Bridge
There are presently no open calls for submissions.
Submissions Thank you for your interest in Bridge, Chicago's independent, intersectional hard bound journal of art and public scholarship. We welcome submissions in poetry, fiction and creative nonfiction, visual art, cultural criticism, design, and hybrid work from established as well as emerging writers and artists. We also have editorial departments for music, dance, architecture (unless design) and philosophy, couture and others that we do not accept submissions for here -- please pitch ideas for these departments to us directly at bridge.editors1@gmail.com.
We are especially interested in work that embraces the world and continues, however subtly, the ongoing global conversation about culture and society that Bridge has championed from its beginning in 1999. We also accept reviews and interviews, which we publish throughout the year at our online magazine, bridge-chicago.org.
Back issues are available in our member's area archives. A free membership is required for access.
How to Submit: We accept all submissions through Submittable, an online submissions system. There is no charge to create a Submittable account, but please note that we do charge a small reading fee to help cover the costs of the software and some operating expenses. We do not accept mailed or emailed submissions. As a periodical, we publish when we have sufficient material to justify it, and accept submissions year-round.
The deadline for submissions to be considered for the next volume of Bridge (V23 N2) is 11:59pm on January 15, 2023. This is for our regular "annual" journal, organized by members of the Bridge artistic collective, who also serve as section editors.
We also have a Data-themed issue (V23 N1) which we will accept submissions for up to 11:59pm on Dec. 1, 2022 (for submissions to the Bridge Journal only -- does not apply to &c submissions). PLEASE NOT THIS DATE IS NOT LISTED IN SUBMITTABLE'S CALENDAR. Submissions intended for this category must note this in the submission info area, and must analyze, interpret or utilize data (broadly interpreted) in some way.
CURRENTLY ACTIVE CATEGORIES
For Poetry and Fiction submissions for the Bridge Journal, please include in your cover letter the title, year, author and any other information, including a short bio on the poet or author. Submissions are read by their respective Bridge section editors and, in the case of editors at-large, by the Editor-in-Chief. We do also accept literature in translation, so long as copyright from the original author or poet, their estate, or current rights holder has been obtained, and written proof can be provided.
For Bridge &c -- Magazine & Member's Section Submissions (bridge-chicago.org), please include in your cover letter the title, year and any other information, including a short bio. Other specific criteria as listed within the submission form are also requested. Categories within this submission include:
- The Private Readings Series
- Zine Reading Room
- Reviews
- Photographer's Chapbook
- Flash Fiction
- Your Turn
Please refer to the &c submissions page for details on submission requirements for each individual category.
The Ephemera & Marginalia category accepts submissions for sub-category projects and ongoing initiatives in the hard bound Bridge Journal. PLEASE note which category you are submitting to in your cover letter, and follow the instructions for submission unique to each. These currently include:
- Spot Illustrations
- Marginalia
- Hypershort poetry
- End-Page comics
INACTIVE, BUT FEEL FREE TO WRITE US (WE MAY ALSO OPEN THESE SOON, STAY TUNED)
For Cult Crit and Design, please include in your cover letter the title and your completed cultural criticism or design submission, OR a summary of the idea (maximum 300 words), and any other relevant information, including a short bio on the poet or author. Please note that for any essays or other writing requiring permissions to produce or reproduce any images or supporting materials are entirely the responsibility of the author. Confirmation of permissions must also be provided prior to publication.
For Design, Visual Art & Visual Poetry and Comics submissions, please include with your cover letter an itemized list of submissions and an explanation of the included content. ALL submissions must be print quality images, minimum 300 dpi, minimum 4x5", and must include all relevant caption information, including: artist name, year, materials, and all relevant credits for those pictured, as well as any photographer credit. Please also indicate if the work has been shown in public previously.
OPENING JANUARY 1, 2023 //
Sound Art is special project for Bridge by PingLab. A sound art series on flexi-discs will be produced as an ongoing special project, and will contain a secret access code to an extended play Soundcloud track list available only to flexi-disc owners. This will be archived and accessible only through an upcoming "listening room" in the Bridge website member's area. This will enable extended audio clips, sampled on the collector's edition flexi-disc, to be made available with no length restrictions and enable extended play versions of the artist's submission(s).
These flexi-discs support our Assembly Zones public health project to treat long-term isolation and structural lack of access to crisis resources (read all about it here). Uploads of all file formats listed in the entry are acceptable, as are Soundcloud and other links ways of providing samples (please paste Soundcloud links in your cover letter section). Please include no more than three (3) sound art submissions per artist.
A project of Michael Workman Studios (michael-workman.com), the PingLab Soundcloud account serves as an archive of research and work product recordings, with exclusive content for Bridge Art, NFP (bridge-chicago.org).
PingLab has produced the Private Reading Series since 2014, an audio archive of readings at the Private Series, hosted at various locations throughout Chicago, including at underground Cafe The Handsome Squid, and later at artist Theaster Gates' Bing Books.
As well, PingLab will continue to host new poetry and literary recordings through &c, a Submittable category for submission of additional audio and other off-main site projects.
Please also include a mailing address and 250-word or less bio with all submissions.
We do accept simultaneous submissions. You can withdraw or edit your submission at anytime by logging into your account. To learn more about Bridge and our mission as a periodical, please refer to our masthead page.