Submission FAQs
Two Hawks Quarterly: Submission Guidelines Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What do you accept?
A: Works of creative non-fiction (including memoir) , fiction, Genre X (cross-genre) and poetry.
- Creative non-fiction (including memoir) and fiction, work best in short story format. Submissions should not exceed 4,000 words in length and no more than five poems.
- In addition, we are interested in works in any of the above genres which address social justice or Queer Studies.
The most important factor to consider is that whatever you submit, it must be compelling, original and well written.
Q: Can a non AULA Student, Alum or Faculty Member submit?
A: Yes. Check out the Submission Guidelines for details on submitting written work.
Q: If you accept my piece, what else do you need from me? A: Just some information.
- an author bio
- if you have a homepage or sites you want linked to the bio, send us their and names and URLs
- an e-mailed publication agreement (see below.)
Q: What publication rights do you ask for when you accept a story for publication?
A: First Serial Rights — all rights return to the author on publication. That’s the traditional agreement between authors and literary magazines. We ask authors to sign a simple contract that says: “Poem, Short Story or Memoir “[title of story]” is unpublished; I grant First Serial Rights to Two Hawks Quarterly for publication in a future issue. Sincerely, name address phone e-mail All we ask in return is that you mention that the work first saw print in Two Hawks Quarterly on the acknowledgments page of any future reprints.
Q: What does “First Serial Rights” mean?
A: This rights category means that, you, the author, give us, a serial periodical, first rights to distribute this material for the consumption of others, and once that’s achieved, that’s the end of the agreement. We do not ask for follow-up or anthology rights. We will e-mail you if the opportunity comes for your work to be nominated for reprint in secondary serial or anthology publications.
Q: Do you consider novel excerpts?
A: Yes. But we only consider novel excerpts under the following conditions:
- First Serial Rights must be available for the excerpt.
- We consider excerpts from novels already accepted for publication. Please provide publication info (publishing house, release date, etc) in your cover letter.
- The excerpt has to work as an independent short story. If a piece doesn’t come together in one way or another because it’s part of a larger narrative, its chances of succeeding as a short story is limited.
- The excerpt has to be titled and presented as a short story.
Q: If I have no previous publications to list in my bio, can I still submit?
A: Yes. We look forward to discovering and publishing new voices.
Q: What are the file format guidelines?
A: We do not accept file attachments unless we ask you specifically. All submissions should be sent in the body of your submission e-mail.
Q. Do you read all of every story submitted?
A. Yes, but give us time to respond.
Q: Do you pay?
A: No.
Q: How can I be an editor?
A: If you are an Antioch University Los Angeles undergraduate student, contact Donald Strauss and request an independent study. Openings are limited and commitment is required.
***IMPORTANT***
In the final draft, it is extremely important to submit work which has been spellchecked and formatted correctly. You will receive final specs with the letter of acceptance. Work that does not meet our specifications will not be considered for publication.