For over forty years, Dreamstreets has published works by
contemporary and historical writers and artists who live in, or have a strong
connection to, Delaware. While we have at times opened for submissions, we have
usually published work among a close-knit community of artists. We believe it
is time to regularize that practice with a clear submissions process and
publication twice per year, while occasionally publishing an extra and more
closely-curated number, such as our Summer 2018 issue
on the history of music from Wilmington in the 20th century.
What are we looking
for? First, Delaware authors, those residing here and those in the diaspora. We
like everything from avant-guard to home-spun. We like art that’s progressive
and authors who are diverse. About forty years ago, we declared that we would
not publish anything fascist, racist, or sexist, which set us somewhat apart,
yet we have never been afraid of being edgy. Our purpose has always been to
promote art that is marginalized by the insular esthetic of Delaware’s
political economy, not to mention its insular geography. Take a look at past
issues, archived at dreamstreetsarchive.com, but don’t limit yourself to what
you see there. See if you fit the Delawarean criteria, check our submission
guidelines, and submit.
Submission Guidelines (Read these carefully, or you may be ignored.)
We accept literary
submissions in any genre from Delawareans and those in the Delaware Diaspora. We
solicit our own visual art. Generally, we do not reprint previously published contemporary
work although one previously published poem in a sequence of unpublished poems
might be permissible; just make sure we know, so we can give credit. Our reading periods are during the months
of December and June, although we may announce changes. Anything received outside of these submission periods will not be
accepted or answered.
Send up to 5 poems of
no more than 5 pages. Prose more than 10 pages will have to work hard to find a
place. Begin no more than one poem on a page and make your stanza breaks clear. Send
your work to sleech(at)udel.edu as a single attached document in Microsoft Word
(.doc or .docx) and write “Submission” in the email subject heading. Include a
cover page with name, address, phone number, email and a short bio of 50 words
or less, and indicate your connection to Delaware. Double space prose, single
space poetry, use 12-pt Times New Roman font, and remove extra space between
paragraphs. Align text left, except for special or unusual typography, in which
case, we may have to work with you to render it faithfully.
Simultaneous
submissions are fine, but please let us know in your cover letter if you are
courting another and inform us immediately if your work becomes elsewhere engaged.
We reserve first serial rights until publication, when all rights revert to the
author. Our rights include electronic as well as print publication and magazine
re-prints. Please give Dreamstreets
credit if you re-publish your work.
Submit only once per
reading period in each genre unless we ask for more. Our editorial committee
will review your work and get back to you before the next issue.
“Go at it boldly, and
you'll find unexpected forces closing round you and coming to your aid.” -Basil
King
