All submissions should be sent to David S. Wills at editor [at] beatdom (dot) com. Please include a short biography, a few reasons why we should read your work, and the submission as a .doc or .docx Word file (unless, of course, you are submitting artwork).

We are also open to queries. In such cases, please let us know what you intend to write and when you intend to submit it.

Here is what we are currently looking for:

Essays

Please keep in mind that Beatdom is a Beat Generation-themed literary journal. We publish short stories and poetry, but mostly we’re looking for essays about the Beats. These essays should be interesting and take a different slant on the Beat Generation. There are hundreds of books and essays out there that cover these subjects, so we want something new.

There is no word limit for essays. Please make sure your essay is readable – that means long enough to go where you want, but short enough that you won’t bore your reader. Between 2,000 and 5,000 words is optimal. (We have published works up to 12,000 words but these were of exceptional quality and/or importance.)

Beatdom is what we term a “semi-academic” publication. As that label suggests, we aim for content that is academic but accessible. The subject of an essay should be of an academic nature but ideally it should be more readable than is generally the case with academic material. (Please read some of our recent publications to see what we mean.)

Essays should be sent as a .doc or .docx Word file. Please keep the text single-spaced and do not add two spaces between a period and the start of the next sentence. It’s the 21st century, folks.

Essays stand a better chance of being accepted if they relate to the theme of the current issue. Here are some of our past and future themes:

  • B19 – Asia
  • B20 – Post-Beat
  • B21 – Change
  • B22 – The Jack Kerouac Special Edition
  • B23 – The Environment
  • B24 – West Coast Beats (deadline 1st March 2024)
  • B25 – SF Rennaissance (deadline 1st August 2025)
  • B26 – Allen Ginsberg Special Edition (deadline 1st April 2026)

There is more info about Beatdom issues 24, 25, and 26 here.

We are quite liberal in how we interpret each theme and we are open to essays that are rather loosely connected to the Beats (i.e. they could be focused on post-Beat or countercultural writers). However, preference is given to those that directly tackle the topic and focus directly on a Beat writer. We also are a little more eager to have essays focused on under-studied Beat writers or that take new approaches to familiar names.

Poetry

We publish several poems per issue and receive hundreds of submissions. Please don’t expect a prompt reply, and don’t resubmit after a few weeks. Also, keep in mind that we receive dozens of poems that copy Allen Ginsberg’s “Howl” or “America.” We are not interested in these, I’m afraid. It is fine to be inspired by the Beats, but try to create something new. The Beats did not achieve success purely by copying their heroes.

Artwork

Beatdom is now printed in black and white, so any artwork needs to look good once converted to black and white. Again, anything related to the theme of the issue or to the Beat Generation will be considered. We are keen on photos of Beat figures or scenery. A .jpg image is preferred as a preview. We may request something of a higher resolution if we intend to use your work.

Interviews and Reviews

We are open to both interviews and reviews provided that these relate to the Beat Generation or related literary movements. These do not have to be connected to the theme of the issue. It is better to query the editor before submitting a review.