First Things First
First Things FirstAll pieces should be the original work of the author, of course. A possible exception to this rule would be translations of a work in the public domain, or with the permission of the original author, but priority will go to personal work. Simultaneous submissions accepted are, though first publication rights are very strongly preferred. Please let us know in your cover letter where else you've sent your piece or pieces, as a courtesy to us and the other magazines. This will not affect our reading of your work or our decision. We would simply like to know if you may decide to withdraw your entry in the future.
Work Format and LimitationsAll work should be double spaced, with the title, the author's name, and the author's contact information prominent on the first page.
Please do not send more than five poems at a time as part of a single entry, unless absolutely necessary for artistic reasons (in which case let us know in the cover letter). Also, please keep short plays pretty short. We will likely be able to run no more than one play/screenplay per issue. Essays and reviews should, of course, give credit where credit is due, and cite all sources. Relevant visual aides certainly permitted, and, especially for art criticism, encouraged.
Our staff does proofread the pieces we receive, to a point. We would very much prefer to keep this to a minimum, so that we might focus on the story's content and meaning, and would like to give all who submit a friendly reminder: please proofread and format your work before sending. A mistake here and there is certainly ok. We all do it and we are all human. A hundred mistakes in a hundred places is a different deal altogether.
Submission FormatAt the moment we are taking digital submissions. Please email the work to AlchemyReview@gmail.com, with the title and form of the piece, as well and your name as the subject:
A cover letter is not absolutely necessary unless something must be brought to our attention. However, it is nice to hear on a more personal level from the writers and we certainly won't hold it against you.
As it stands, the Alchemy Review is a very small, emerging publication. As you know, we are currently in the
process of preparing for our first print issue, both in terms of fundraising and putting it together. Due to
this, we will be unable to pay the authors in anything but a copy of the magazine itself. This will likely be
the case for quite a while, but we want all who submit to us to know that we very much appreciate your efforts
and your submission. Please keep writing, and keep them coming!
Response TimeWe try our best to respond as personally as we can to the authors, but due to our size, the time constraints, and the amount of work we have been receiving so far, we are not always able to send confirmation emails or give personal attention right away. We are, however, very quick to respond to a specific query. So if you would like to know the status of your work, or if you have any other questions, concerns, or comments, please email us directly and personally (same adress, but you will get priority attention). We will get back to you as soon as possible. Otherwise, you will always be made aware, at the time of our decision, what that decision was. This may take quite a bit of time, but we assure you, your work will be read, carefully considered, and always appreciated.
Privacy and Safety GuaranteeThis is an express guarantee that we will never disrespect the intellectual property of the submitting authors in any way, shape or form. None but our editors get access to the stories, and they will not be published in any medium without the express permission of the author, nor would they be altered in any significant fashion, barring spelling and grammar correction. If a piece is accepted, the editors may make suggestions as to possible changes they feel would enhance the piece, but the final word is with the author. The author retains all rights to his work.
Also, we give our guarantee that we will never share personal information with any party outside the staff
of the Review.