Submission Guide
About:
Submissions are currently open!
This Side of West publishes an annual issue of UVic undergraduate writing and artwork in the spring. Our submission period opens November 1st and closes January 15th
This Side of West aims to uplift the writing and artwork of Black, Indigenous, and people of colour at UVic. BIPOC writers and artists are strongly encouraged to submit to TSOW.
Important Notes:
Each emailed submission should contain only ONE file (excluding visual art – see below). If you are submitting work in more than one genre (i.e. submitting fiction and petry), please submit separately to each respective genre’s email. Submissions that include more than one file will be rejected.
We accept simultaneous submissions. We only accept previously unpublished material.
If you must withdraw a submission, please reply to the original email (thissideofwest@gmail.com) and let us know.
Please allow at least 6 weeks before reaching out to confirm the status of your submission while our editors review.
Cover Letters:
Alongside your submission, please include a brief cover letter in the body of the email that includes your name, the title of your submission, and a short bio. Check out our Cover Letter Guidelines/Example if you do not know how to write a cover letter.
To respect the limited time of TSOW’s volunteer staff, submissions that do not follow our Submission Guidelines will be rejected.
Short Style Guide
- Use 12-point font.
- Use Times New Roman font.
- Double-space prose and single-space poetry and drama submissions.
- Include page numbers
- Name your file as FULL-NAME_TITLE_GENRE
- Submit your story as a PDF. or .docx file with the subject line: [GENRE] “[TITLE”] by [FULL NAME].
Fiction and Nonfiction
We publish short stories, flash fiction, personal essays, and other works of fiction and nonfiction that are 3500 words or fewer.
You may submit a maximum of one fiction piece and one nonfiction piece per submission period, regardless of word count.
Email fiction submissions to tsowfiction@gmail.com. You must also CC thissideofwest@gmail.com.
Email CNF submissions to tsowcreativenonfiction@gmail.com.
You must also CC thissideofwest@gmail.com.
Stage Plays and Screenplays
We publish stage plays, monologues, and screenplays that are 20 pages or less. You may submit excerpts, so long as they stand alone.
Additionally, please do not number your scenes. All scripts should be in industry-standard spec script format. While we are aware that this is not considered “proper” screenwriting formatting, this is the style that we have found easiest to read and publish.
If you have any concerns about formatting your screenplay, see the FAQ at the bottom of this page.
Email drama submissions to tsowdrama@gmail.com.
You must also CC thissideofwest@gmail.com.
Poetry
Email poetry submissions to tsowpoetry@gmail.com.
You must also CC thissideofwest@gmail.com.
Visual Art
We accept all forms of visual art.
You may submit up to 3 visual artworks. If you are submitting more than one work of visual art, please attach them all to one email. Please indicate whether your works are to be considered as a collection or as separate pieces in your cover letter.
Email visual art submissions to thissideofwest@gmail.com.
F.A.Q.
Still have a question?
Yes. UVic undergraduate students may submit to every genre. However, a given writer or artist are generally only published in one genre per issue.
Yes. All UVic undergraduate students are encouraged to submit to This Side of West, regardless of their major and classes.
We will notify all submitters about the status of their submission a few weeks after the main submission period closes. If you are not contacted within 6 weeks after submitting reach out via email to thissideofwest@gmail.com
This Side of West does not retain any rights to your work once it has been published in one of our issues. This Side of West places no restrictions on what you do with your work after you publish it with us, however some publishing venues may not accept previously published work.
No, This Side of West does not pay contributors. But, every writer and artist published in This Side of West is entitled to receive one free contributor copy.
Please email us at thissideofwest@gmail.com so we can assess if this is possible.
No, being solicited to submit to This Side of West does not ensure your submission’s acceptance.
Keep your head up and see the “Writing Resources” section of our website.