Submission Guidelines




Ariel Chart is a signatory of Poets &Writers.
Published works are credited
in their renowned Directory of Writers.

You may also get to know the Editor through:


 Six Questions for an Editor Interview -- 2017



Duotrope Interview -- 2021



updated:1 October 2023
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IN THE INTEREST OF PROTECTING ART & ARTISTS, ARIEL CHART WILL NOT PUBLISH REVIEWS OR PUBLICIZE ANY BOOK PRODUCED BY A VANITY PRESS--  DEFINITION: A PRESS YOU PAID MONEY IN ANY FORM TO PRODUCE YOUR WORK. 
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ARIEL CHART is dedicated to works of brevity. Poetry. Short Fiction. Short Nonfiction. Interviews. We do not follow any school, theme, or genre.  We judge work based on quality; not politics. If you want to impress us--drop the dopey bumper sticker excuses for insight and write something clever, fresh or daring. I'd take honesty any day. 

A.I. Artificial Intelligence is not allowed to compose any works offered on this site. Please do not submit any such false creation or I will have to ban the submitter forever. 

Names & Titles: We expect a writer to include their full name and send work that is titled. We do not publish untitled writings nor do we accept work from writers who cannot respect a modicum of professionalism. 

Bios: We are adherents to balanced priorities. Your short bio must be included with the submission. If you have credits we expect to see a few of them listed. Bios full of everything but an acknowledgment of those who have supported you will sink your chances with us. Because its means you have no respect for past supporters and thus will have no respect for us. Credit listings are vital for journals to help spread the word about their existence. If you have been published in AC in the past I expect to see our credit in your bio. And not the very same bio used before. Writers deserve respect but so do journals.  

Submission to Editors: Please pick an editor and do not send your work to every editor on staff. This practice is unprofessional and causes extra work. Also when receiving an acceptance from an editor, Ariel Chart expects a reply within 48 hours. We are running a monthly journal and expect you are checking your email daily as a good writer should. Nonreplies or requests for more time will be deemed unacceptable and our offer will be withdrawn. Please refrain from submitting for at least six months after acceptance.

Unpublished / Reprints: 
We expect all works sent to be unpublished. (see below about Sim Subs) and legally eligible for publication. Generally, reprints are not accepted but I have made an exception now and then due to extreme circumstances like a journal closing shortly after publication or inclusion in an anthology. An exception is an act of humanitarianism; not a clever way of getting published. Honor that. 

Poetry in 50 lines or less. 6 poems max.in a single email. Do not submit individually. It's more work for volunteer editors. Traditional, Free Verse, Haiku, Senryu , and Tanka are acceptable but these forms require a title for this journal. If this poses a problem for you please submit it elsewhere. Please do not submit poetry with artwork or photos or poems clearly inspired by ekphrastism. All photos here are mine or public domain. No others are accepted. No exceptions. Times New Roman Font 12.  Only doc or docx.

Short Fiction of 3000 words or less. 2 fiction max. I know there is some debate on length regarding terms of microfiction, flash fiction, short fiction and short story. Leave that nonsense to academia. We will look at fiction above 1500 in some instances up to 3000. I will consider 3K + for works of extraordinary vision on a case-by-case basis. Times New Roman Font 12.  Only doc or docx.

Short Nonfiction of 2500 words or less. 2 nonfiction max. I would prefer a literary theme whenever possible but I will entertain any subjects as long as relevant, nonracist, full of life, and fit for publication. Nonfiction doesn't mean boring family memories or travel logs that can cure insomnia.

Transmission of Work:  Doc or Docx only. Please do not submit handwritten work. This is lazy and rude and will not be accepted. If a writer cannot afford Word or a computer to use Google Docs, just type your work in the email and that will be fine. PDF's are not transferrable to our system and I cannot having editors retyping your work. Just Doc, Docs or Email.

Book Reviews ---  Book Review criteria is on a similar basis with the exception of non-acceptance of books produced by vanity presses. Indie publications are welcome. 

Compensation: No themes. No fee. No pay. You get a solid credit with bio byline and a permanent archived link. Plus Ariel Chart is a signatory of  Poets & Writers and you get 2 points for being published here towards building your professional directory listing with them. If you sell your work somewhere you do not own it any longer. It only has your name on it. If you want to include that work in a future book you have to get their written permission. If you think that is worth $15 to $25 ---please give them a shot. Good luck. I mean that.

Ownership:  Ownership is the foundation of writing. If I don't know who owns the work it doesn't get published. So please no pen name games. We're Editors; not Guessers. And no third-party submissions. The writer needs to submit their work. No assistants, spouses, nurses, case workers, jailers, translators, etc. This includes submissions from family members on behalf of deceased writers. We're Editors; not Lawyers. Please do not quote other works not in the public domain as a basis of your submission---as in the case of historical fiction. The work quoted must be in the public domain or you must have written permission for its use. Ownership is central to who we are as writers. Don't tell me your real name one moment and then list a pen name in the bio. Again if I have to guess then I guess I'm going to return your work and move on to the next submission. We stay away from the pen name situation. Part of the responsibility of the writer is to stand by their work and not run away from identity, responsibility or judgment. Being a writer means being an adult. If you want to be anonymous and not take responsibility get a job at the post office.

Age: 18 or over. I don't like excluding talented young people but unfortunately, this platform is entirely operated by email, Facebook, Twitter and Instant message. And we are not legally comfortable conversing with people who are not adults. That's the world we live in. I will make exceptions with verifiable written parental permission. But the work will be judged no differently.

Artwork --We do not accept art work, professional or personal photographs. All artwork posted is either from the editor or from royalty-free art sources. We take the task of matching or at least assigning artworks to the writing very seriously; yet are writers and not artists. The sole purpose of any artwork posted in the journal is to help draw more attention to the writing. We are not perfect and may not always meet a writer's tastes or expectations. What is art-posted is final. As busy volunteers, we do have the time or inclination to exchange the artwork. If you sincerely feel it's a distraction or worse,. please let us know and we will withdraw the submission. 

Email Notification Services: (boxbe, etc) I don’t have time to sign into some wonderful service that helps you but wastes my time. Your writing email should not have such a service. If the staff receives one of those ridiculous emails asking us to verify our relationship--your work won't be read. Writing is work; not shortcuts. You want convenience -- go to an all-night gas station.

Formats: doc, docx are acceptable. Email delivery only. Submission can be an attachment or inside the email. I advise you to test out the attachment because I get corrupted or damaged files often. Also, all files sent are scanned for viruses and often need formal stripped to meet the requirements of the platform I use for the journal. Ariel Chart only uses Times Roman 12 to present all work. Other fonts are not acceptable here. Please do not forward links to your writing. It's bad form. And not a standard practice. Manners count here. Make a good impression. Submitting is a lot like a job interview. If you walk in looking like a mess you are probably not getting the job.

Simultaneous submissions. After four years of dealing, debating and doing our level best to work with writers I must reverse our decision and insist on receiving work that has not been sent elsewhere. As writers, we deeply sympathize with the situation but as editors, it is intolerable to continually receive messages to pull work that has not been tracked or properly notified. On a positive note: AC gives its answers on submissions in less than 30 days in most cases less than 3 weeks. This is fast enough turn around time for the writer to consider other markets if their work has not accepted here. 

Inclusion: We are not censors of language. So profanity is allowed as long as it makes artistic sense. Make it pivotal if you decide to use it I often reject work that uses curse words carelessly. We are writers and if I want to hear profanity I can turn on the television. I'm expecting something different from you. We are not censors of ideas---but hurtful and hateful notions are not drivers of creativity---and will be returned unpublished. This includes political and religious screeds, rants, and jargonistic junk. We expect our poetry to have poetry as its first and last motivation. This is an art journal. That is an artistic statement. Not my opinion. Give us interesting Art and we will publish it.

Respect and Rejection Policy: We are deep believers in Respect. If I, Jana, Donald or Paul make a recommendation to alter or reconsider a part of your work it means we care and are fighting to get you published into the Ariel Chart family. It is always done with respect. And we are owed Respect in return. If you are not interested, politely say so and we will move on to another submission. We are not believers in useless form letters and if your work is rejected, we will respond personally and hopefully provide some insight. All of this is ten times more than you will get from other publications.

Credit Hogs:  We exist to showcase vital writing and promote writers. But too often people take advantage of professional courtesy and soil the hard work put into this journal. I expect the writer to honor their deal. If I accept your work on Tuesday and you confirm on Tuesday I do not expect to hear on Wednesday how one of the poems s accepted elsewhere but you didn't notice in your email, was caught in spam file, the dog ate it, aliens kidnapped you, etc. Please honor your word. If you cannot keep to agreement I will return all your work and place your email in spam. Forever.

Contact:  Once you send the submission. That is all you need to do. Please do not email or text us.  It's not necessary. We are monthly. We try to have an answer in 4 weeks or less.  This is not a guarantee just our usual turnaround, That's faster than nearly every publication out there. Plus we will provide basic guidance if the work is rejected. We are a literary journal with a small staff so emailing us every week asking about its status is both unprofessional and annoying. No other journal tolerates this, and in that aspect, we are no different.

Help us keep the arts alive in the world. Sometimes writers are the only people in the world that make sense! In my opinion.

Final Note: These guidelines are simple and clear. If you are found to submit work without observing them, we request you refrain from sending anything else for at least six months.




Editor-in-Chief
Mark Antony Rossi
Submit Poetry:  arielchart@gmail.com

Senior Editor
Jana Begovic
Submit Poetry, Fiction or Nonfiction:  arielcharteditor@gmail.com
 
Contributing Editor
Paul Seward
Submit Poetry and Fiction:  arielchart@gmail.com

Sy Albright
Layout/Webmaster
syalbright@gmx.com

29 Comments

  1. Those were the clearest, most concise and impressive submission guidelines I have ever read. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

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  2. Just wondering if you accept photos although I don't see any mention of that.


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    1. "Please do not submit poetry with artwork or photos. All photos here are mine or public. No others are accepted."

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  3. great , transparent rule of submission. i am interested in poetry only. poetry is my passion.

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  4. Thank you for providing this venue for us.

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  5. I agree with your credit hog stance. Most editors won't take a stand. Glad you are looking out.

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  6. Thanks for all the matters you made clear. Most publications are too lazy or afraid to set a rule and stick to it. You guys and girls make it realistic and sensible.

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  7. Your guidelines are spot on and wish more editors would be as helpful instead of shying away from things. However; in the current environment where every other word is deemed a slight I am surprised you stand your ground. I totally agree on the decease author situation. What small press has the time or resources to investigate such claims. Stick to writing.

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  8. Writers can be babies. Don't sweat it Mr. Editor, you have the most detailed submission guidelines in any literary publication in the world.

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  9. thank you all for the support and the comments. We pride ourselves on having one of the most detailed but yet simple set of guidelines. Respect gets respect in return. Paul S.

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  10. Do you have a time limit between submissions? Will two or more submissions within a month be considered?

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    1. yes but depending on submission acceptance rate in any given month and where it falls on a calendar it is possible to receive a few in a month at different dates and naturally accept work that gets published in a span of two months. MAR

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  11. In the 6th paragraph of your guidelines page, you say "doc or docx only", but further down the page you say to use pdf if the document contains italics or anything else other than straight text. In general, your guidelines are clear, but this contradiction confuses me.

    In any case, thanks for being there.

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    1. thanks for the kind words. there is no contradiction. the pdf format is the only format capable of locking special characters, italics, etc into place. some foreign submissions need to use this and i'm perfectly fine for such exceptions.

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  12. As I prepare this morning to submit works to Ariel Chart, I've built a Bio that actually speaks of my self and my efforts, following your direction that is refreshing as well as crystal clear. I am so very tired of writing my Bio in '3rd person'. I look forward to working with the Ariel Chart team, over time and in multiple submissions. Well done!

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  13. it looks like there are three emails to which poetry can be submitted. Is there a difference between them?

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  14. Shoot! I was just about to submit but then read that you don't accept simultaneous submissions. If you reverse this decision again, let me know.

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    1. appreciate the comment. we would love to in principle but in practice it didn't work out. writers wouldn't notify you if accepted elsewhere or worse notify you after it was already published. we do enough work on s volunteer basis for the love of literature to allow that to happen. the policy will not change.

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  15. Of the three editors there are apparently two different email addresses, but when I click on the load the first one of the three the resulting email has a different email address. Is this how it is supposed to be?

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  16. Hello, I have a poem I'm interested in submitting but it's in Arial 11 point right now. You present in Times New Roman 12, but do you need me to submit it in the TNR 12 as well? You specify the font and size for fiction but not for poetry. Many thanks-

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    1. Yes for poetry as well. That was an oversight and I corrected it iin the guidelines. Thanks for pointing it out. Look fowrward to your submission.

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  17. I hate to trouble you, but do you let us writers know when our work has been received? I sent in two works of flash fiction a little over 2 months ago and have not heard anything yet (I am hoping perhaps this is a good sign??) My concern is that I may have sent it to the wrong email, using simply arielchart@gmail.com and addressing it to Editors. Perhaps I should have sent it to Jana Begovic at arielcharteditor@gmail.com or to Paul Seward?? If so, I am happy to resend. Thanks so much for your time. I know you are very busy.

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    1. no we do not send a reply after receipt. please send again to arielchart@gmail.com and I will reiview quickly for you. sorry you had such trouble it's not normal for us

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  18. Perhaps I missed it, but what rights do you retain after publication?

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    1. First Rights

      "First" rights give a publication the right to be first to publish your material in either a particular medium or a particular location. FNASR, for example, generally applies to print publication, within North America. First British rights means the right to publish a piece first within Britain -- even if it has already been published somewhere else. First electronic rights means the right to be first to provide the material in electronic format. Note that one can sell many different variations on "first" rights, as long as these variations don't overlap.

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  19. Hello, I submitted a docx file on 12/5 and then on 12/7/23 I re-submitted using the body of the email for the 2 poems because the file was corrupted. Also, I had 3 poems published in January 2024 and this is not stated in my already submitted bio so if my entries are accepted at AC, I'd wish to add that to the existing short bio. Do you wish me to email the editor? You seem pretty set on our not querying re: status, but appear to welcome general queries here, so thought I'd try that.

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