General Submissions

Submission Guidelines

A good word, in and of itself, can be a spiritual endeavor expressing the beauty, creativity, and ironies of the human experience. Because of this, Ruminate publishes work with both subtle and overt associations to the Christian faith as well as work that has no direct association.

We look forward to seeing your work! Submissions are accepted year-round. We only accept submissions that are previously unpublished, and we do accept simultaneous submissions. We are currently able to pay contributors $5 per page or in contributor copies. If you agree to allow Ruminate to publish your work, we will receive first serial rights. Before submitting, we strongly recommend ordering a copy of the magazine in order to better understand the type of work we publish and to tailor your submission accordingly. If you are interested in receiving writing feedback from the Ruminate staff, please review our writing critique sessions. We also ask all artists and writers previously published in Ruminate to wait two reading periods before submitting again. We ONLY accept online submissions, as our readers are spread out across the country. Any submissions made by postal mail or email will not be considered.

Deadlines for General Submissions
  • Summer Issue #24, Open Theme: Deadline February 15, 2012 (Please note that as of December 15th, 2011, we will not accept nonfiction submissions for this issue, as the nonfiction published in this issue will be selected primarily from the VanderMey Nonfiction Prize).
  • Fall Issue #25, Open Theme: Deadline May 15th, 2012 (Please note that we do not accept poetry submissions for this issue, as the poetry published in this issue will be selected from the McCabe Poetry Prize)
  • Winter Issue #26, Open Theme: Deadline August 15th, 2012 (Please note that we do not accept visual art submissions for this issue, as the art published in this issue will be selected from the Visual Art Prize)
  • Spring Issue #27, Open Theme: Deadline November 15th, 2012 (Please note that we do not accept fiction submissions for this issue, as the fiction published in this issue will be selected from the Van Dyke Short Story Prize.)

After the reading deadline has passed for an issue, it generally takes us six to eight weeks to respond. If you have questions regarding your submission, please contact us.

Fiction and Nonfiction

We accept fiction, creative nonfiction, and interviews. We only accept pieces that are under 5,500 words. You may submit one fiction and one nonfiction piece per reading period. Please include your name within the document that you submit, preferably at the top of the first page.

Poetry

You may submit up to three poems per reading period, with a maximum of 50 lines per poem. If you submit two poems or three poems, please make sure include them all in one document, and include your name within the document that you submit, preferably at the top of each poem.

Visual Art

Visual artists may submit images through our online submission manager. Alternatively, you may mail a CD to RUMINATE visual arts editor, Stefani Rossi, at 305 Jennison St., Crawfordsville, IN 47933. For either option, please submit the following:

  • Professional quality digital images in TIFF or JPG formats (if JPG, saved in “baseline” or “standard” format at the highest quality possible). Images must be Mac and PC compatible. Note: Please do not submit PPT or PPTX presentations.
  • A minimum of 320 dpi
  • Between 1200 and 2400 pixels in the longest dimension
  • Please title image files with your last name and first initial, year of the work, title, medium and dimensions (example: Doe_J_2009_Title_oil on panel_9x12.jpg).
  • Brief biographical/artist statement as either a text file (Word) or as a PDF. Please title the file with your last name, first initial, and the content of the file (example: Doe_J_ArtistStatement.doc or Doe_J_Biography.doc).
  • For CD submissions: SASE if you would like the return of your materials.

Please Note: Due to the volume of submissions we receive, images that are improperly formatted or incorrectly labeled will not be considered. While RUMINATE may not utilize your images, they will be kept on file in our submissions archive (artists will retain all pertinent rights and Ruminate will not publish archived images without the appropriate permissions and release from the artist).

Reviews

We review new and not-so-new books of poetry, short story collections, anthologies, fiction, memoir, and nonfiction. Our short reviews focus on books dealing with the arts and/or faith. The longer review essays tackle several books on a distinct theme–a theme that somehow engages the overall theme for that issue. These essays should be thesis-driven rather than a disconnected string of reviews on the works at hand. 500 words for mini-reviews; 800-2500 for longer reviews.

To submit your work, please use our online submission form:
SUBMIT TO RUMINATE