Submit to Expositions Magazine
Expositions Magazine accepts a very broad range of submissions within the general theme of “Nature and Metropolis.” Works combining themes of the environment and the city are particularly likely to be published, but works focusing on just one of those two themes are more than welcome. Written pieces should range from around 500 to 2,500 words. Course papers are welcome, especially if (re)written in less academic prose.
If you are interested in submitting a piece, please email us at expositionsuchicago@gmail.com. Submissions for Issue 7 are due at 11:59pm on Friday, February 9th.
More on Submission Types
Creative Nonfiction
The bulk of Expositions Magazine’s work falls under this category. Creative nonfiction could explore a theme, a region, an organization, an environmental issue, or more. Creative nonfiction also encompasses personal essays. Pieces are generally more in-depth than would appear in a newspaper, and focus on telling a (true) story in a compelling way. These pieces tend to focus less on developing an explicit argument, which would be the purview of opinion pieces. However, the line between these two types of submission is often blurry.
Book/Media Review
Book / media reviews can cover a broad range of media, including fiction and nonfiction writing, as well as TV and films. Reviews should combine a certain degree of summary with critical analysis of the author’s arguments. Possible questions to ask: What is this work trying to tell us? Are the arguments convincing? What does this work tell us about our broader culture?
Reviews of Place
Reviews of a place are typically 1500 words or fewer describing, analyzing, and/or critiquing a specific place. Some questions you could address: What does it seek to accomplish? Does it succeed? How is it in conversation with its surroundings? How is it in conversation with the larger society at the time when it was built? How is it in conversation with our society today? Places can be as small as rooms and buildings or as large as neighborhoods or landscapes, but please do focus your piece around a specific facet of a place; specificity is appreciated more than breadth.
Opinion Pieces
Opinion pieces are generally similar to Creative Nonfiction work, but focus more extensively on developing an argument, for example about a piece of legislation, an environmental or urban issue, etc.
Interviews
You may submit a transcript of an interview to Expositions. Examples of possible interviewees include: faculty members, urban planners, city-dwellers, scientists, and more.
Visual Arts
Photo-journalism submissions are acceptable as individual submissions, or as photo essays united by a central theme. Moreover, illustrations relating to nature and/or the city, serious or satirical, are welcome. Illustrations could convey a particular message, or simply bring aesthetic value to the magazine.
Short Fiction & Poetry
Short fiction, poetry, and other fictional genres are also welcome.