Submission Guidelines
Illuminati Submission Guidelines
Illuminati welcomes Del Mar College student, staff, and faculty fiction, poetry, nonfiction essays, literary criticism, art, and interviews for publication. Selections are based on the choices of the editorial staff of Illuminati.
Contributors will receive copies when the journal is printed in the spring.
- Include your name and email address on your submission.
- Label your submission: fiction, poetry, nonfiction, creative literary criticism, book review, interview or art.
- Wait until you get a response from the staff before submitting additional work.
- While we endeavor to deal with each submission quickly and fairly, we cannot accept responsibility for your manuscript. Manuscripts will not be returned, so do not send us your only copy.
Fiction - Not more than 6,000 words, double- spaced, pages numbered. We are looking for cutting edge fiction with a strong narrative sense and indelible characters. Include your name and email address.
Poetry - No more than five poems. Please submit poetry that will reveal a world heretofore unknown to our readers. Include your name and email address.
Non-fiction - 6,000 word limit, double-spaced, pages numbered. We are looking for exquisite, idiosyncratic reflection on compelling subjects, creative personal essays and informed, thesis-oriented essays that view their subjects against a broad perspective--provocative work that can engage both the intelligent general reader and the specialist. Include your name and email address.
Creative literary criticism/Book Reviews - 6,000 word limit, double-spaced, pages numbered. We are seeking insightful, but not overly academic, criticism illuminated by personal experience. Include your name and email address.
Interviews – 6,000 word limit, double-spaced, pages numbered. We are looking for engaging conversations with artists of all kinds. A sample of the artists’ work, a photo of the artist, and a brief bio of the artist should be included. Include your name and email address.
Art - We publish reproductions (color or black and white) of a wide range of art: paintings, photography, prints, sculpture, comics, and more. Usually we feature one image on the cover plus an interior "portfolio" of 8 additional works, and our editorial preference is for groupings that display an engaging variety within some overall thematic unity. Submissions should include no more than twenty high-quality, original slides, transparencies, sharp, glossy, 5" x 7" photographs, or JPEGs of 300 dpi, 5" x 7". Include your name and email address.
Note regarding anonymous submissions - Our staff respects the need to remain anonymous in print. However, because our staff is small, our publication process requires that once you are notified by email that your piece of writing is accepted, we will request an electronic copy of your work. This ensures that our staff does not have to retype submissions to save electronically for layout. Therefore, we can publish work as "anonymous" or under a pen-name ONLY if you agree to provide the staff with an email address where our staff can contact you to receive an electronic copy of your writing. We will not release your name or contact information
Where to Send
Submissions should be sent electronically OR in hard copy. Do not submit the same submission to both locations.
- Online:
You may email submissions to: illuminati@delmar.edu
- In the subject line of the email, indicate which genre you’re submitting to (Art, Poetry, Interview, Nonfiction, Fiction, etc.) so that it can be read by the appropriate editor.
- Attach your submission to the email in one document in .doc or .rtf format.
- Do not paste your submission into the body of the email.
- Hard copy in the box hanging on the door of English 226 (Sara Kaplan’s office)
Contact the Advisors if you have Questions
Ryan Habermeyer (rhaberme@delmar.edu; 698-1440)
Thank you! We look forward to reading your work.