under any obligation to follow our suggestions. If you ask for our opinion and we give it, don’t come crying to us after the fact. We can’t always provide this but will aim to do so if time permits.

For fiction:

Again, no more than six pieces per submission (as an attachment) and include a cover letter, and a short bio. Please try to adhere to a reasonable word count, I’m afraid due to time and effort, this will have to be limited to an absolute maximum of 2,000-5,000 words per piece. Again, no PDF files and do not double space your submission, please. Structure it as you would see it structured in a book. It saves us a lot of time.

Any and all subjects are welcome but again, like poetry submissions, we will take only the highest quality no matter what the style. As with non-fiction, if we feel certain areas need to be subject to editing (which is what we do) we may make small cuts or edits where we think necessary, but nothing major and certainly nothing that takes away from the piece as a whole.

Flash fiction is accepted but we tend be rather picky but by all means send your best!
Non-fiction/Commentary:

There are no rules for biographical non-fiction, except adherence to a word-count of between 2,000-5,000 words on any topic and up to three submissions at once.

As for non-fiction commentary, whether social, literary or political, we’re going to be a bit more reserved on what we accept with this. Social commentary- like opinion pieces- are fine as long as they are informed. If you’re submitting pieces to us about say, as an example, mental health, we expect that you have first-hand experience of such as either someone with a mental illness or as a professional who works in that particular field. And that’s just an example by the way, not a request but by all means something we welcome very much.

However, under the header of ‘commentary’, there is most definitely room for social commentary pieces in the line of something similar to Maeve Brennan’s The Long Winded Lady columns for The New Yorkerthroughout the 50’s and 60’s- or something similar. We’re not adverse to the idea of a running column within the journal, if any journalists or writers out there feel they have something that might be of interest in that vein. Again, it goes without saying, we can’t afford to pay anyone.

Art submissions:

Any artists with some decent experience (or none if it’s good!) are welcome to send their work and a profile of themselves, their work, their themes etc (but this is not necessary, it’s entirely up to you). We are open to all styles of artwork, please ensure it is a high resolution however- it makes our lovely Joseph Birdsey’s job much easier!

Please send a minimum of six pieces (we’d prefer more than that) with a cover letter, detailing your work, your experience (whatever that may be) and a little bit about yourself. We are accepting anything from paintings, photography, sketches, screens, you name it we are open to it. We can’t stress enough that the artwork is just as important to us as the literary side of the journal, we don’t see it as additional but integral.

We require that submissions of artwork or photography be sent in large files at as high a resolution as possible, that way if it’s accepted Jo Birdsey doesn’t need to ask Lorcán to ask the artist or photographer to please send us higher res images and we don’t have to sit waiting, unable to put an issue together while we wait for the artist or photographer to email them back. It’s a small thing but it’s extremely important!

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Simultaneous submissions are fine as long as the amount of them is reasonable, and as long as you notify us immediately if your work is picked up elsewhere.

If you’ve been sensible and have submitted to a small number of other publications at the same time as you submit to us but another publication accepts, notify us but please be aware this does not necessarily rule you out for publication with Anomaly– we feel this expands the author’s reader base and for us, it is not a reason for exclusion as long as it does not infringe upon the other journal’s rights. It is entirely up to you, the author, to inform us of this.

We are hesitantly willing to accept previously published pieces, given that the original publication’s first rights (and please state where it was first published) have expired. In my experience, this is rare and usually constitutes a year but we will give first publication credits to the place of first publication should this be the case. However, we expect that you will employ this judiciously. Do not submit several pieces in one submission where all of them have been previously published, the percentage rate of previously published pieces that are accepted for publication over-all is not huge,  and we assume you can exercise some common sense on this one. If you’re submitting pieces that have been published elsewhere, include something unpublished for balance. We don’t mind reprints if the work is exceptional but they are absolutely not a priority.

All rights remain with the author at all times but upon publication we reserve the right to the non-exclusive, royalty-free and perpetual license to use and display your work, either online or in print including, without limitation, promoting and redistributing part or all of the site. The rights remain with the author. Despite how that sounds this is not terribly unusual and anyway that’s unlikely and we will always ask the author!

Please send submissions as outlined above to:anomalylit@gmail.com

We actively nominate writers for both the Best of the Net and the Pushcart Prize.

Thank you and we look forward to reading your submissions. Find out more here https://anomalyliterary.squarespace.com/