Calling for Spring 2024 Edition Submissions

Dear Readers,

Nineteen Fifty-Six magazine is now accepting submissions from current Black UA students, faculty, staff and alums for our Spring issue, which will focus on family.   

We are interested in personal essays, opinions, poems, creative nonfiction, short narrative-driven profiles/features, etc., that showcase the complexity and contours of the Black family, not just the positive aspects but the negative too.   

We are open to whatever topics you want to discuss under the umbrella of family, but here are a few topics you could consider:   

  • We want to know what family means to you?   
  • What are your fondest and/or funniest memories with your family?   
  • We want to hear about how you’ve found your chosen family or what you want to do as a future or current parent to foster a positive familial bond with your kids.   
  • Tell us about a family member that you look up to, a moment you felt most like someone in your family, or a family recipe you like to cook for your friends.   
  • We want to know how you have overcome the grief of losing a family member and any wisdom you’d like to impart to others.  
  • Tell us about your coming out experience or the first time you brought a significant other home.   

 If you’re not sure if it’s a good fit, send it anyway. All we’re looking for is your honest, unadulterated truth about family.  

The deadline for submitting is 11:59 p.m. CT on Friday, Jan. 19. If your piece is accepted, our writing editor will reach out by Sunday, Jan. 21, via email and will begin working with you to develop your story throughout January and February for our release in April.   

For further information, contact our Writing Editor via email at: jkelly4@crimson.ua.edu 

Thank you so much for sharing and trusting us with your story. We look forward to hearing from you!   

Submission Guidelines and Other Frequently Asked Questions:   

  • We’re looking for completed stories that are creative, have strong narrative arcs, and are accurate, even if they are personal narratives.  
  • Our stories usually range from 300 to 1,200 words. We are looking for stories that sit between 300 and 750 words, but if a piece is accepted, we will reach out to discuss length on a case-by-case basis.   
  • Deadlines for submissions are set with our timelines for each issue, but we accept submissions on a rolling basis.   
  • Feel free to reach out if you are still waiting to hear back within two weeks after the submission deadline.  
  • No, you do not need to know AP style. Once a story has been accepted, our writing editor and assistant writing editors will work with you on fact-checking, copy-editing and formatting the article.   
  • We are a general audience publication; please do not send academic essays.  
  • You may not submit on behalf of someone else.  
  • Our magazine focuses on Black experiences, so you must be Black to submit.  
  • If, after submitting a piece, you’re interested in writing for Nineteen Fifty-Six magazine, contact our writing editor at jkelly4@crimson.ua.du