Call For Submissions on the Theme of RADICAL HOSPITALITY — Paid Opportunity!

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Radical Hospitality – Call for Submissions

October 1 – December 15 | Free to submit

Radical Hospitality – Project Description and Submission Guidelines

ABOUT THE PROJECT

St. Ambrose University College of Arts and Sciences, Galvin Fine Arts, and the Midwest Writing Center (MWC) are partnering on a series of events and a publication around the theme of Radical Hospitality. This theme calls people to “welcome the stranger” and to extend “an expansive and committed welcome to all regardless of background, beliefs, or circumstances, and particularly to those who face barriers to belonging. More than politeness, radical hospitality calls for a generous sharing of time, resources, and life together” (more on the theme below).

For this project, we are looking for submissions of poetry (30 lines max.) and flash prose (fiction or nonfiction, 500 words max.). Submission open October 1, and close on December 15 (see complete guidelines below). MWC will select the strongest 20-30 works for publication in an anthology, to be published by MWC Press in April 2024. All contributors to the anthology will receive $100 to their work in addition to two copies of the anthology, and the opportunity to record their work for a podcast. Selections will be announced in early January 2024.

Then, all contributors will have the opportunity to read their work during the “Speak Your Peace” event at Galvin Fine Arts on Friday, January 26, where they will have a chance to win up to $500 in a contest decided by audience members. Contributors will have the opportunity to record their works for a podcast prior to the event, and the event will be recorded live.

The anthology will be published in April 2024, and the contributors will be invited to read at a release event at Galvin Fine Arts (date TBA), where the first 200 people in attendance will receive a free copy of the anthology (copies will be available to purchase after that).

ABOUT THE THEME “RADICAL HOSPITALITY” (from St. Ambrose University)

The AWSJ 2023 Social Justice Conference will address the theme of “Radical Hospitality” and attend to the growing humanitarian crisis related to immigration and those seeking asylum from various places of harm. We will consider how to dismantle the barriers to belonging faced because of immigration status, recovery journey, or history of incarceration. Through workshops, presentations, and sharing together, we will ask how to practice radical hospitality as individuals, institutions, and communities, and seek out next steps to truly welcome the foreigner, the outcast, and the outsider, into our communities and lives.

Radical hospitality refers to an expansive and committed welcome to all regardless of background, beliefs, or circumstances, and particularly to those who face barriers to belonging. More than politeness, radical hospitality calls for a generous sharing of time, resources, and life together. It includes offering support without judgment and fostering relationships of deep connection. Radical hospitality involves collaboration to combat barriers to inclusion and the creation of paths to access and safety in support of true communal belonging.

TIMELINE OF EVENTS & PUBLICATION

  • October 1, 2023: Submissions Open
  • December 15, 2023: Submissions Close
  • Early January 2024: Anthology selections ad contributors announced
  • January 26: Speak Your Peace event at Galvin Fine Arts, 6pm – anthology contributors record works for podcast and participate in live audience-juried reading
  • April 2024 (date TBA): Anthology release reading – contributors read their works and the first 200 people in attendance receive a free copy of anthology 

PRIZES FOR “SPEAK YOUR PEACE” EVENT – JANUARY 26, 2024 at GALVIN FINE ARTS

  • First Place: $500
  • Second Place: $150
  • Third Place: $75
  • Plus other gifts, surprises, etc.

Winners will be selected by audience members during the event. A panel of judges will only be called upon in the event of a tiebreaker.

NOTE ON PRIZES:

  • “Speak Your Peace” event prizes will be paid in Visa Gift Cards
  • The winners cannot be SAU employees. (FT, PT or Adjuncts)

SUBMISSION DETAILS & INSTRUCTIONS

  • Please submit only one work per writer. No multiple submissions.
  • There is no cost/fee to submit.
  • Writers must currently reside in Clinton, Muscatine, or Scott Counties in Iowa, on in Henry, Mercer, or Rock Island Counties in Illinois to be considered.
  • Any works found to be cruel, inflammatory, and/or derogatory by the editors will not be considered.
  • Poetry: 30 lines max. Prose (fiction/nonfiction/hybrid): 500 words max. Works should be approx.. 3 minutes in length when read aloud.
  • Manuscripts must be typed.
  • No previously published works will be accepted.
  • Submissions should be original works written to address the theme of “Radical Hospitality.” Works that do not clearly address the theme will not be considered.
  • No illustrations may be included.
  • Submissions with more than one author will not be accepted.
  • Translations will be accepted only if submitted with documented permission of the author. Author must also meet the residency requirement stated above.

A complete submission should include:

  • All submissions must be sent to MWC at midwestwritingcenter@gmail.com with the subject line “Radical Hospitality Submission.” No hard copy submissions.
  • In the body of the email, please include full name (with preferred pronouns), contact info (current address, phone, email, socials), and a brief bio written in the third person (50 words max.)  
  • Work should be attached to the email; accepted file types: .docx, .doc, .rtf, .odt, .pdf. For works that have specific formatting, please include a .pdf version of the file. Do not send work pasted in the body of the email.

OTHER INFORMATION

  • Please note that approx. 20% of all selected works will come from current St. Ambrose University students.
  • All writers will be notified of the results in early January 2024.
  • All selected anthology contributors will receive $100 for their work, two copies of the anthology, recording their work for a podcast, and the opportunity to perform their work live at the “Speak Your Peace” event at Galvin Fine Arts on January 26, 2024 for the chance to win up to $500.

Please contact Midwest Writing Center with any questions about the anthology, submissions, etc.: mwc@mwcqc.org | 309 732 7330