Info about Submissions

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The Black Widow & The Brown Recluse

the Online Magazine of Writing Arts

of The Locker Room Writers & Thinkers Workshop

Honored as one of the top high school writers magazines

by the WordsWork network of WebdelSol

Info about Submissions

PLEASE READ: If you have questions please query first. Mass emailed or scattershot submissions will be rejected outright. Submissions which demonstrate an ignorance of our guidelines will be bounced as well. Submissions will be limited to students, mostly high school writers, with preference being given to students of Ingram Tom Moore High School, with whom we have a working relationship; however, students from other schools are encouraged to submit. Please include your hometown, state, country, age and name of your school, along with a bio that you would want published with your poetry, and a statement that the work you are submitting is your original work, and has not been published or submitted elsewhere. Thanks.

Submissions are acceptable from student writers by mail, e-mail or hand-delivery. Please understand that this journal is intended as a vehicle for student poets; "professional" poets and writers are published by invitation only (blind submissions will not be accepted). Cut and paste your work into an e-mail block. No attachments will be opened. Please limit poems to no more than five; send one story up to 3,000 words; it is okay to send works in both categories in a single submission. Other forms, or pieces outside the limits, may be considered -- please query. Do not send previously published works. We do not accept and will not post works simultaneously. Also attach a bio of about 100 words. We acquire first-time, one-time, online serial rights only, and assume no further copyright. Copyright reverts to the author immediately on publication. We respectfully request acknowledgment on republication.

If accepted, your work will be posted in the next issue unless we notify you otherwise. We reserve the right to make obvious corrections. Occasionally revisions may be suggested, and your acceptance of them may mean the difference in acceptance or denial. We will work with you as long as you work with us.

Hints for submitting acceptable work: We are not censors per se; believing absolutely in the freedom of speech that has allowed all intelligent people to impact the world; but we also believe in responsibility of speech. Because this magazine is a vehicle for students, we ask that you submit only works generally suitable for reading by (sometimes quite young) students. Foul language, images, or innuendo are generally not acceptable, but, when so, must serve a purpose. Gratuity in these matters will make the work unlikely to be published here without revision.

We DO want, and need, powerful language and usage, deep context and layered meaning, and serious attempts at enlightenment. Please don't send generic poetry about "life," "love," “loss,” “suicide,” "flowers," "butterflies," "clouds," “swans,” "rainbows," “God,” “god,” or spiritual “awakening,” or send us any other generic poetry that has nothing new to say. Those will surely not appear on this site. "My summer vacation" stories won't either. We may be young, but we ain't dumb. Tell us a story and make it real.

We do not do themes, though occasionally we have published devoted issues.

Poets and authors may be invited to read at various events sponsored by the Locker Room Writers & Thinkers Workshop. Past events have included readings at The Twig Poetry Series in San Antonio, The Texas Writers Conference, The Texas Book Festival at the State Capitol, The Kerrville Book Festival, Wolfmueller's Books, Tivy High School, and Schreiner University. Hard copies of certain anthologies are also occasionally printed. We are not otherwise engaged in book publication.

There is no payment other than publication online.

Good luck with your submissions. If you have any other questions please feel free to contact us.

E-mail all submissions to:

[email protected]

and questions to:

[email protected]

-- tony gallucci

editor, The Black Widow & The Brown Recluse

sponsor/mentor, The Locker Room Writers & Thinkers Workshop

excerpt from a letter to submitters September 2004

"let's get down to brass tacks. when this ezine began, i advertised it on some writers' sites in order to attract submissions. unfortunately some of those sites did not publish the additional info i sent along. as is the habit on the net, a number of other writers' sites have duplicated my entries ad infinitum. the result is that 9 out of 10 submissions i receive do not come close to meeting the simple criteria i set forth for even looking at work. so i immediately apologize to you if you have used your time and effort to send your work to me, only to find it won't even be considered here. it's no fault of yours.

here then, in short form are the critical needs to be accepted, with some additional info (full submission criteria are below). [and bless all of you who have discovered the professional method of querying - you will go far].

*this is an online magazine. i do not publish collections, chapbooks or books (except for occasional anthologies of works from the magazine). [i also do not visit websites to read or “choose” works for use. if they're posted on a website, then, in parlance, they're published already, and no longer eligible for BW&BR.]

*this is a student vehicle. i publish ONLY students. most of you will not have known that from where you found my listing. but PLEASE, it is intended to give budding (meaning young - say 10 to 23 yo, experimenting) writers a shot at publishing. i don't cotton to those who, once they find this is a student vehicle, insist on trying to convince me “i'm a student of life” or “i'm studying cooking at community ed”. please, that just speaks of desperation - find another vehicle. for those of you who simply didn't know, again i apologize.

these are some things that also prevent some folks from getting accepted, at least in a timely fashion, simply because they infringe on my deadline, and the maintenance of your own rights:

*the work you submit must be unpublished and unsubmitted elsewhere, and you must provide me with a statement to that effect.

*submit a bio as well, including the name of your school, your year of study, and what you're studying, and any other info you think you'd like folks to know about you."