BODY OF WORK 

How does the body survive? Nourish itself? Heal and expand? The methods are tangible. Our bodies: of water, of skin, of work. Its multitudes and border-defying forms. Its movements, desires, loves. Of course, there are forces that would want to ensnare us, dim our brilliancy. We work against it. We work to live. And there’s evidence of that. We want to see it. 

This issue explores the body as a site of memory. We are interested in how, over time, our flesh becomes a recollection of triumph and trauma. Our bodies are both evidence of our constant evolution and a signal of the home we create within ourselves. It is an archive of first kisses, bruised knees, our favorite meals, long nights dancing, afternoons languishing away, hours given to lovers and strangers and bosses. Through movement, we can wield our bodies as weapons. We can raise our fists, march on streets, become instruments of change.  

Where does the body end and its labor begin? Who, or what, gets to define our bodies? Under capitalism, the worth of a body is defined by its capacity for labor. How much a body can produce, how well, how fast, for how long. We are interested in art that speaks beyond this definition of worth and expands our possibilities for what labor and work might mean. Embodied experiences form the work of our lives. What are our abilities and how might they change over time? We are propelled by the capacity of the body as executor, as lover, as fighter. Body as our protest, our worship, our care, our joy, our living. 

As the past few years of legislation has revealed, our bodies are also a site of conflict, a landscape in which the state attempts to intervene. In light of resurgent and dangerous transphobic rhetoric in our statehouse and others, we are especially interested in body-centered work from trans, nonbinary, and gender non-conforming artists. What might it mean to have a body on the margins—a body that hostile legislators seek to regulate, obstruct, and erase? Bodily autonomy, whether expressed through the holiness of queer and trans bodies or the sacredness of reproductive justice, becomes an integral site of our collective liberation. 

For this year’s themed issue, we seek to create a collective body of work that speaks to the infinite possibility of our bodies. We want to see your multitudes, you in conversation with yourself, with your body, your work, your body (of) work. We want to hear especially from our trans writers and artists. From our writers and artists of color. From working class writers and writers with disabilities. We are the vocal majority. 

- Submissions for the themed issue will be open through May 31

- Please limit poetry submissions to 3 – 5 poems (up to 10 pages) grouped in a single .doc or .pdf document.
- For nonfiction,  we don't typically publish work over 6,000 words and often love a tight essay of 3-5,000, as well as much shorter flash pieces.  

- All fiction submissions should be double-spaced, Times New Roman. We are happy to consider self-contained excerpts of novels and long stories, but please note that historically it is unusual for us to publish stories longer than 8,000 words. If you are submitting flash fiction, you are welcome to submit up to three 1000-word stories in a single .doc or .pdf document.  

Simultaneous submissions are accepted, but we ask that you notify us of this at the time of submission. We do not accept previously published work. Multiple submissions are not accepted and will not be read or responded to; please wait until you receive a response from us before submitting again. Please withdraw submissions using the online submission system. For withdrawals of a single poem from a packet, there is no need to withdraw the entire submission; simply leave a comment on your submission via the submission manager.






 

Based in Columbus, Ohio, The Journal is committed to celebrating the incredible work of Ohio writers and artists. From Toni Morrison to Hanif Abdurraqib, Ohio has long been home to some of the most groundbreaking American writers. The Journal is proud to exist within such a vibrant literary community, past and present, and it is our mission to help give a platform to the voices shaping Ohio's future. 

While general submissions open during the Fall and Spring, we welcome submissions from Ohio-based writers and artists year round! In an effort to increase access and opportunities for Ohioans, we are committed to publishing local writers and artists in every issue. Thank you, in advance, for sharing your work with us, and building community together.

In the title of your submission, please indicate what genre you are submitting. 

We are looking for fresh, surprising work that impresses us with its technique and technical control. We want poems with heart (emotional clarity and complication) and brains (theoretical engagement, logic and metaphors that stand up to further contemplation, mastery of syntax and diction). We are committed to publishing underrepresented voices, and we also appreciate work in which the author has a stake: poems that feel both true and necessary. Put simply, we are looking for poems that we would be happy to read over and over again, poems in which we could appreciate new meanings, details, and connections each time.

Please limit poetry submissions to 3 – 5 poems (up to 10 pages) grouped in a
single .doc or .pdf document.

Simultaneous submissions are accepted, but we ask that you notify us of this at the time of submission. We do not accept previously published work. Multiple submissions are not accepted and will not be read or responded to; please wait until you receive a response from us before submitting again.
 

Please withdraw submissions using the online submission system. For withdrawals of a single poem from a packet, there is no need to withdraw the entire submission; simply leave a comment on your submission via the submission manager.

Our current issue features fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and artwork from: Stephanie Burt, Abigail Carlson, Victoria Chang, Jamaal May, Mandy Shunnarah, Lee Welch, & Rose Zinnia