All submissions should be sent to David S. Wills at editor [at] beatdom (dot) com. Please include a third-person 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).
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.
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. Issue seven, for example, was a music-themed issue and all but a handful of the essays were directly related to both music and the Beat Generation.
Upcoming themes:
B17 – Politics
B18 – Family
B19 – Asia
B20 – Post-Beat
B21 – Change
B22 – The Jack Kerouac Special Edition
B23 – The Environment
Short Stories
We usually print one short story per issue and receive dozens of submissions. Please don’t expect a prompt reply, and don’t resubmit after a few weeks.
Stories should relate to the stated theme of each issue and should not exceed 5,000 words.
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.
Poems should ideally fit the theme of the issue, or display some sort of connection to the Beat Generation.
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. A .jpg image is preferred as a preview. We may request something 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.
