The Ear is a literary journal based out of a community college in Orange County, CA. We publish previously unpublished poetry, fiction, creative non-fiction, and art from both the campus community and national and international writers and artists.

With a history stretching back to 1982, we're a community-college based literary journal open to submissions from the campus community and beyond. In the pages of our annual print journal, you can find the work of celebrated authors and artists, as well as people's very first publications.

The Ear

What we want  
The Ear is looking for paintings, drawings, collages, cartoons, illustrations, digital media pieces, and any other visual art that captures our attention and makes us imagine stories. Feel free to explore our website to learn more about the staff and our past selections.   We love it when you give us the opportunity to amplify the voices of people traditionally underrepresented in the publishing industry.   
What to include   
You may submit up to 5 individual images that are high resolution (300 DPI). Please reach out to us at theearcommunity@gmail.com if you have questions about how to do this. Your submission must be anonymous. 
There is no need for a bio or cover letter. We want to make decisions based on the work itself, so we'll contact you for more info as needed.   To keep the focus on the work, we ask that you do not put any identifying information anywhere on your submission, but if your work is signed, that's okay. 
Don't worry: Submittable knows who you are!   You are welcome to submit work to other genres during this reading period, but you may only submit once per genre per reading period. No AI-generated work is allowed.  
What kind of exclusivity we expect   
We want the freshest stuff: please share only previously unpublished work. A gallery website, personal blogs, or social media are okay, but we cannot acquire rights from official publications. We're a small volunteer staff. You might have to wait several months to hear back, so simultaneous submissions are okay. If one of your images is accepted for publication elsewhere, please withdraw it immediately using Submittable's "Messaging." Do not use the withdrawal function unless you would like to remove all of your work from our consideration.   
What happens after you submit   
Your work is always reviewed by multiple people who don't know anything about you. We often wait until we've considered every submission to make final decisions, so it may take a month or two beyond our close date before you hear back. Please be patient with us as we lavish everyone's work with the attention it deserves!  

  If your work is accepted, we'll reach out via Submittable to let you know. (Please be sure your notifications are on!)   We'll invite you to submit a bio, brief description, and more detailed contact information at that time. We will copy-edit any text you send, but we always have conversations with our contributors about any proposed changes.  Once your proofs are approved, your work will be published both in print and online.   
  We ask for first American serial rights, but all other rights revert back to the creator. Just give us a shoutout in future, and tell your friends how great we are!   Payment is two copies of the print journal, and our undying love and affection.  
  If your work is not accepted, don't be discouraged! Keep sending your work out, and try sending us something else in the future!   We regret that the volume of submissions and size of our staff means that we cannot send personalized feedback to each artist.

Visual Art

The Ear is looking for nonfiction essays that get us thinking and feeling on deeper levels. Short or long, personal, lyric, or research-based essays: send us work created from the reality of the world in carefully chosen and woven words. Feel free to explore our website to learn more about the staff and our past selections.
You may submit 1 essay (5,000 words max).
There is no need for a bio or cover letter. We want to make decisions based on the work itself, so we'll contact you for more info as needed. To keep the focus on the work, we ask that you do not put any identifying information anywhere on your submission. Don't worry: Submittable knows who you are!
You are welcome to submit work to other genres during this reading period, but you may only submit once per genre per reading period. We want the freshest stuff: please share only previously unpublished work. Personal blogs or social media are okay, but we cannot acquire rights from official publications. Additionally, The Ear does not accept A.I. generated work.
We're a small volunteer staff. You might have to wait several months to hear back, so simultaneous submissions are okay. If your story is accepted elsewhere, please withdraw it immediately using Submittable's Withdrawal function.

What happens after you submit
Your work is always reviewed by multiple people who don't know anything about you. We often wait until we've considered every submission to make final decisions, so it may take two or three months beyond our close date before you hear back. Please be patient with us as we lavish everyone's work with the attention it deserves!
If your work is accepted, we'll reach out via Submittable to let you know. (Please be sure your notifications are on!)

We'll invite you to submit a bio and more detailed contact information at that time. We will copy-edit the work, but we always have conversations with our writers about any proposed changes.  Once your proofs are approved, your work will be published both in print and online.
We ask for first American serial rights, but all other rights revert back to the creator. Just give us a shoutout in future, and tell your friends how great we are!
Payment is two copies of the print journal, and our undying love and affection.

If your work is not accepted, don't be discouraged! Keep sending your work out, and try sending us something else in the future!
We regret that the volume of submissions and size of our staff means that we cannot send personalized feedback to each writer.

Photography

Creative Nonfiction

The Ear is looking for stories that reveal. We're looking for writing with a strong sense of voice that helps fill the gaps in our own understanding of the world we share. We love stories from all perspectives and are open to variety of genres and styles. Feel free to explore our website to learn more about the staff and our past selections.
We love it when you give us the opportunity to amplify the voices of people traditionally underrepresented in the publishing industry.
You may submit 1 story (5,000 words max)  ANONYMOUSLY.
There is no need for a bio or cover letter. We want to make decisions based on the work itself, so we'll contact you for more info as needed.
To keep the focus on the work, we ask that you do not put any identifying information anywhere on your submission. Don't worry: Submittable knows who you are!
You are welcome to submit work to other genres during this reading period, but you may only submit once per genre per reading period.
We want the freshest stuff: please share only previously unpublished work. Personal blogs or social media are okay, but we cannot acquire rights from official publications. Additionally, The Ear does not accept A.I. generated work.
We're a small volunteer staff. You might have to wait several months to hear back, so simultaneous submissions are okay. If your story is accepted elsewhere, please withdraw it immediately using Submittable's Withdrawal function.
Your work is always reviewed by multiple people who don't know anything about you. We often wait until we've considered every submission to make final decisions, so it may take a month or two beyond our close date before you hear back. Please be patient with us as we lavish everyone's work with the attention it deserves!
If your work is accepted, we'll reach out via Submittable to let you know. (Please be sure your notifications are on!) We'll invite you to submit a bio and more detailed contact information at that time. We will copy-edit the work, but we always have conversations with our writers about any proposed changes.  Once your proofs are approved, your work will be published both in print and online.
We ask for first American serial rights, but all other rights revert back to the creator. Just give us a shoutout in future, and tell your friends how great we are!
Payment is two copies of the print journal, and our undying love and affection.
If your work is not accepted, don't be discouraged! Keep sending your work out, and try sending us something else in the future!
We regret that the volume of submissions and size of our staff means that we cannot send personalized feedback to each writer.

Fiction

The Ear is looking for poems that tantalize us with images, mesmerize us with music, get us thinking, and get us feeling. Narrative or lyric, formal or free verse, short or long: send us your distillations of the world in carefully chosen and woven words.
Feel free to explore our website to learn more about the staff and our past selections.
You may submit up to 3 individual poems (totaling no more than 8 pages) in a single document ANONYMOUSLY.   There is no need for a bio or cover letter. We want to make decisions based on the work itself, so we'll contact you for more info as needed.   To keep the focus on the work, we ask that you do not put any identifying information anywhere on your submission. Don't worry: Submittable knows who you are!
You are welcome to submit work to other genres during this reading period, but you may only submit once per genre per reading period.
We want the freshest stuff: please share only previously unpublished work. Personal blogs or social media are okay, but we cannot acquire rights from official publications. Additionally, The Ear does not accept A.I. generated work.
We're a small volunteer staff. You might have to wait several months to hear back, so simultaneous submissions are okay.
If one of your poems is accepted elsewhere, please withdraw it immediately using Submittable's "Messaging." Do not use the withdrawal function unless you would like to remove all of your work from our consideration.
Your work is always reviewed by multiple people who don't know anything about you. We often wait until we've considered every submission to make final decisions, so it may take two-to-three months after our close date before you hear back. Please be patient with us as we lavish everyone's work with the attention it deserves!
If your work is accepted, we'll reach out via Submittable to let you know. (Please be sure your notifications are on!)   We'll invite you to submit a bio and more detailed contact information at that time. We will copy-edit the work, but we always have conversations with our writers about any proposed changes.  Once your proofs are approved, your work will be published both in print and online.
We ask for first American serial rights, but all other rights revert back to the creator. Just give us a shoutout in future, and tell your friends how great we are! Payment is two copies of the print journal, and our undying love and affection.
If your work is not accepted, don't be discouraged! Keep sending your work out, and try sending us something else in the future!   We regret that the volume of submissions and size of our staff means that we cannot send personalized feedback to each writer.

The Ear

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Visual Art