Vital Minutiae Quarterly wants to collect and curate writing and art that is focused on the creative process. We accept submissions of fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, reviews, interviews, visual art about the creative process, and images of physical art.

 

Submissions are open for three months per issue, with a response deadline of one month after submissions for an issue have closed. For example, submissions for the first issue will be open from June 1st through August 31st, and responses will be made and sent out by September 30th; submissions for the second issue will be open September 1st through November 30th, with responses sent out by December 31st; and so on. Feel free to reach out if you haven't heard from us by the response deadline for your submission period.

 

We happily accept simultaneous submissions and previously published/curated/posted work! Those behind VMQ have been through the submission process, and we know that it can be stressful to juggle submissions if one or more of the publications don’t allow for simultaneous subs or work that has previously appeared elsewhere. We also understand that our timeline means it could be up to four months between when you submit and we respond, which is a long time to have work in limbo. Taking all of these things into consideration, we see no other choice than to be as flexible as possible. All we ask for work that has been previously curated/published elsewhere is that you ensure that you have all retained or regained all permissions and rights, and share the name of the previous publisher with us so we can include that information in our issue. Beyond that, we don’t care if it’s been featured elsewhere previously or simultaneously. We’re just happy to be part of the fun!

 

By submitting to us, you grant us the right to curate your work on our site, post it on the VMQ social media accounts, and archive your work on our website, all with credit given to you as the author/artist/creator. We will only ever use your submitted and accepted work as material for the issue you submitted for, or for promotion for the magazine (for your issue and as a whole). If we ever plan to use your submitted work for anything else - material for a different issue, for example - we will reach out to you and request permission to do so first.

 

If your submitted work is thereafter published/curated elsewhere after/while being featured with us, we kindly ask that you throw us a line along the lines of “First/also published at Vital Minutiae Quarterly.” And let us know so we can tweet about it!

 

VMQ is committed to never requiring payment for submissions. While we may someday offer editing or quick turnaround services for a small fee, we will always be free for basic submissions.

 

At this time, we are not able to offer any form of payment to the contributors. Again, this is something we would love to be able to offer in the future, but currently we are run by one person as a hobby, in no way make a profit, and simply do not have the means to pay.

 

VMQ strives to honor all parts of the creative process, including the fact that it can be incredibly healing for those who have suffered various kinds of trauma. Please include trigger/content warnings for trauma, abuse, violence, or assault of any kind (emotional, physical, mental, sexual, against humans or animals, etc), as well as any racist, (trans)misogynistic, or other bigoted language. We will publish pieces that contain this content only if they meet the following criteria:

• we feel the focus of the piece is on creativity and its processes and methods, not on the potentially triggering content

• the piece in no way glorifies violence, abuse, or bigotry

• the author/creator is not the perpetrator of the abuse

These criteria are not up for debate.

 

On the subject of content, we also ask that submissions roughly meet PG-13 guidelines. Basically, no erotic/sexual content please, but swear words are fine if the context is appropriate (we are very aware that the artistic process often involves cursing).

 

Sometimes you have just the right piece for a publication, go to submit it, and find a gauntlet of things you need to write or provide just to get to the file upload. While we request or encourage short descriptions for some pieces (see specific guidelines for more details), we do not require a cover letter or bio for the submission process. We will request an artist’s bio if and when a piece is accepted, to include in the publication and on our website.

Finally, we do not accept AI-generated content, be it visual art or written work. While AI technology is growing more useful and ubiquitous all the time, we want VMQ to focus on the human interaction with art and its creation. Also, while we know it is possible to use AI to create art without taking income or opportunities from human artists, the unfortunate truth is too many people are attempting to do just that. In solidarity with the many artists whose livings are threatened by AI art, we have made the decision to not accept it for our magazine.