We accept submissions from students, alumni, and rising freshmen (current high school seniors) in Oberlin College and/or Conservatory. We also theoretically accept submissions from Oberlin Staff, though we have not received any as yet!
Anything that is printable! If you think your genre piece is accurately represented in print, please submit! (Please see our guidelines on original content, below.)
We have no limit on the number of pieces you may submit at one time. We can only print a limited number of your pieces at one time (to make room in our magazine for other talented writers and artists), but we will keep additional pieces of yours to publish in our next issue(s).
We will publish up to three of your pieces in either the poetry or art divisions, one piece of long fiction, and up to two pieces of short fiction. If you submit in multiple divisions, the total numbers are slightly different: we will publish up to five of your pieces if you span two divisions, or up to six pieces if you span all three divisions.
Guidelines for written submissions Guidelines for visual submissions Guidelines for other submissionsDeliver your submission(s) to Spiral's email address or Wilder Box 08 by 11:59 pm on the deadline (28 September, 28 November, 28 February, and 28 April).
We prefer prose and poetry to be submitted in *.doc format, though we also accept *.rtf and *.pdf formats. We prefer artwork to be submitted in *.jpg format, but we also accept *.png and *.gif formats.
If you would like your pieces to be published anonymously, please make a note in your email or on your envelope. Please still include your name and information (to confirm that you are an Oberlin student / alumnus).
Submitting an electronic copy Submitting a hard copyThis is an age-old debate and not one easily answered. Though it is not perfect, the staff's definition is: erotica is pornography with an additional layer. This layer may be anything from characterization to emotional impact, but erotica must contain something beyond explicit sexual representation.
Ultimately, this interpretation depends on personal interpretation. While an author or artist's intention is important, the author or artist must be able to represent their intention is such a way that a reader or viewer notes this intention. As such, if in doubt, please submit your piece. The staff consists of a wide range of individuals (with various interests); so, though we must make a value judgement, it will hopefully be a well-balanced and thought out value judgement.
We accept writing of any length. If your piece is too long for us to publish in one issue (approximately 10 pages, single spaced, 12-pt, Times New Roman), we will work with you to find acceptable intermission point(s) and publish it across several issues.
If you would like to publish your prose in pieces (a serialized piece), please submit at least two sections or a detailed outline of future sections.
If your poetry is dependent upon formatting, please submit a *.pdf or *.jpg version. Additionally, please note in your email which aspects of formatting are necessary and which can be changed for the magazine's coherence (we prefer to use Cochin font, so unless you specify that your poem must be a specific font, we will change all submissions to Cochin).
You may submit any printable artwork. Only two images (at most) can be published in color (on Spiral's cover). Therefore, if you would allow your piece to be considered in black and white in addition to color, please submit your piece in both versions. Otherwise we will assume that your piece only works in color.
If your piece does not fall into these arbitrary distinctions, please still submit! Just look over all of the above guidelines to determine whether they apply to your piece.
Deliver your submission(s) (in an envelope) to Wilder Information Desk. Please address the envelope to Spiral: Wilder Box 08 and include your preferred name and OCMR. On the back, please note your graduation year and status as college, conservatory, or double degree student.
Please email your submissions as an attachment to Spiral's email address from your OCMail account. In the text of your email, please include your preferred name, graduation year, and status as a college, conservatory, or double degree student. If your submission has any specific formating requirements, please note them in the text of your email.
Due to copyright laws and the fact that we do not wish to be sued, we cannot accept any submissions containing non-original material. This includes, but is not limited to, fanfiction, fanart, and photographs of paintings and graffiti.
As in everything, we do have exceptions to this rule. In written material, your piece may reference another work, but it may not use the characters or setting of that work. In visual artwork, if your photograph (etc.) adds something original to the other work, we will consider it original work. (For example: if you take an image of graffiti which is not yours, we cannot accept it, unless the photograph adds something to the interpretation and effect of the graffiti—such as shadows, architecture, models interacting with the artwork, etc.)