An online literary journal run and staffed by PhD creative writing students at the University of Utah. QW was founded by James Thomas in 1976.

Quarterly West is the online literary journal run and staffed by PhD creative writing students at the University of Utah. QW was founded by James Thomas in 1976.

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Identifies publications that put forward outstanding online work for this respected digital anthology established in 2006.

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Quarterly West

Quarterly West invites submissions of poetry, prose, and visual art—as well as hybrid/ genre-defying works—that explore the subject of "hyperobjects."
“A hyperobject could be a black hole,” writes Timothy Morton in their book Hyperobjects: Philosophy and Ecology after the End of the World, “A hyperobject could be the Lago Agrio oil field in Ecuador, or the Florida Everglades. A hyperobjects could be the biosphere, or the Solar System…A hyperobject could be the very long-lasting product of direct human manufacture, such as Styrofoam or plastic bags, or the sum of all the whirring machinery of capitalism.” In reading Morton’s definition of their own essential, yet ephemeral theoretical concept, it is necessary to notice the emphasis they place on the word could, for it is hard to use language in its common usage to describe something that “contaminates” its own descriptors. For hyperobjects, as Morton puts it, are “directly responsible…for the end of the world.” They are phenomena that have developed as a result of the Anthropocene and highlight human “hypocrisy.” Yet, simultaneously, hyperobjects provide a ground for interesting theoretical and creative experimentation. “For one thing,” Morton writes, "we are inside them, like Jonah in the Whale. This means that every decision we make is in some sense related to hyperobjects. When I turn the key in the ignition of my car, I am relating to global warming.” How to describe something that is real, “whether or not someone is thinking of them?”
For this special issue of Quarterly West, we are interested in submissions of poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, and new media that are relevant to the concept of the hyperobject. This relevancy can take the form of embodiment, conversation, disjunction, description etc. We are interested in creative works that, like the hyperobject, are “viscous” and “stick to beings that are involved with them.” We are looking for works that are “nonlocal” in the sense that “they involve profoundly different temporalities than the human-scale we are used to.” Lastly, these works should demonstrate some level of "interobjectivity," with an interest in networks, assemblages, the interconnectivity of–as Morton puts it–“worms, lemons, and ultraviolet rays, as well as humans.”
For poetry, please submit 1 - 3 poems. For prose, we generally publish work that is 6,000 words or fewer, but this word count is more a guideline than an absolute rule. We also publish flash prose that is 1,000 words or fewer.
We're happy to accept simultaneous submissions, but please withdraw your work via Submittable immediately if it is accepted elsewhere.
Quarterly West acquires First North American Serial Rights for the work we publish. All rights revert back to the author upon publication. If your work is later republished, we request you note its initial publication in Quarterly West.
We ask that former contributors wait at least one year after publication before submitting new work to Quarterly West.

Special Feature: "Hyperobjects" — Fiction

Special Feature: "Hyperobjects" — Nonfiction

Special Feature: "Hyperobjects" — Poetry

Special Feature: "Hyperobjects" — Multimedia

Quarterly West accepts unsolicited reviews of poetry, fiction, and creative non-fiction. We're looking for reviews that engage with recently published books (generally, work published in the last year), and which run no longer than 1200 words. We especially encourage submissions from BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, women, immigrant, disabled, and underrepresented writers. To submit, please enclose a brief cover-letter about you, the reviewer, along with your review.
We look forward to reading your work!

Book Reviews

Quarterly West is now accepting submissions that fall within or near to the un-pin-downable category of New Media, including but not limited to video, audio, visual/collage, and interactive multimedia pieces. Excite us. Enthrall us. Make us swoon. For an idea of what we like to publish, please visit our archives at https://www.quarterlywest.com/issues. No previously published work will be considered.
We especially encourage submissions from BIPOC, LGBTQ, women, immigrant, disabled, and underrepresented artists.

 

If you are submitting new media that cannot be sent through the submissions manager (for example, a link to another platform) please include a file with the link as an attachment in Submittable. If you have any questions, please reach out to us at quarterlywest@gmail.com.

 

Quarterly West acquires First North American Serial Rights for the work we publish. All rights revert back to the author upon publication. If your work is later republished, we request you note its initial publication in Quarterly West. We ask that former contributors wait at least one year after publication before submitting new work to Quarterly West.
We look forward to reading your work!

New Media

We welcome all prose: fiction, nonfiction, hybrid work, and texts that defy categorization.
Please submit your previously unpublished work as a .doc, .docx, or .pdf file, and include a brief cover note in the cover note field. If it makes sense for you and the work, let us know if your work is fiction, nonfiction, or somewhere in between in your cover letter.
We are unlikely to publish anything that exceeds 6,000 words. Please do not submit more than one entry per genre at a time—additional submissions will be declined unread. We're happy to accept simultaneous submissions, but please withdraw your work via Submittable immediately if it is accepted elsewhere.
Quarterly West acquires First North American Serial Rights for the work we publish. All rights revert back to the author upon publication. If your work is later republished, we request you note its initial publication in Quarterly West.   We ask that former contributors wait at least one year after publication before submitting new work to Quarterly West.
We look forward to reading your work!

Prose General Submissions — Fiction

Prose General Submissions — Nonfiction

Please submit 3 to 5 poems as one file (.doc, .docx, or .pdf), and a brief cover note in the cover note field. Please remove your name from anywhere on the file.
Please do not submit more than one entry per genre at a time—additional submissions will be declined unread. We're happy to accept simultaneous submissions. If you need to withdraw individual pieces from your submission, please add a note under the “Messages” tab in Submittable.
Quarterly West acquires First North American Serial Rights for the work we publish. All rights revert back to the author upon publication. If your work is later republished, we request you note its initial publication in Quarterly West. We ask that former contributors wait at least one year after publication before submitting new work to Quarterly West.
We look forward to reading your work!

Quarterly West

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