Call for Submissions: Relief, a Christian Literary Expression

15 August 2010
Call for Submissions: Relief, a Christian Literary Expression
Deadline: 1 September 2010
Geographical coverage:
Reading Fee: none
Accepts (genre): poetry, short stories
Prize/Payment: cash prize (to be determined) will be awarded to “Editor’s Choice”

What is Relief looking for?

We are looking for original, unpublished poetry and stories that reflect reality. In terms of scope, the door is wide open, but still has some boundary. A decent yardstick is the Bible. Not the churchized version, but the real, gritty scripture: Noah drank too much; Moses committed murder; David committed adultery, then tried to put his life back together; David’s daughter was horribly raped; poets expressed real doubt and exhilarating praise in the Psalms; Solomon spoke beautifully and unapologetically about sex; Jesus made fun of religious leaders, faced betrayal by a friend but still spoke highly of friendship, stared death down; Paul and Peter argued about race…

Christian authors need not only write expressly about God, faith, and church. When Christ says “I send you out as a sheep among wolves,” he doesn’t say that we should shut our eyes and pretend they do not exist. Relief is not opposed to stories about Christ or faith, and it is also not opposed to stories about raw, gritty, beautiful life. We are looking for pieces that push the envelope; however, work that is gratuitously obscene or that has a message in clear contradiction with scripture will not be considered.



Short Fiction
Stories should not exceed 8,000 words. An author can submit up to THREE stories per reading period. Simultaneous submissions are accepted, but please withdraw your piece immediately if it is accepted elsewhere.

Poetry
Poetry should not exceed 1000 words. An author can submit up to FIVE poems per reading period. Simultaneous submissions are accepted, but please immediately withdraw your piece if it is accepted elsewhere. We are looking for poetry that is well-written and makes sense.

Creative Non-Fiction
Creative Non-Fiction should not exceed 5,000 words. An author can submit up to THREE pieces per reading period. Simultaneous submissions are accepted, but please withdraw your piece immediately if it is accepted elsewhere.

Relief’s Formatting Requirements:

* Use a basic 12pt font like Times, Ariel, Helvetica, etc.
* Double space your fiction and creative nonfiction manuscripts (poetry can be spaced as appropriate for the poem.)
* In the document’s header, please include your name, the name of the work you are submitting, and the page number (if the document is only one page, this may not be necessary).
* Make sure the title, your name, and your contact information, especially your email address, are on the first page of the document, along with a word count for fiction and creative nonfiction or line count for poetry.
* Though you may submit up to 5 poems, Poems should be submitted separately so that they can be reviewed separately.
* Poems that continue onto a second page should include a note of either “continued with stanza break” or “continued without stanza break.”

If you have already submitted your work, we will not reject anything solely based on its formatting; however, if you would like to make some quick formatting changes, you can edit your document. Click on “Edit Details” next to the appropriate submission, then click on “browse” to submit your revision, then “update” to make the change.

How to Submit

We have established an online submisison system that will make the submission process easy for everyone. The new system will streamline the process so that we can evaluate submissions more quickly. There is no need for costly envelopes and postage!

We do not accept submissions through email or regular mail. We will not consider nor return submissions sent in these fashions.

The Process

The Relief 2.0 strategy has improved how work is submitted. Here’s the process:

1. Create an account on the Relief Writers Network. Click Here to jump to it.
2. After creating an account, log in and click on Submit Work.
3. Fill out the form, attach your document in Microsoft Word (.doc) or Rich Text Format (.rtf) only!!!! If you try to upload any other format, the system will not accept it! If the editors cannot open your file, they can’t read it, and it will be summarily dismissed! Then, you will email the editors, because you are sad, and didn’t read the instructions. The editors will then tell you to read the instructions on this page. Then, you will be happy, because you will save your work in one of those two formats and be able to upload your work.
4. Mac Users: You have to add the .doc or .rtf extension on the end of the file name.
5. You can go back and check on your work anytime in the Relief Writers Network by clicking on the Check Work link at the top of the page . You will receive an email and you’ll also get an status update on the work submission itself.

Coach has built a keen little video to walk you through the process. Click here to view it.
Submission Period

Relief has two submission periods:

November 1 to March 1 → Spring Issue (published by May 15)
May 1 to September 1 → Fall Issue (published by November 15)

Accepted Work

Authors of accepted work will be notified as to which issue the work will be appearing in. At the time of acceptance, authors will be sent a publication agreement. By accepting the work, we are assuming first publication rights, but authors will retain all future rights. Some pieces from each issue will be excerpted on the website as promotion for the issue. By agreeing to publication, authors also agree to allow this promotional excerpt to be published online.

At this time, only “Editor’s Choice” for each genre will be compensated; however, every author of accepted work will receive a complimentary contributor’s copy.

Each issue will be printed in perfect-bound format with a glossy full color cover and will be available to purchase directly from us as well as online at Amazon.com and other venues as they become available. Subscriptions are also available.

Compensation

Relief is a non-profit journal running on a very small budget. Authors will experience the joy of being published in an issue of a cutting edge Christian event. Each contributor will receive a complimentary copy of the issue, and a cash prize (to be determined) will be awarded to “Editor’s Choice” in each genre as long as funds are available. When funds are low, the honor will still be given and the authors receiving the Editor’s Choice Awards will receive two contributor’s copies and extra congratulations.

More information here.
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