Yolk is currently accepting submissions for print (Vol. 4.1) and for our inaugural Montreal Fiction Prize ($3000 awarded in prize money). Submissions to our digital publication are currently closed.
Yolk is a Montreal-based literary journal that publishes fiction, poetry, non-fiction, and visual arts in our print (Canadian) and digital (international) publications. Our mandate is to publish fine work by established and emerging artists.
We encourage submissions from all artists and writers, including those from marginalized communities and those generally under-represented in literature, in particular Indigenous writers, writers of colour, LGBTQ+ writers, and writers with disabilities.
PAYMENT AND COPYRIGHT
- Yolk believes in paying artists. We offer a $100CAD honorarium for our digital publication. For print, we offer $30 per page up to a maximum of $200. We also pay $200 for our cover art.
- All contributors whose work has been selected for publication in our print issues will also receive a free copy of the journal.
- Yolk does not accept work that has been previously published in print or online (we also will not consider work that has previously appeared on social media or on personal blogs).
- Yolk acquires First Serial Rights and the right to archive your work on our website, though copyright reverts to the author upon publication.
There is a nominal 3$ submission fee. Yolk is a registered NPO and these charges will go towards sustaining operating costs. We will always have a free submission option available for those for whom the submission fee is preventative. In recognizing the additional cultural and socioeconomic barriers Indigenous people overcome, we are waiving submission fees for submissions by Indigenous people for print and digital publication (see "INCLUSIVE ACCESS" below).
RESPONSE TIME/SUBMISSIONS
- Please do not inquire about the status of your submission. Each submission will be carefully reviewed by our editorial committee, and you will receive a response within two to five months.
- Though we accept simultaneous submissions, notify us immediately should your work be accepted elsewhere.
- Artists and writers may only submit once per genre per submission window. For the purposes of our publication, this means once every three months for digital publication, and once per print issue. Note that this restriction does not apply to contests.
- Per submission window, prose writers may submit up to two pieces as separate submissions. Poets may submit up to three poems as a single submission. Visual artists may submit up to ten pieces as a single submission.
Please ensure you carefully read all of these general submission guidelines before submitting.
We submit work published in our journal to the National Magazine Awards, the Best Canadian Anthology series, and for Pushcart prizes.
For all other general inquiries, please contact us at themail@yolkliterary.ca
Thank you for submitting to yolk!
Yolk's 2024 inaugural Montreal Fiction Prize
Prize Money: Worth a total of $3000
Submissions Closing: 19 May 2024
Judged by: Souvankham Thammavongsa
Yolk welcomes entries to the inaugural Montreal Fiction Prize, a Canadian prize for original short stories written in English. The first prize winner will receive $2,000 and publication in Vol 4.1; second and third place will receive $500 each and publication (either in Vol. 4.1 or a subsequent issue/digital publication). The contest is open to all Canadian writers.
For our publication, we consider this to be:
-Anyone with Canadian citizenship or permanent citizenship, residing here or abroad
-Anyone that currently resides in Canada
This year, Souvankham Thammavongsa, winner of the Giller 2020 prize for her short story collection, How to Pronounce Knife, will be judging the inaugural contest!
Souvankham Thammavongsa is the author of four poetry books and the short story collection How to Pronounce Knife, which won the Scotiabank Giller Prize and was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award. Her stories have won an O. Henry Award and appeared in The New Yorker, The Paris Review, Granta, and Harper's Magazine. She was born in the Lao refugee camp in Nong Khai, Thailand, and lives in Toronto, Canada.
General Rules, Formatting, and Information:
- We seek original short stories up to 4,000 words on any subject and in any style.
- We will only review self-contained works. Excerpts or chapters from a larger body of work will not be accepted.
- The entry fee is $15. Contestants can submit more than one story, but will have to submit them individually and pay the entry fee for each story submitted.
- The shortlist will be announced the first week of July, and the winners the following week.
- For all written works, use a legible font and 1.5 line spacing. Though yolk is especially fond of Garamond, 12-point, we do not discriminate against other styles. Should you be compelled to justify your text, do so knowing that you will be choosing a side in a tireless internal dispute at yolk.
- Do not include any personal information in your text or file name. Our editors read anonymously—any submissions including personal information (name, email, etc.) within the text will not be considered.
Before submitting, we strongly encourage you to read our general submission guidelines.
Yolk warmly acknowledges the generous support of the Conseil des arts de Montréal in making this contest possible.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Q: Is this prize only open to Montreal writers?
A: No. Despite the name, this prize is open to all Canadian writers. For our publication, we consider this to be: Anyone with Canadian citizenship or permanent citizenship, residing here or abroad; and anyone that currently resides in Canada.
Q: Is there a theme for the prize?
A: No. Although the winners will be published in a print issue with a theme, the contest is handled separately, and no submissions are expected to adhere to a theme.
Q: Can I submit multiple entries to the Fiction Prize?
A: Contestants can submit more than one story, but will have to submit them individually and pay the entry fee for each story submitted.
Q: Can I submit to the Fiction Prize and to regular print consideration?
A: Yes, though you'll have to submit to them separately and pay the separate submission fees.
Q: Can I submit the same story to both the Fiction Prize and to regular print consideration?
A: Yes, though we recommend submitting separate stories to increase your odds of publication.
Q: When will I hear back about my story?
A: The shortlist will be announced the first week of July, and the winners the following week.
Q: Are submissions read anonymously?
A: Yes. Therefore, do not include any personal information in your text. Our editors read anonymously—any submissions including personal information (name, email, etc.) within the text will not be considered.
These guidelines refer to regular fiction submissions for our print issue. DO NOT SUBMIT CONTEST ENTRIES HERE.
THEME: Scrap(s)
Scrap(s): Fragments of the discarded. To fight or quarrel. A word with a dirty connotation: you feed this to the dog. Or, the idea of scraps not as leftovers, but of scraps as a medium for rebuilding beautiful things; a means of disassembling what has been built and reinventing from the pieces; the collective power of combining disparate parts. What do we collapse, what structures do we leave behind, which do we salvage and resuscitate? Speak to it.
Our print publication is open to all Canadian writers. For our publication, we consider this to be:
-Anyone with Canadian citizenship or permanent citizenship, residing here or abroad
-Anyone that currently resides in Canada
FORMATTING
- Writers may submit up to two stories, but will have to submit them as separate entries.
- We will only review self-contained works. Excerpts or chapters from a larger body of work will not be accepted.
- Do not exceed 4,000 words.
- For all written works, use a legible font and 1.5 line spacing. Though yolk is especially fond of Garamond, 12-point, we do not discriminate against other styles. Should you be compelled to justify your text, do so knowing that you will be choosing a side in a tireless internal dispute at yolk.
- Do not include any personal information in your text or file name. Our editors read anonymously—any submissions including personal information (name, email, etc.) within the text will not be considered.
Before submitting, we strongly encourage you to read our general submission guidelines. Thank you for submitting to yolk!
These guidelines refer to non-fiction submissions to our print issue.
THEME: Scrap(s)
Scrap(s): Fragments of the discarded. To fight or quarrel. A word with a dirty connotation: you feed this to the dog. Or, the idea of scraps not as leftovers, but of scraps as a medium for rebuilding beautiful things; a means of disassembling what has been built and reinventing from the pieces; the collective power of combining disparate parts. What do we collapse, what structures do we leave behind, which do we salvage and resuscitate? Speak to it.
Our print publication is open to all Canadian writers. For our publication, we consider this to be:
-Anyone with Canadian citizenship or permanent citizenship, residing here or abroad
-Anyone that currently resides in Canada
FORMATTING
- Writers may submit up to two individual pieces, but will have to submit them as separate entries.
- We will only review self-contained works. Excerpts or chapters from a larger body of work will not be accepted.
- Do not exceed 4,000 words.
- For all written works, use a legible font and 1.5 line spacing. Though yolk is especially fond of Garamond, 12-point, we do not discriminate against other styles. Should you be compelled to justify your text, do so knowing that you will be choosing a side in a tireless internal dispute at yolk
- Do not include any personal information in your text or file name. Our editors read anonymously—any submissions including personal information (name, email, etc.) within the text will not be considered.
Before submitting, we strongly encourage you to read our general submission guidelines. Thank you for submitting to yolk!
These guidelines refer to poetry submissions to our print issue.
THEME: Scrap(s)
Scrap(s): Fragments of the discarded. To fight or quarrel. A word with a dirty connotation: you feed this to the dog. Or, the idea of scraps not as leftovers, but of scraps as a medium for rebuilding beautiful things; a means of disassembling what has been built and reinventing from the pieces; the collective power of combining disparate parts. What do we collapse, what structures do we leave behind, which do we salvage and resuscitate? Speak to it.
Our print publication is open to all Canadian writers. For our publication, we consider this to be:
-Anyone with Canadian citizenship or permanent citizenship, residing here or abroad
-Anyone that currently resides in Canada
FORMATTING
- Submit a maximum of three poems; do not exceed 6 pages.
- For all written works, use a legible font and 1.5 line spacing. Though yolk is especially fond of Garamond, 12-point, we do not discriminate against other styles. Should you be compelled to justify your text, do so knowing that you will be choosing a side in a tireless internal dispute at yolk.
- Do not include any personal information in your text or file name. Our editors read anonymously—any submissions including personal information (name, email, etc.) within the text will not be considered.
Before submitting, we strongly encourage you to read our general submission guidelines Thank you for submitting to yolk!
These guidelines refer to visual arts submissions for our print issue. The scope of acceptance for this genre covers all forms of visual art, i.e., photography, illustrations, multimedia, collages, paintings, drawings, etc.
THEME: Scrap(s)
Scrap(s): Fragments of the discarded. To fight or quarrel. A word with a dirty connotation: you feed this to the dog. Or, the idea of scraps not as leftovers, but of scraps as a medium for rebuilding beautiful things; a means of disassembling what has been built and reinventing from the pieces; the collective power of combining disparate parts. What do we collapse, what structures do we leave behind, which do we salvage and resuscitate? Speak to it.
Our print publication is open to all Canadian artists. For our publication, we consider this to be:
-Anyone with Canadian citizenship or permanent citizenship, residing here or abroad
-Anyone that currently resides in Canada
FORMATTING
- Submit a maximum of 10 pieces of visual art, each as separate files with the name of the work included in the file name
- Submit your work in JPEG and provide a brief description of the work's intention in your cover letter
- Should you be uncertain about placing your work in this category, do not hesitate to inquire (themail@yolkliterary.ca)
- Do not include any personal information in your submission or file name. Our editors view anonymously—any submissions including personal information (name, email, etc.) within the text will not be considered.
- There is no separate submission for cover art. All visual art submitted is considered for the cover.
Before submitting, we strongly encourage you to read our general submission guidelines Thank you for submitting to yolk!
DO NOT SUBMIT CONTEST ENTRIES HERE. This option only applies to our regular consideration for print.
Yolk is proud to offer an Inclusive Access category for those who might otherwise be unable to submit due to financial barriers. Please only use this form if you would otherwise be completely unable submit to yolk. Yolk is a registered NPO and the new 3$ submission fee goes towards sustaining operating costs to ensure we can sustain our operations. However, we will always have a free submission option available for those for whom the submission fee is preventative.
Further, yolk especially encourages submissions from Indigenous writers living across Turtle Island/Canada. In recognizing the additional cultural and socioeconomic barriers Indigenous people overcome, we are waiving submission fees for submissions by Indigenous people.
Make sure to signal which genre you are submitting to in your submission form. For individuals looking to submit in multiple genres, please submit each genre as individual submissions.
THEME: Scrap(s)
Scrap(s): Fragments of the discarded. To fight or quarrel. A word with a dirty connotation: you feed this to the dog. Or, the idea of scraps not as leftovers, but of scraps as a medium for rebuilding beautiful things; a means of disassembling what has been built and reinventing from the pieces; the collective power of combining disparate parts. What do we collapse, what structures do we leave behind, which do we salvage and resuscitate? Speak to it.
Our print publication is open to all Canadian writers. For our publication, we consider this to be:
-Anyone with Canadian citizenship or permanent citizenship, residing here or abroad
-Anyone that currently resides in Canada
FORMATTING
- For prose submissions, do not exceed 4,000 words; only .doc and .docx formats will be considered.
- For poetry submissions, do not exceed 3 poems or 6 pages; only .doc and .docx formats will be considered.
- For visual arts submissions, the scope of acceptance covers all forms of visual art, i.e., photography, illustrations, multimedia, collages, paintings, drawings, etc.; submit no more than 10 pieces; only .jpg format will be considered
- Do not include any personal information in your text or file name. Our editors read anonymously—any submissions including personal information (name, email, etc.) within the text will not be considered.
Before submitting, we strongly encourage you to read our general submission guidelines. Thank you for submitting to yolk!