SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

The Watermark accepts submissions year-round and publishes annually in the Fall semester. We do our best to review your submissions in the order we receive them, and we will let you know once we have made a final decision. We also attempt to provide feedback for all written submissions before the deadline to allow writers to revise and resubmit their work if time allows; please understand that submissions received near the deadline may not receive feedback. Decisions are not made until after each deadline.

Submission Procedures:

We have introduced a submission form to streamline submissions. For the time being, you may still submit via email.

  • Or send your submissions directly to our email: thewatermarkjournal@gmail.com. Please follow the instructions below:

    • In the body of the email, please include the title of your submission(s) and the name you wish to have appear in the journal, along with anything else you think we should know about your submission(s).

      • You may publish anonymously or under a pen name, in which case, please specify details in the body of the email and provide a pen name, if applicable. Please be aware that by publishing anonymously, you will be uncredited for your work’s appearance in the magazine. If you are later able to come forward with proof that you are the originator of the work, we will do our best to credit you from that point onward.

    • Attach your submissions to the email as files. Before doing so, please make sure you have:

      • Created separate files for each piece, if you are submitting multiple pieces.

        • Send written submissions in a .DOC or .DOCX file.

        • Send photography and other visual art as a .PNG or .JPG file.

        • Please do not send us submissions in other file formats, as we may not be able to view them and they may cause difficulties in formatting for our journal! If you send us content in another format, we may ask you to resubmit in a format specified above.

      • Name your submission file(s) with the title of your piece (if it is untitled, simply title it “untitled”).

  • Please consider asking your friends and classmates to submit as well!

Submission deadlines:

  • Submissions are open year-round. The deadline for our 2023 issue is October 27th.

  • Anything submitted after a due date date will be considered for the next publication.

Submission Limitations:

  • Prose (Short Stories, Novel Excerpts, Essays, etc.): Maximum 5,000 words. For example, if your first prose submission totals 2,000 words, then your second submission should be 3,000 words or less.

  • Poetry: Maximum five poems, and maximum eight total pages.

  • Visual Art & Photography: Maximum ten pieces. Please use PNG or JPG files, and please include titles. For photography, 300+ DPI.

  • Comics & Graphic Novel Excerpts: Maximum twenty pages.

  • Plays & Screenplays: Maximum twenty pages under standard formatting.

  • Other: Try your luck! Submit what you'd like! We're open-minded.

Author/artist Rights:

  • Authors and artists retain all rights to work submitted to The Watermark Journal.

  • The Watermark Journal does not retain any exclusive publishing rights to submitted work.

  • The Watermark Journal and the Mass Media department retain all rights to republish submitted works for print and online publications.