SubMission Guidelines

We accept previously unpublished original poems, short stories, and visual art by black women artists and writers. We do not accept novel extracts, essays, reviews or translations. We are only able to accept English language submissions at the moment, but hope to accept submissions in other languages in future. Simultaneous submissions are permitted.

Email all submissions to sumbissions@saartjiejournal.org. You may submit multiple genres at a time. Present all written submissions in one document per genre and include your name and email on each page. Please include the title(s) and genre(s) of your submissions in the subject line and a brief cover letter and third-person biography in the body, mentioning previously published work if applicable. Refer to the following template for further guidance:

“Subject: [Genre] Submission: [Title], [Title]; [Genre] Submission: [Title], [Title];

Dear Editors,

I have attached [Title], [Title], [Title] and [Title] for publication in The Saartjie Journal.

Thank you for taking the time to view my work.

Kind regards,

[Name]

Bio:

[Name] is a writer/artist from [Location]. Their work has appeared in [Publication] and [Publication].”

The Saartjie Journal is a not-for-profit publication and neither charges for submissions nor pays contributors. Your work remains yours, but we reserve first serial, digital and archival rights upon publication.

We aim to notify submitters of a decision within 1 to 2 weeks.

POEMS

You may submit a maximum of three poems per issue. Poetry submissions must be in PDF format.

SHORT STORIES

Short stories must be between 1,500 and 5,000 words and are limited to one story per author. Short story submissions must be in PDF format.

VISUAL ART

We accept traditional and digital paintings and illustrations. You may submit a maximum of three artworks per issue in JPEG format or PDF format.