Invitation to Submit to Dreamstreets

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we do not reprint previously published contemporary work although one previously published poem in a sequence of unpublished poems might be permissible; just make sure we know, so we can give credit.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