Open Arts Forum is both a journal and community of the creative arts. We welcome submissions from writers, artists, photographers, musicians, and other creatives. Our editors work across the creative genres, and writers and artists we have published can also help bring strong work to our attention. There is no fee to submit.
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How to Submit Work
Submit your work through the submission forum. If you are not yet a member, create a free account first. Post your work in the appropriate submission section; no cover letter or formal manuscript formatting is required.
The forum is OAF’s submission board as well as a working creative community. Your submission is available to our editors for consideration, and other members may read and respond to it. Established members can also nominate work they believe deserves front-page publication.
Submissions are visible only to editors and registered members, not to the public or search engines. If a work is selected for publication, it is then published separately on the public Open Arts Forum site.
What We Look For
OAF is a literary and arts publication, not a general creative-writing showcase. We look for accomplished, publication-ready work with a distinctive voice and a strong command of craft.
We are open to a wide range of subjects, forms, and approaches. In poetry, conventional rhyming verse, inspirational verse, and formulaic poetry are generally not a fit.
We welcome work from both established and emerging writers and artists. Publication history is less important to us than the quality of the work.
There are no fixed length limits unless a particular call states otherwise.
Previously Published Work
We generally prefer work that has not previously appeared in another journal, book, or other edited publication. Work shared in a private workshop or members-only forum is not considered published.
If a work has appeared elsewhere and you believe it may still be appropriate for OAF, please tell us where it first appeared when you submit it.
Editorial Consideration
Posting work does not guarantee publication. Our editors regularly review submissions and select work for the public site. Because OAF combines a submission system with an active creative community, editorial consideration does not take place through a conventional private submission queue.
You retain control over work posted in the submission forum, including the ability to remove it.
Simultaneous Submissions
We accept simultaneous submissions. If a work you have submitted to OAF is accepted for publication elsewhere before we publish it, please let us know.
Rights
Your work remains your work.
Posting a work in the submission forum gives Open Arts Forum permission to display it within the members-only submission area. If we select the work for publication, you grant Open Arts Forum permission to publish and archive it on our public site and, where appropriate, to feature or promote it through OAF publications, newsletters, and social media.
You retain copyright to your work. If the work is subsequently published elsewhere, we appreciate acknowledgment of its first publication in Open Arts Forum.