'Scintilla' Journal Seeks New War Prose, Poetry

The editors of the on-line literary journal Scintilla are calling for submissions focused on the "literature of war." Launched in 2012, the twice-yearly publication is working toward its first-ever issue organized around a theme.

"Specifically, we are interested in fiction, poems, and essays from soldiers, their families, and those who've participated in or been affected by the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan," the editors write.

Deadline for submissions of original, unpublished work is April 11, 2014.

Publisher, editor, and blogger Tim Lepczyk founded Scintilla not only to publish new and emerging writers, but to work with writers in order to develop their skills. "One of our philosophies is to help writers grow in their craft," he told Red Bull Rising blog in a recent e-mail. "We try to give some formative feedback if we don't accept a submission, and try to work with a writer on a revision if we feel a piece is almost there. With our themed issues, we're hoping to provide editorial guidance and create issues that are more cohesive."

Lepczyk's desire to illuminate writing related to war stems an extended personal network of veterans and current service members. "I've a few friends and acquaintances who are veterans or active-duty military. Also, some of my friends have brothers serving in the armed forces," he says. "So in this regard, there was an awareness of stories and experiences out there, but I also felt like I wasn't hearing them. Last summer, I read Kevin Powers' 'The Yellow Birds' and I think that catalyzed things for me. I could use Scintilla so that more of these stories and poems could be told."

Word limit for submissions is 6,500 for short stories and essays. Poetry should be single-spaced and include no more than four poems. Make on-line submissions via Submittable here. For more guidelines, see the overall submissions page here.

The publication acquires exclusives electronic rights for 90 days, non-exclusive electronic rights to maintain a digital archive, and anthology rights to publish in e-book formats. Writers retain the right to publish the works elsewhere, although original publishing credit is requested.

A website for the Scintilla journal is here.

A Facebook page for the journal is here.