Submit
Volition’s Fall 2022 submissions are open!
General Requirements
Volition has created a new online submission form to help simplify our submission process.
Submit your work here: Submit
Please keep all written pieces under 1,250 words.
Volition is only accepting 5 Prose and Poetry submissions per person and 10 Art and Photography pieces per person. Submissions that exceed this limit will not be considered.
Be sure to include a title for every piece/file submitted. Think of your pieces as your children; we hope you would want to give them interesting and enticing names. Titles also act as an advertisement for your work in the table of contents, and we do not want to have multiple pieces with the same title. Please include your full name as well.
What We Are Looking For
Short Stories, Plays, and Scripts (Fiction and Non-Fiction)
Poetry
Art*
Photography*
*Keep in mind that most of our magazine is in black and white. Although we have some color pages, we are always in need of art and photos which are either black and white or will look good in black and white.
Submission Periods
Fall Semester: September 4th through November 5th
Spring Semester: January 21st through March 29th
What to Expect After Submitting
You will be notified if your piece has been selected to be in our journal within one month after the deadline for the submission period.
Prose pieces may be considered for print in excerpt form in our journal due to space limitations. All pieces may be considered for publication on our website.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask!
24 Comments
Joseph Mcguinness
I’m a first year PhD student here. Do you accept graduate writing?
volition
Edit: YES, we accept work from any and all Mason students!
Hannah Fowler
What is the word limit on short stories?
volition
Hi Hannah! We don’t have a definitive cut off on word count, but keep in mind that most pieces are no longer than 1500 words.
Marquis De Spade
Are mixed media pieces accepted; meaning photo and word combination as I often create in a marriage of concepts that I hope will leave the reader in my own personal wonderland of misfit ideas word play.
Sincerely,
Marquis De Spade
volition
That sounds great! We accept any kind of artwork submission!
SRo
Do you accept Alumni writing?
volition
Unfortunately, no. You have to be a current Mason student to submit to Volition.
Craig Beyers
What are the size requirements or limits for photography?
volition
Pictures should be at least 300 dpi. The magazine itself is 7″x 8.5″, and the photo can be any ratio or orientation. We also pick some photos for a double spread, so keep in mind that we might also use the photo for 14″ x 8.5″ spread.
Alex Ossio
What kind of photos do you accept and don’t accept? Is there a theme for the one this year?
volition
We accept all types of photos. Volition typically doesn’t have a theme, we strive to publish the best work that we receive during each submission cycle.
Erinn
Is the short story limit 1250 words too? No going any past that?
volition
Hi, Erinn! We aren’t strict on a word count for prose pieces, but, generally, the stories published are no longer than 1,500 words.
Allie T.
In the article, I only see a submission period for the Fall. Do you take submissions in the spring as well?
volition
Hi, Allie,
Yes, we do take submissions in the Spring! Submissions usually open on the first day of classes for that semester.
Elizabeth Black
I’m not able to access the site to submit poems/art work. When I pull up the web site I either get to a community college web site or it takes me back to Volition’s first page where I got the information to begin the submission (bit.ly/VolitionSpring2020). Can I paste them in an email and send them to the Volition web site?
volition
Hi, Elizabeth! Sorry to hear this problem. The submission form works on our end, so I am not sure what is happening. Can you email us at volition@gmu.edu with more information so that we can help you?
Karissa Poole
Greetings. I want to submit some photos I take as a hobby. Do you accept photos with a watermark or do you take photos without them? Thanks!
volition
Hi, Karissa! We accept any photographs, watermarked or not. You will be properly credited for your work in the magazine, though, so if the watermark can be removed or cropped out, that would be ideal.
Camille
Hi, if we submit writing or photography do you get ownership rights to the image or do we retain creative ownership?
volition
Hi, Camille. You still retain the ownership rights as the creator. At the end of our submission form, our copyright policy is explained where you give us the license to publish your work, but you still retain the rights.
Although it is officially past the deadline, feel free to still submit your work to the magazine as the form is still open. Thank you for supporting Volition!
Rachel Weier
Hello! I’m so glad Volition is something available for students at GMU, so thank you! Also, for works submitted up to Feb. 5 for the volition collection (2020-21), when will it be published and available to read?
volition
Hi, Rachel! Thank you for reaching out, we’re glad you’re glad that we’re available! Our magazine will be available in March, probably later on in the month.