Contributor Guidelines for Writers/Artists

­“We read essays to find a new window to the world, to laugh, to learn something from other people’s trials and attempts in life.” Barbara Abercrombie, Courage & Craft

Essay Submissions

­We want every issue of Skirt!® to reflect the variety and diversity of women's lives and interests. Surprise, entertain and charm us!

Skirt!® publishes 8 to 10 personal essays every month on topics relating to women and women's interests. A personal essay is a narrative that emphasizes a personal, subjective view. All essays for consideration should be submitted in their entirety and be between 800 and 1,200 words. Essays must fit one of our monthly themes. Payment for articles and other submissions varies. Skirt! buys one-time rights. We reserve the right to edit articles for length and content. Note: We consider each manuscript on spec. Even if we express an interest in an essay, we cannot guarantee publication. Even when an article is selected for an issue, it may be pulled at the last minute due to lack of space. We try to make sure this doesn’t happen, but it is often unavoidable.

Format: You may send your manuscript via e-mail to submissions@skirt.com (preferably as a RICH TEXT FORMAT, or .RTF, attachment), or by regular mail to the attention of the Editor. Manuscripts which come to us via regular mail cannot be returned unless you include a self-addressed stamped envelope (SASE). We prefer submissions via e-mail.Please include word count.

Bio: Please enclose a brief (2-3 sentences) biographical sketch at the end of your manuscript so that we will have it on hand if we print your article. Submissions without bio, name, or address will not be considered. Submissions using pen names cannot be used.

Deadlines: We read submissions year-round. The submission deadline for each issue is the 1st of the month for the following month (Nov. 1st for the December issue, and so on), but we prefer to work two months in advance.

Tips:

• Skirt!® is an open-minded publication.
• “Women and women’s interests” shouldn’t limit your choice of topic. If it does, we may not be the right market for you.
• We’re not interested in the conventional or predictable.
• Be familiar with the content of our magazine before submitting.
• Please submit previously unpublished articles only.
• Sample issues are $5.00 each.
  

Response time: We try to respond to all submissions promptly, but due to the volume we receive it is not always possible to do so. We cannot critique individual essays. Please be patient, as it can sometimes take 6 to 8 weeks for a response. If it has been more than 8 weeks, feel free to assume we were not able to use and to submit it elsewhere. No phone calls please.

Fiction/Poetry: Skirt! does not publish fiction. Any poems we publish are solicited from previously published authors. Unfortunately, due to time constraints, we cannot respond to fiction or unsolicited poetry submissions.

Art & Photography Submissions

Cover Art: We feature a color illustration on Skirt's cover each month. We cannot use abstract works and we generally prefer to have the illustration contain the image of a woman. If you are an artist or photographer and would like to submit examples of your work, send low-res images to submissions@skirt.com. If we choose your work, we will require a high res 7 x 10 inch image (300dpi) for publication. We include a bio of the cover artist with contact information for readers who may be interested in viewing and/or purchasing prints or originals.

If you have never read the print version of skirt!, we strongly recommend that you purchase a single copy of the magazine to get a better idea of our style and format. Send a check for $5.00 to skirt!, 7 Radcliffe Street, Ste 302, Charleston, SC 29403. 

Slouching Towards Bethlehem: Essays, Joan Didion
Courage & Craft, Barbara Abercrombie
Bird by Bird, Anne LaMott
Writing Down the Bones, Natalie Goldberg
Writing and Publishing Personal Essays, Sheila Bender
Me Talk Pretty Some Day, David Sedaris
If You Want to Write: A Book about Art, Independence and Spirit, Brenda Ueland
Becoming a Writer, Dorothea Brande
The Art of the Personal Essay: An Anthology from the Classical Era to the Present, Phillip Lopate
The Best American Essays series