Prelude Guidelines for Submission

The Prelude is the literary magazine of Huntingdon College. Founded in 1928 and continuously published for nearly a century, the magazine features creative writing and visual art produced by the college’s students, faculty, and alumni. It is edited by undergraduate students, and issues are produced twice a year in fall and spring.

Unsolicited submissions from Huntingdon College students, faculty, and alumni will be considered during two open-submission periods:

• August 15 through October 15 in the fall semester
• January 15 through March 15 in the spring semester

Submissions should be emailed to prelude@hawks.dbctl.com as a .doc or .pdf attachment. All submissions will receive a response. Works accepted from those open-submission periods will be published in the subsequent issue that follows, unless otherwise arranged.

The editors may also solicit submissions from writers, inviting prospective contributors to include specific works (capstone projects) and explore specified topics. The editors would contact those writers themselves, and the issues containing those works would be arranged in advance.

Writers who send works outside of the dates when the editorial process is underway will receive a response during the next open-submissions period.

General Guidelines for Literary Works

The editors of The Prelude will consider works of fiction, poetry, nonfiction, or drama, as well as screenplays, reviews, interviews, multi-genre works, and other nontraditional text-based forms. Poems may not exceed 50 lines, and prose works may contain up to 3,000 words. Scripts and screenplays may not exceed 20 pages and should be submitted in correct format. Interviews should be transcribed. (Audio files of interviews will not be considered.)

For works that exceed the maximum line, word, or page count, please query the editors via email, and describe the work before submitting. When sending a query, please briefly explain the work’s subject, its length, and why you believe it is right for The Prelude. 

General Advice for Literary Works

The editors favor high-quality writing that exhibits humanity, employs concreteness, and achieves a measure of clarity.

When submitting works that may require context or background knowledge, such as fan fiction or stories based on popular characters, please include a brief description of the context with the submission.

During the process, the editors may ask writers for revisions in cases where changes could clarify aspects of the work.

Guidelines for Works of Art

The editors of The Prelude will also consider works of visual art for inclusion within the magazine’s pages. Types of art that lend themselves to this format would include:

• fine-art photography
• two-dimensional (paintings, drawings)
• images of three-dimensional works (sculpture, pottery)
• prints (linoleum cuts, block prints)
• comics
• digitally produced works (memes, graphics)

Submissions should be emailed to prelude@hawks.dbctl.com as a .jpeg or .tiff attachments. All submissions will receive a response.

Though sending lower-resolution images may be necessary for an email submission, artists should be prepared to provide high-resolution images for publication. Works that are accepted from those open-submission periods will be published in the subsequent issue that follows, unless otherwise arranged.

General Advice for Works of Art

Before submitting, consider whether the art will be well-represented on the page in a book.

With the submission, please include the title of the work, its medium, and its size in inches.  For example: “Painting,” gouache on paper, 13″ x 17″─

The Prelude serves the College’s community by providing not only students, but also faculty and alumni with opportunities to express their ideas and feelings in literary or artistic form. The stimulating and provocative examples of writing and art contained in its pages encourage the free exploration of originality and the significance of celebrating the life of the mind. Those interested in learning more about The Prelude should contact advisor Foster Dickson in the Houghton Library or a member of the English department in Flowers Hall.