The submission deadline for our quarterly-issues of Black Oak Presents for 2010 is:
February 6, 2010

General Guidelines

Black Oak Media will not be accepting book length submissions at this time.

Guidelines for the magazine Black Oak Presents

All submissions should be focused on reflective, informative, folkish (but not kitsch), or artistically creative material.  Although we include material encompassing all aspects of life, we will not judge banal subjects, fan fiction, or erotica very positively. Please submit all written works in .doc or .rtf format, and all visual (art or photography) as .jpg format.

Things to ask yourself prior to submission:

1. Does the presentation of my work reflect a desire to see it published?
2. Have I accompanied my work with a query letter (in the body of the e-mail), including a short (2-3 lines) bio?
3. Have I attached my work to my e-mail as a separate file?

Fiction: Fiction should be somewhere between 1,500 and 5,000 words, and follow the general guidelines.  We accept experimental, horror, suspense, supernatural, detective, action, adventure, urban, and sci/fi as long as the stories have an interesting or unique angle.  Of course, stories that combine genres are more than welcome too.

Non-fiction: Non-fiction and essays should be somewhere between 2,000 and 5,000 words and pertain to issues currently left out of the mainstream discourse.  Sources should be cited in an appropriate manner (using any of the established forms).  Plagiarism of any kind will not be tolerated, although any suspicions of plagiarism will be discussed with the writer.  Any works that have committed plagiarism will be rejected.

Poetry: Poetry should be no more than 30 lines in length.

Art and photography: Art and photography should follow the general guidelines.  Do not submit more than 3 prints within a 3-month period (the magazine is quarterly).  If submitting via e-mail, the jpeg files should be no larger than 1500x2000 pixels.  Also, please include a title for the work, and a brief description of what each work represents.

Reviews should be around 600-700 words in length and pertain to movies, music, artwork, or books that are of similar subject matter to the material in Black Oak Presents.  If back issues of our magazine are available, consult them to see what kind of material we review.

Submissions can be e-mailed to us at:

submissions@blackoakmedia.org

Or sent via regular mail to (with a query letter and a self addressed and stamped envelope):

Black Oak Media
PO Box 773
Macomb, IL 61455

Remember, submissions that do not follow the guidelines will be rejected.  Please, if you do not think your submission is right for this magazine, do not waste your time or ours by sending it.  However, we will determine the merit of any submission.  Don’t think your story/art is unpublishable just because you’ve been turned down in the past.  If other magazines have rejected you, there’s a good chance you might be right for us!