Get Published! Veteran-friendly Literary, Art Markets

Here is an alphabetical list of anthologies, contests, and literary journals that are soliciting visual or written work on themes related to military service, or have specifically called for work by military service members, veterans, and/or family members.

This list will also appear as a static page on the Red Bull Rising blog.

Please direct corrections, additions, and updates via e-mail to: sherpa AT redbullrising.com

List updated as of Feb. 27, 2015.

THE ART OF FUTURE WAR PROJECT (THE ATLANTIC COUNCIL)

Deadlines: By announcement
Frequency: Every other month
Accepts: Short fiction, flash fiction, and some visual art
Simultaneous submissions? NA
Previously published materials: NA
Limited to military service members, veterans, and/or families? No
Submissions link: http://artoffuturewarfare.org/tag/writing/

Website: http://artoffuturewarfare.org/

As part of an ongoing 2015 project working toward an anthology of near-future military-themed science fiction, The Atlantic Council regularly solicits new stories illustrating the military/political world as we're about to know it.

Examples: One past flash-fiction contest asked writers to imagine a "Day of Infamy" speech given after an 2041 attack on the United States. A past short-story contest called for stories of 1,500- to 2,500 words, in the form of journalistic accounts akin to a front-page story describing the outbreak of a future great power conflict.

*****

AS YOU WERE: A MILITARY REVIEW

Deadline: On-going
Frequency: Quarterly
Accepts: Fiction, non-fiction, poetry; also visual art and photography
Simultaneous submissions? No
Previously published materials: No
Limited to military service members, veterans, and/or families? Yes
Submissions link: http://militaryexperience.org/submissions/

Website: http://militaryexperience.org/as-you-were-vol-1/
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/militaryexperienceandthearts?ref=br_tf

Having published four separate on-line annual titles for fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and PTSD narratives in 2013, the Kentucky-based Military Experience & the Arts non-profit in 2014 recombined those publications into a quarterly literary journal titled "As You Were." The title replaces "The Blue Falcon" (fiction); "Blue Nostalgia" (PTSD narratives); "The Blue Streak" (poetry); and the flagship "Journal of Military Experience" (non-fiction and academic writing).

Submissions go through a unique peer-editing process prior to publication. Acquires first North American and anthology rights.

*****

ASH & BONES

Deadline: On-going
Frequency: Twice-annual
Accepts: Fiction, letters, essays, poetry; also visual art and photography
Simultaneous submissions? Yes
Previously published materials: Yes, with notice.
Limited to military service members, veterans, and/or families? No
Submissions link: http://ashandbones.com/submissions/

Website: http://ashandbones.com/
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Ash-Bones/1470754909873935

"For those brave and creative souls who have dedicated their lives to the armed forces, for those witnesses to the impacts of war and military life, and for those who crave understanding of the experiences incited by war and aftermaths, Ash & Bones presents a myriad of insightful readings."

Submit poems, letters, essays, or short stories in response to the following themes: Letters from War; War Stories; Human Waste; Military Life; Military Afterlife.

*****

BELLEVUE LITERARY REVIEW (NEW YORK UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE)

Deadline: On-going
Frequency: Twice-annual; one-shot special Spring 2015 issue titled "Embattled: The Ramifications of War" [special issue closed Feb. 1, 2015]
Accepts: Fiction, non-fiction, poetry
Simultaneous submissions? Yes
Previously published materials? Only with prior permission of editors
Limited to military service members, veterans, and/or families? No
Submissions link: http://blr.med.nyu.edu/news/2014/call-submissions-theme-issue-war

*****

BLUE NOSTALGIA: A JOURNAL OF POST-TRAUMATIC GROWTH

Deadline: On-going
Frequency: Annual
Accepts: Trauma narratives
Simultaneous submissions? No
Previously published materials? No
Limited to military service members, veterans, and/or families? Yes
Submissions link: https://mea.submittable.com/submit/37537

Website: http://militaryexperience.org/blue-nostalgia-a-journal-of-post-traumatic-growth-vol-1/

Published by the Veterans PTSD Project of the non-profit Military Experience & the Arts: "Blue Nostalgia gives us a medium to connect to our brothers and sisters, while allowing the civilian community a glimpse into our world. There are many of us who have experienced the trauma that comes with armed conflict, but there are many more who have not, and never will. We veterans hold in our minds and bodies the history of our wars, and if the non-veteran community is to grasp who we are, what we have experienced, and what we are capable of as productive citizens, we must tell our stories.

In addition to experiencing war trauma, some of us have experienced military sexual trauma or trauma outside of a deployment. The stories of such trauma and the growth that follows need to be told."

*****

CONSEQUENCE

Deadline: June 1, 2015

Frequency: Annual

Accepts: Fiction, non-fiction, poetry

Simultaneous submissions? Yes

Previously published materials? No

Limited to military service members, veterans, and/or families? No

Submissions link: http://www.consequencemagazine.org/submit/

Website: http://www.consequencemagazine.org/

Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ConsequenceMagazine

"Consequence is an international literary magazine published annually, focusing on the culture and consequences of war. "

*****

DEADLY WRITERS PATROL

Deadline: On-going

Frequency: Annual

Accepts: Fiction, non-fiction, poetry

Simultaneous submissions? Yes

Previously published materials? Yes

Limited to military service members, veterans, and/or families? Yes

Submissions via e-mail to 2015 editor Craig Werner: cwerner52 AT yahoo.com

Website: http://deadlywriterspatrol.org/

Madison, Wis.-based Deadly Writers Patrol was started by a cadre of Vietnam War-era veterans, but issues since 2013 have included work from veterans of all eras. The magazine's editors welcome veterans' contributions of poetry, fiction, and more. Submissions by non-veterans should regard in some manner a theme of war or its effects. In addition to short stories and poems, past submissions have included excerpts from novels and memoirs, as well as personal essays.

*****

DRESS RIGHT DRESS: THE UNIFORM AND ITS STORIES

Deadline: March 30, 2016
Frequency: One-shot print anthology
Accepts: Fiction, non-fiction, poetry
Simultaneous submissions? Yes
Previously published materials? Yes
Limited to military service members, veterans, and/or families? No
Submissions link: https://vickihudsonwriting.submittable.com/submit/19812

From the call for submissions: "The military uniform is a symbol of the service and a tool for the wearer. The accoutraments have meaning, some tell of the wearer's valor, of sacrafice, of loss, of conquest, accomplishment or rite of passage. Some parts are hard won, like the tab on the right shoulder. Some mark a history, like the overseas ribbon on the sleeve. The combat shirt, the bloused pants, belt exact upon the gig line...each part of the uniform has meaning. Each who has worn the uniform has a story. What is your story, with what aspect of your uniform as symbol or character that calls back to your service?

Submissions of nonfiction (750 - 5000 words) or poetry (any form,  up to 5 poems) wanted. Please include an author's bio under 200 words."

*****

IOWA REVIEW: JEFF SHARLET MEMORIAL AWARD FOR VETERANS

Deadline: Currently closed
Frequency: Annual?
Accepts: poetry, non-fiction/essay, visual arts
Simultaneous submissions? Yes
Limited to military service members and veterans? Yes

Website: http://iowareview.uiowa.edu/veteranswritingcontest
Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/iowareview

The Jeff Sharlet Memorial Award for Veterans contest is hosted by The Iowa Review and made possible by the family of Jeff Sharlet (1942–1969), a Vietnam veteran and anti-war writer and activist. The contest has been conducted in 2012 and 2013. The contest is open to any service member or veteran writing in any genre, about any subject matter. Entry fee is $15. Prize is $1,000 and publication in The Iowa Review. Entrants should submit a double-spaced manuscript in any genre (poetry, fiction, creative non-fiction) of up to 20 pages.

*****

LINE OF ADVANCE

Deadline: On-going
Frequency: Quarterly
Accepts: Fiction, non-fiction, essay, poetry, serials; some visual art and photography, other
Simultaneous submissions? Yes
Previously published materials? Yes
Limited to military service members, veterans, and/or families? Copy of DD-214 or military identification card may be required after acceptance.

Website: http://www.lineofadvance.org/Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Line-of-Advance/105192563012452

First published in March 2013, the Line of Advance is a quarterly e-journal of writing by military veterans and service members. Future issues may be organized around themes. "We're looking for creative work that is authentic to the individual veteran's experience," co-editor Matt Marcus says. "We ask that people not write or express what they think other people want to read, but write what they want. Something amazing happens when creative writing really conveys personal narrative."

*****

O-DARK THIRTY (VETERANS WRITING PROJECT)

Deadline: On-going
Accepts: fiction, poetry, visual arts
Simultaneous submissions? Yes
Previously published materials? No
Limited to military service members, veterans, and/or families? Yes

Website: http://o-dark-thirty.org/ and http://veteranswriting.org/
Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/VeteransWritingProject

The Veterans Writing Project is a Washington, D.C.-based non-profit that pursues a double mission: Provide writing-as-therapy resources to injured military veterans and the medical community, and, more generally, encourage and publish the literary work of military service members, veterans, and family members.

In Summer 2012, the organization announced a literary journal titled "O-Dark-Thirty." Works published by an online journal are considered for print publication in a quarterly review and/or annual anthology. Payment: Complimentary author's copy. Accepts fiction and non-fiction up to 5,000 words, and poetry up to 3 per submission. Acquires first North American and anthology rights; requests subsequent publication cite the journal as original.

*****

THE PASS IN REVIEW JOURNAL

Deadline: See submissions page for deadlines; four times annually
Frequency: ***Currently on hiatus***
Accepts: Fiction, poetry, visual arts, music
Simultaneous submissions? Yes
Previously published materials? No
Limited to military service members, veterans, and/or families? Yes

Website: http://www.thepassinreview.com/
Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/thepassinreview

First published in February 2013, The Pass in Review is an on-line journal dedicated to presenting veterans' artistic work and perspective. "We believe that veterans from all conflicts, past and present, are misrepresented and are underrepresented in the artistic community. Our goal is to cast veterans in a new light by allowing the public to see their work and gain an understanding of the veteran's perspective." The Pass In Review retains exclusive publishing rights for six months after the first publication, and non-exclusive anthology rights after that. After six months has elapsed, the artist resumes full ownership of his/her work.

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PROUD TO BE: WRITING BY AMERICAN WARRIORS

Deadline: June 1, 2015
Frequency: Annual anthology
Accepts: Fiction, non-fiction essay, interview, poetry, photography
Simultaneous submissions? No
Previously published materials? No
Limited to military service members, veterans, and/or families? Yes

Website: http://www6.semo.edu/universitypress/Contests/PTB_Contest.htm
Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/SEuniversitypress

Published by the Southeast Missouri State University Press since 2012, working in conjunction with the non-profit organizations Missouri Humanities Council and Warriors Arts Alliance, the "Proud to Be" anthology series comprises both a contest and a publication. Prize in each category is $250. "[T]his series of anthologies preserves and shares military service perspectives of our soldiers and veterans of all conflicts and of their families. It is not only an outlet for artistic expression but also a document of the unique aspects of wartime in our nation's history."

*****

REPEAL DAY: WHEN DADT BECAME HISTORY

Deadline: Oct. 1, 2015
Frequency: One-shot anthology
Accepts: Personal non-fiction narratives
Simultanious submissions? Yes.
Previously published materials? Yes
Limited to military service members, veterans, and/or families? No

Submissions page: https://vickihudsonwriting.submittable.com/submit/18532

From the call for submissions: "Seeking personal accounts of actions or experiences of serving LGBT military members and their families on 20 September 2011, effective date of the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell (DADT) repeal and their experiences throughout the first year until the Anniversary date of 20 September 2012."

*****

SO IT GOES: THE LITERARY JOURNAL OF THE KURT VONNEGUT MEMORIAL LIBRARY

Deadline: Annual
Accepts: Fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and artwork
Simultaneous submissions: Yes
Previously published materials? Yes
Limited to military service members, veterans, and/or families? No

Website: http://www.vonnegutlibrary.org/
Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/VonnegutLibrary

First published in November 2012 by the Kurt Vonnegut Memorial Library, Indianapolis, Ind., So It Goes accepts new and previously published fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and artwork. Submissions are limited to one work of prose (maximum 1,500 words) or up to five poems, photographs, and/or works of art. Past themes include "War and Peace" (2012); "Humor" (2013); "Creative Process" (2014). While not specifically linked to topics of war or remembrance, the journal's annual publication coincides with Kurt Vonnegut's Nov. 11 birthday, and is part of the library's "Veterans Reclaiming Armistice Day" activities. As a U.S. Army soldier during World War II, Vonnegut was taken as a prisoner-of-war, and witnessed the destruction of Dresden, Germany.

*****

STONE CANOE JOURNAL'S INSTITUTE FOR VETERANS AND MILITARY FAMILIES AWARD

Deadline: TBD; between April and August?
Frequency: Annual
Accepts: Drama, fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and artwork
Simultaneous submissions: Yes
Previously published materials? No
Limited to veterans? Yes

Website: http://www.stonecanoejournal.org/submit.html
Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/StoneCanoeJournal

Starting with the 2013 issue of Stone Canoe, the Institute for Veterans and Military Families (I.V.M.F.) at Syracuse University presents an annual $500 prize for previously unpublished short story, essay, creative non-fiction (up to 10,000 words), or poem (or series of up to three) written by a U.S. military veteran. The subject matter of the submitted work may be about veteran or military family issues, but it is not a requirement. Also, unlike other Stone Canoe categories, there is no requirement that the writer or artist demonstrate a geographic tie to upper New York state.

*****

STORIES OF COMING HOME, THE PERSONAL AFTERMATH OF WAR (HUDSON WHITMAN/EXCELSIOR COLLEGE)

Deadline: May 1, 2015
Frequency: One-shot anthology
Accepts: Non-fiction
Simultaneous submissions? Unspecified
Previously published materials? Unspecified
Limited to military service members and veterans? No

Website: http://hudsonwhitman.com/about/submissions-policy/

Hudson Whitman/Excelsior College is looking for non-fiction stories from military service members, veterans, and family members and friends that capture the experience of coming home from war. Prize is $200 plus publication in anthology titled "Stories of Coming Home, the Personal Aftermath of War." Project manager Dario DiBattista is the non-fiction editor for O-Dark-Thirty, the literary journal for the Veterans Writing Project. Word count is between 1,500 and 6,000.

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QUIET DESERT, LONELY WAR: SHORT STORIES OF THE CONFLICT IN AFGHANISTAN

Deadline: Until filled; publication in late 2015
Frequency: One-shot anthology
Accepts: literary and genre (science fiction, mystery, fantasy, etc.) short fiction between 1,000 and 6,000 words
Simultaneous submissions: Yes
Previously published materials? Yes
Limited to veterans? "Authors should have some relationship and connection to the war. Military veterans are especially encouraged to submit."

Website: http://muzzlelandpress.com/submissions-and-guidelines/
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/muzzlelandpress

*****

WAR, LITERATURE & THE ARTS

Deadline: Rolling
Frequency: Annual
Accepts: Essays, criticism, fiction, interviews, memoir, non-fiction, poetry, and artwork
Simultaneous submissions: Yes
Previously published materials? No
Limited to military service members, veterans, and/or families? No

Website: http://wlajournal.com
Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/War-Literature-and-the-Arts-An-International-Journal-of-the-Humanities/345655239137

Mil-Blogging is Dead? Long Live Mil-Blogging!

Here's a quick sit-rep on my never-ending quest toward a Grand Unified Theory of Mil-blogging. Readers of the Red Bull Rising blog, Facebook friends and followers, and/or participants in previous writing or blogging workshops will recognize much of this history and logic.

My usual caveats, of course, still apply: This is my view from my foxhole. "Everybody has their own war." Take what you need, leave the rest. And, most importantly, I reserve the right to change and evolve my opinions over time. Because that's what good conversations do. And blogs, among other things, are inherently conversations.

I look forward to your comments and suggestions.

The First Wave of Mil-blogging (2001-2007) was defined and dominated by first-person, boots-on-the-ground narratives, unmediated by news editors, broadcasts, and publications. Some of these, such as Matt Gallagher's blog, later grew into larger, book-length works: "Kaboom: Embracing the Suck in a Savage Little War."

There are also published collections of mil-blogs, such as "The Blog of War: Front-Line Dispatches from Soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan" (2006), and Doonesbury.com's The Sandbox: Dispatches from Troops in Iraq and Afghanistan" (2007).

The alchemy of blogs-into-books is important, because technologies change. Print stays.

The popularity and influence of mil-blogging culminated sometime after 2007. One favorite anecdote from the Internet trenches: In 2007, President George W. Bush met with a group of mil-bloggers for a hour-long chat in the Roosevelt Room. Here's a useful report from that event, written by John Donovan:

The President acknowledged, so to speak, the rise of the blogosphere—which he seems to see as complementary to the [Main Stream Media], a view to which I subscribe, as well. We're another vector that people can use to disseminate or gather information—whether the MSM is gate-guarding it because of their biases, or simple economics. There are only so many air minutes, so many column inches, and the MSM is a business. They have to make editorial decisions.

If anything, the blogs hearken back, really, to an earlier time in the growth of the Republic.

We're the "broadsides" of this era. [...]

The Second Wave of Mil-blogging (2007-2014) happened as blogging platforms became more ubiquitous and easier to use. More people deployed, or had family members deploy. More people started writing and sharing their experiences. At the same time, others had returned from one or more deployment experiences, and sought to put those experiences into more context. Without the content of more-immediate experience, many turned to new analysis, opinion, or advocacy. To paraphrase one mil-blogger of the time: "Some of us went political. And some of us went bat-SH!# crazy."

Blogging was cool. Everybody was doing it.

In the later years of this period, however, mil-blogging began to decline. As did all blogging.

That's because Facebook happened. Tumblr happened. Twitter happened. Tablets and small-screens happened. Blogging turned into yesterday's news.

The last official Milblogging.com conference was in 2013, although there are rumors of informally getting the band back together later this year. The website Milbloggging.com went dark in 2014.

Also in 2014, Garry Trudeau's/Doonesbury's "The Sandbox"—a digest of blogs and other original material that was started in 2006, and resulted in a one of the aforementioned print collections of early mil-blogs—switched to an archive-only status.

Mil-blogging isn't dead, however, any more than journalism is. It may be evolving, we might not recognize it, but it ain't dead yet.

The Third Wave of Mil-blogging? You're soaking in it.

The Third Wave of Mil-blogging (2014-present) is being driven by new blogging platforms, such as Medium, which de-emphasize comments sections (once the engines of blog-traffic and engagement), and focus on a providing to readers a professional-looking (somewhat generic), tablet-friendly visual experience. The focus is back on words and content and reasoned argument. Authors are often policy analysts, strategists, and other communicators.

As I've observed before, "journaling" and "journalism" share root words. It's all about documenting events, making informed arguments, and sharing stories. Using that definition, I was blogging before there was an Internet. And I'll be blogging long after the Internet is put on up on cinder blocks, as the media and technology change.

At a 2012 experimental event called the Sangria Summit, I first encountered how big a G.P. Large tent military-writing could be. There were those who aspired to be published writers, and those that already were. There were those who wanted to write Tom Clancy-esque techno-thrillers, and those who wanted to write the Next Mother of All Great American War Novels. And there were those of us who made their livings writing doctrine, or news reports, or strategic analysis.

The writing is the thing.

In early 2013, I was lucky to have been on a mil-blogging panel with Paul Szoldra of Duffel Blog, and Mark Seavey of The American Legion's "Burn Pit" blog. Szoldra and his colleagues regularly skewer military culture and group-think with satire and style. Seavey and his colleagues passionately expose cases of stolen valor, while also reporting on other veterans issues. Me? I write about how to support, celebrate, and remember military service members, veterans, and families, while also writing about citizen-soldier history. While on the dias, I came to this epiphany: Through our writing, each of us is attempting to help readers understand and interpret the military experience.

With humor. With argument. With news-you-can-use.

Even with poetry.

At some level, it doesn't matter what you're writing, only that you're engaged in the conversation.

That's particularly important as we try to stitch together what the last two wars have meant to our country and its military, and how we move out smartly from here. Every type of writing—literary, genre, professional, academic, journalistic—is an opportunity to bridge the civil-military divide.

Recently, a group of movers, shooters, and communicators established an on-line confederation called the Military Writers Guild. I'm pleased to find that it seems to be a mix of young turks and salty dogs. There are digital immigrants and digital natives. There are soldiers and sailors and fellow travelers—and all of them, naturally, are storytellers.

The group's mission statement reads:

The Military Writers Guild (henceforth The Guild) exists to gather writers committed to the development of the profession of arms through the exchange of ideas in the written medium. Through its members, The Guild will encourage an open dialogue from diverse perspectives, thereby supporting the study of military affairs, spread knowledge of the military profession, and increase the assistance available to those writing in the national security space. The Guild will help foster a strong peer ecosystem focused on writing about military affairs through our ability to, "Advocate, Collaborate, and Promote."

A website is here.

A Facebook page is here.

The mil-blog is dead! Long live the mil-blog!

And keep writing!

7th Annual S.F. Art Show Celebrates Women Veterans

Organizers at Swords to Plowshares, a community-based non-profit group that serves more than 2,000 military veterans in the San Francisco, Calif. area are calling for artwork for an exhibition titled, "Celebrating Women in Service, Honoring Their Sacrifice."

Organizers seek both visual and written art, created by women service members and veterans, as well as families and friends of women who have served in the military. Deadline is April 15, 2015. Artists who are selected to participate will be notified by April 30.

The 7th Annual SHOUT! For Women Veterans! event will be June 11, 2015, Fort Mason Center, 2 Marina Boulevard, San Francisco, Calif. 94123. According to press materials, "SHOUT! is a yearly event to celebrate women veterans, inspired by the notion that the arts encourage expression, healing, and foster community connection. [...] This event attracts hundreds of veterans and supporters to share in the artistic expression of women veterans through photography, painting, mixed media, and the written word."

On-line galleries of previous shows are available here.

The following categories will be considered:

• Paintings

• Photographs

• Sculptures

• Multimedia art

• Creative writing, Including essays, poems, and prose

Other guidelines include:

• Early submission is encouraged. Space is limited. Incomplete submissions will not be considered.

• Assistance in transporting and displaying art may be awarded to out-of-town artists and disabled artists.

• Accommodations for oversized pieces of art as space permits, but this is not guaranteed.

• Organizers will consider contributions from women who are serving in the military, women veterans, spouses, siblings, parents or friends who have been directly impacted by a the service of a woman.

• Works of art must align with this year’s theme: "Celebrating Women in Service, Honoring Their Sacrifice."

• Works of art must include an artist statement that expresses the nexus between your art and your military service or how you were impacted by a woman who served in the military (200-word max.).

• Attach a short biography (75-word max.).

• Submit a digital photo of artwork (JPEG, PNG or PDF).

If selected, artists should be prepared to:

• Submit a high-resolution (300 dpi minimum) photo of yourself for the website, social media and the event program.

• Submit a photo of the woman veteran during her time in the military for photo slideshow (optional).

• All artwork must be identified with the artist’s name, address, email and phone number clearly printed on a label attached to each piece.

• Frame or otherwise make artwork ready to hang or display.

An on-line application form is here.

A Facebook page for the SHOUT! event is here.

A Facebook page for Swords to Plowshares organization is here.