OPEN CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: VOLUME 4!

We are SUPER excited to share with you Volume 4’s theme!

Drum roll please….

SECRETS & LIES!

We are feeling inspired by the politically and socially turbulent times we’re living in. Secrets are rampant and lies are always being unearthed, and with every ugly truth revealed, we find ourselves wondering if we’ve finally discovered them all.

Give us family secrets, clandestine romances, little white lies, and deepest, darkest truths. Tell us about the lies we tell the world, the lies the world tells us, and the ones we tell ourselves.

We want tales of deceit, skeletons in the closet, furtive glances, and necessary deceptions.

We want to know what skeletons are hiding in the closet, how you really feel about your sister’s boyfriend, if that’s your real nose, whose apartment you snuck out of this morning, and who really farted in the room.

Because this is OyeDrum, we’ve got a nerd reference as well. Our theme is also an homage to 90s British dramedy classic Secrets & Lies, which, if you haven’t seen, your OyeDrum film club recommends it!

As always, we are open to individual interpretations of our Secrets & Lies theme in all genres including comedy, drama, horror, science fiction, romance, political, personal, experimental and hybrid. We are also open to fiction, nonfiction, documentary (in any form), and so forth.

If you have any further questions about the theme, reach out to us!

Love,

OyeDrum

Submission deadline: February 23rd

PLEASE SEND ALL SUBMISSION TO SUBMIT@OYEDRUM.COM

IMPORTANT:

* On the subject line of your email, please clearly state that your submission is for Volume 4.

Creative Writing/Essays

Please clarify the genre of your work on the subject line. Send us up to two pieces, no more than 5,000 words each, doubled-spaced. Submit your work in a Word document attachment (no shared google docs). 

Poetry

Send 2 to 7 poems that are related to the theme and have some sort of a narrative thread. Submit your work in a Word document attachment. NO GOOGLE DOC SHARED DOCS. In your cover letter, please do not explain your entire body of work, only briefly how your poetry is related to the theme.

Visual Art

Photography and art submissions will be accepted as both solo pieces, as well as to accompany the literary work we’re publishing. Send a minimum of 5 images in a single submission (max of 10 images)—they should work together as a set, as well as a narrative piece. Please send all images as attachments in PDF or JPEG format, high quality. NO SHARED DOCS. In your cover letter, please explain briefly how it is related to the theme.

Media

We accept pieces sent through SoundCloud, Vimeo, Youtube, and Spotify. If your visual or audio piece is uploaded through a different third party, please contact us to see if we can work with it. Media work that’s been previously published is accepted. For fine artists, please include your medium (i.e. acrylic on canvas, oil, etc.).

GENERAL GUIDELINES/FAQ

  1. All submissions (except for media) should be original, unpublished work. However, if the piece has already been published in your personal blog or another small publication, we will consider it on a case by case basis.   
  2. Can I submit if I’m gender non-conforming female or a trans woman? YES!
  3. Please include a brief bio in the body of your email, along with your social media info. 
  4. We also ask that those submitting artwork let us know a little bit about your work and the piece you’re submitting.
  5. Please let us know if you are sending us a simultaneous submission.

OTHER INFORMATION

  1. If you are accepted by OyeDrum, we have the right to publish your work and promote it on our social media.  You, the creator of the work, will remain the one and only owner of your intellectual property, with full rights. 
  2. We try to respond to each submission within a reasonable period, but due to the volume of submissions we receive, we may not always be able to do so. Please query after three weeks if you have not heard back from us, and would like to know the status of your submission. 
  3. Our finances do not permit us to pay contributors at this time.
    If you have any questions/concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out to us at submit@oyedrum.com