Submissions
Submissions are closed while we relaunch UnBound Arts Collective.
These are the guidelines we anticipate using for Issue 11 of UnBound Zine. We will post here and on social media when submissions are reopened.
UnBound seeks work that is wild and untethered. Art and observation. Revelry. Rest. Resistance. Anything that is raw and one of a kind. Expressions that push beyond the edge, challenge authority and hierarchy, strike something deep, or just get weird with it. We want whatever makes you tick. Whatever heals. Elevates. Magnifies.
We are especially interested in sharing the voices, expressions, and perspectives of BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color), femme, queer, and trans/nonbinary/gender-nonconforming creatives.
Your creative works are welcome in most formats: photography, illustration, poetry, prose, research and articles, song lyrics, screenplays, and so on. Just give us your best - you're the only one who can say what you have to say, after all.
We accept simultaneous submissions, but please let us know immediately if your work is accepted elsewhere.
We do not accept work that has been previously published, mainly because we don’t want to deal with ownership issues - we are only volunteers, please make it easier for us.
Once we have published your work, we cannot remove it or unpublish it. Please ensure anything you submit is something you want on the internet. Forever.
We publish here on substack quarterly, with our annual PDF zine published in October. We accept rolling submissions and will reach out within 3-4 weeks to confirm if your work has been accepted. If you submit work after the review period for a specific publication has ended, it will be considered for the following issue.
Email unboundartscollective@gmail.com if you have questions.
UnBound Arts Collective is currently a labor of love, offered to the public for free, run by a small group of passionate volunteers. As such, we cannot currently offer payment to collaborators for published works. We encourage creators to provide us with their Ko-Fi URLs so we can include tip jars on your art pages.
UnBound is a space intended to center the experiences of women, BIPOC, and LGBTQ+ folks. All are welcome to submit work for publication, but please refrain from co-opting or appropriating the experiences of groups and cultures that are not part of your identity.
UAC reserves the right to deny submissions for any reason and without explanation.
What to Submit
Submissions will be considered invalid and removed from consideration if incomplete. If you have questions or concerns regarding any part of the submission process, please do not hesitate to reach out to our team at unboundartscollective@gmail.com
A complete submission MUST include:
Artist bio of 50-100 words; include pronouns (nonexhaustive examples: they/them, ze/zir, fae/faer, she/they, he/they/she, any, none, name only, etc)
One social media handle and/or one portfolio or website (we want readers to know where else they can find your work) if you truly do not have an online art space to direct to, just let us know
Your work - please include titles of each piece and an artist statement
Every submission is eligible for publication in both the zine and as a standalone post. If your work is incompatible with PDF formatting, we will only share it as a standalone post, but you will still be recognized as a contributor to that issue of the zine.
Read below for additional specifications by medium.
Photography and Visual Art:
3-5 pieces, high-resolution images
Writing:
3-5 poems in a single doc
OR
two pieces (maximum) of short fiction, each 1,000 words or less, in a single doc
OR
research, articles, and chapters/serials are welcome, limit to 3,500 words per piece or segment. If you are writing a series or releasing chapters, you must include a pitch or completed versions of all parts of the series, clearly segmented, at the time of submission.
Music, Audio, and Film:
We understand the varied and unique nature of audio and film works and welcome anything you have to share with us! Email us with questions or pitches.
Other Works:
So you don’t fit into any of the other categories, huh?
That’s the best possible news - we CRAVE whatever weird, amazing, genre-breaking stuff you’re peddling. Email us your questions or pitches!
Where to Submit
Please submit all work by emailing unboundartscollective@gmail.com with the subject “UAC Submission”
Content Guidelines
Racist, sexist, xenophobic, homophobic, ableist, or other works targeting specific groups of people will not be accepted. If you will be using content that features slurs or other degrading words/imagery and you are not sure if it will be acceptable under our terms, don't hesitate to email unboundartscollective@gmail.com with any questions. We understand artistic freedom and respect groups' rights to reclaim and repurpose words that have been meant to hurt and oppress them, but bigotry doesn't pass the vibe check.
Images or art depicting nudity must have the consent of the photographed or illustrated subject in writing to be featured in the publication. By submitting an image, you are agreeing that the subject is (a) fictional, (b) yourself, or (c) someone who has given you express written permission to share their image in your work. Depictions of minors or animals in pornographic, nude, or otherwise sexually explicit imagery, audio, or text will not be accepted under any circumstances.
All written works will be subject to editing/proofreading. However, if you disagree vehemently with any edits made, you may opt out of the submission process at any time.