SUBMISSIONS are now CLOSED for the 2023/24 ISSUE! 

They will close on December 16th, 2023.

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

2023 DEADLINE: SATURDAY, DECEMBER 16th!

fishladder is a student-run journal of art and writing edited and produced by undergraduates at Grand Valley State University. The journal is published annually in April, on the tail end of the Winter Semester and features fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and visual art by GVSU students. As a publication, we strive to be inclusive of writers from all the different parts of our campus community. We hope to present a diverse mix of singular voices in each issue so that we might capture the voices of the GVSU student body in all its harmony and dissonance.

The journal accepts submissions throughout the GVSU Fall semester, with a deadline at the end of finals week in December. Submissions are carefully considered by our student staff, and final decisions are made by our editors. The yearly print edition is unveiled every April, with copies available in Lake Ontario Hall and across the GVSU campus. The online edition will be updated annually and archived continually at GVSU Scholarworks.

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fishladder accepts submissions from current students at Grand Valley State University only. Each submission should  include the submitter's G Number on the form and should follow these guidelines.

The fishladder editorial staff considers only anonymous submissions. Submitters' names must not appear anywhere in the work submitted. We will use the name and contact information on your submission form for any and all communications with submitters about your work. Note that when you submit, you might notice your name appended to your file name—this is fine. Outside of this automated feature, your name should not appear in your work.

Fiction writers can submit up to three fiction pieces (under twenty pages each). Nonfiction writers may submit up to three pieces (under twenty pages each). Poets may submit up to five poems. Visual artists may submit up to ten pieces of visual art. fishladder is open to hybrid work, so if you aren't sure which genre your hybrid work falls into, select the one that the work most resembles, or the editorial team you would most like to consider your work, and we will make sure it receives all the appropriate considerations. Multiple submissions are allowed and encouraged—that is, submitters may submit multiple pieces to multiple genres, but please adhere to each genre's limits.

Members of fishladder editorial staff are welcome to submit work to the issue they are working on, but should use the "Staff Submissions" link for fair, anonymous consideration by the editors.

Should your work be selected for publication, your work will appear in print in the journal, as well as appear on the web at GVSU Scholarworks. We will ask you for a brief contributor's bio and we may also share your work on our Facebook page and Twitter account to show you off and to promote the journal.

If you have to withdraw your work for any reason, please send the editors an email at fishladderjournal [at] gmail [dot] com. You can elect to do a partial withdrawal and leave the rest of your submission for consideration, if that's what you desire. Note that if you just want to correct a few typos, withdrawal isn't necessary, as there will be time to address these in production where work will be copy edited for clarity. We generally will not decline work solely because of a few typos or minor grammar weirdness.

More specific information regarding each genre is located in the submission forms below. Our editors are looking forward to reading your words!

For questions regarding submissions, please email the editors using our contact form or email us at fishladderjournal [at] gmail [dot] com.