Submission Guidelines
Pearl S. Buck Online Literary Journal – Volume 5 Issue No. 1, Spring 2020
Pearl S. Buck Online Literary Journal is a publication of The Writing Center. The journal is part of our ongoing mission to spread the literary legacy of Pearl S. Buck by aiding writers in their development and by giving them opportunities to be published. This call for submissions goes out to past and present PSB Writers Guild members, Writing Center workshop attendees & presenters and PSBVA volunteers.
Make sure your subject matter and language are suitable to be published by this Center.
Theme – The theme of each issue will be chosen from those found in Pearl S. Buck’s own writing.
Our Spring/Summer 2019 issue’s theme is Visions.
Here is a hint from Anne Kaler about two different meanings of the word “vision” as in sightedness, or as in “vision quest”:
In all arts, both vision and VISION intermingle. Indeed, both may exist at the same time and place in a character. Take Oscar Hammerstein’s lyrics for Nellie in South Pacific. When the bemused nurse questions herself, she sings of being a “cock-eyed optimist . . . I’m stuck like a dope with a thing called hope.” Or look how the lyricists of Man of La Mancha when the delusional Don Quixote sings of pursuing “the impossible dream.” Is his vision quest real? Probably not, given his time period, his age, and his mental health. Again, look at the mixture of vision and VISION that character represents.
Please remember to review your entry to be sure it fits within the stated theme.
Deadline / Number of Entries / Length Limits
Deadline is May 29th for the Spring 2020 issue.
Email the editors listed below by filling in the Submission Details (as shown below) on page 1 of your story/poem entry. Begin page 2 with your title, but do not repeat your name .
Submissions limited to five (5) poems or flash fiction (300 word limit each), or two (2) pieces of fiction, essay or memoir (5,000 word limit each); or short story (limit 3,000 words). When selecting the contents of the Journal, editors will try to limit entries to only two per author, preferably from different genres. Please accompany each separate submission with your Submission Details cover page.
Submission Details (print these four items only on Page 1 of all your submissions)
Title
Author
Genre
Word Count
(Begin Page 2 of your story/poem entry with the title only and don’t repeat your name.)
Submission Format
1) Format work in Times New Roman 12pt. with 1” left & right margins, singlespaced.
2) Editors will use the Chicago Manual of Style or the MLA Style Sheet to keep the Literary Journal uniform..
3) Submissions accepted online only. No hard copy submissions will be accepted.
4) Attach copy in an editable Word .doc file to your email.
5) Email to the appropriate editor shown below. Submissions will be acknowledged within 48 hours via email.
6) Keep a record of each submission, to whom sent, the acknowledgement of receipt, any subsequent edited and revised versions, and the final editors’ decision.
Editors
Dr. Anne K. Kaler – Fiction and Nonfiction at akkaler@verizon.net
Susan E. Wagner – Poetry at swagner001@gmail.com
Linda Donaldson – Memoirs and Essays at lindadonaldson@verizon.net
Judges
The following four editors will decide on the entries for each issue: Dr. Anne K. Kaler, Susan E. Wagner, Linda K. Donaldson, and Cynthia L. Louden. Acceptance notifications will be made by June 15th.
Pearl S. Buck Writing Center 