READING BOARD APPLICATIONS: We are looking for students to participate on the reading boards (prose, poetry, visual art, and hybrid) for our upcoming spring issue! Reading boards are a vital part of our publication process and are responsible for reviewing all of our submissions in their specific genre (prose, poetry, visual art, or hybrid). Reading board members give feedback on submissions, helping the editors select pieces to include in the upcoming issue. Members will receive submissions to read during winter break in January and then meet with the rest of the board and their head genre editor at the beginning of the spring semester. No experience is required. Applications are due December 1st at 11:59 p.m., 2025. 

Please note that reading board applicants are welcome to submit their work. However, be advised if you submit to the same genre that you apply to read for, you will be subject to hearing unfiltered thoughts on your work. Submissions are all read blind, and members are asked to abstain from comments on pieces of which they know the author. 

Guidelines

PROSE GUIDELINES: We accept short stories, flash fiction, nonfiction, stand-alone novel excerpts, graphic works, and hybrid work. Our maximum word count is 3,000 words and submitters are encouraged to submit up to THREE pieces. Send multiple submissions as separate attachments, each including a cover page with your name, email address, and title of your work. Submissions should be paginated and double-spaced. Please submit your work as .DOCX files (or JPEG in the highest resolution if submitting a graphic work) to submissions.sanctuary@gmail.com, using “PROSE SUBMISSION – LAST NAME” as the subject line. Be sure to leave out any identifiable information on the piece(s) itself. 

Note: Nonfiction work that centers negatively around other students at Susquehanna University will not be accepted. As part of our commitment to uphold social and aesthetic diversity, submissions will be reviewed blind. With the exception of threatening or hateful expressions of racism, sexism, homophobia, anti-Semitism, etc., no work will be rejected based on subject matter alone.

POETRY GUIDELINES: Submit up to FIVE poems in SEPARATE DOCUMENTS as .DOCX files, along with a cover page including your name, email address, and the title of your poem. Please format your piece(s) as you wish to see them published. Graphic poems should be sent as JPEGs in the highest possible resolution. Be sure to remove your name and any other identifiable information on the document(s) itself. Use “POETRY SUBMISSION – LAST NAME” as the subject line of your email to submissions.sanctuary@gmail.com. 

VISUAL ART GUIDELINES: We accept all visual art, including photography, paintings, collages, and digital art. Submit up to FIVE pieces, each as separate attachments emailed to submissions.sanctuary@gmail.com. Make sure to use “VISUAL ART SUBMISSION – LAST NAME” as the subject line of your email. Please send your work(s) with the highest possible resolution as a JPEG file(s). If photographing or scanning your artwork, please submit the image in the highest resolution possible, using a dark, clutter-free background. Please title your work(s) and save the file(s) as “TITLE OF PIECE – LAST NAME.”

MULTI-MODAL WORK GUILDINES: We accept a variety of multli-modal (or hybrid) works, including scripts, works that border both prose and poetry, art/poem pairs, and anything else you’ve been afraid to submit because you don’t think it belongs. Submit up to FOUR pieces, up to 2,500 words or ten pages each, whichever you hit first, each as separate attachments/documents as either .DOCX or JPEG files, along with a cover page including your name, email address, and the title of your work. This should all be emailed to submissions.sanctuary@gmail.com, with the subject line: “MULTI-MODAL SUBMISSION — LAST NAME.”

Note: This submission category is new as of this year, meaning it’s still in it’s prototype stages. If you have ANY questions about what may constitute as multi-modal/hybrid, or about the above guidelines, don’t hesitate to reach out to our managing editor (nicely@susqu.edu) for clarification!