Yolk is currently OPEN for submissions for our spring print issue, Vol. 4.2, until January 31st at 11:59pm. Submissions to our Digital Publication will reopen on February 1st.
Annual Submission Windows:
Spring Print: January 1st - January 31st
Digital: February 1st - May 31st
Fall Print: July 1st - July 31st
Digital: August 1st - November 30th
We do no accept submissions of any kind during December and June.
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Yolk is a Montreal-based literary journal that publishes fiction, poetry, non-fiction, and visual arts in our print (Canadian) and digital (Canadian + 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, the Best American Anthology series, Best of the Net, and for Pushcart prizes.
For all other general inquiries, please contact us at themail@yolkliterary.ca
Thank you for submitting to yolk!
These guidelines refer to regular fiction submissions for our print issue.
THEME: Open Theme
Our print publication is open to all Canadian writers. For our publication, we consider this to be:
-Anyone with Canadian Citizenship or Permanent Resident status, 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 on the home page. Thank you for submitting to yolk!
These guidelines refer to regular non-fiction submissions for our print issue.
THEME: Open Theme
Our print publication is open to all Canadian writers. For our publication, we consider this to be:
-Anyone with Canadian Citizenship or Permanent Resident status, 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 regular poetry submissions for our print issue.
THEME: Open Theme
Our print publication is open to all Canadian writers. For our publication, we consider this to be:
-Anyone with Canadian Citizenship or Permanent Resident status, 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: Open Theme
Our print publication is open to all Canadian artists. For our publication, we consider this to be:
-Anyone with Canadian Citizenship or Permanent Resident status, 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!
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. To this end, we will only be accepting 75 submissions before we have to close this submission.
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.
Our print publication is open to all Canadian writers. For our publication, we consider this to be:
-Anyone with Canadian Citizenship or Permanent Resident status, 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!