~~ISSUE 15 THEME: DISPLACEMENT~~
OPENS JULY 1
Climate refugees. Environmental migrants. Diasporic communities. Subduction zones and fault lines. Shifting matter. Unconscious substitutions of the (ir)rational mind. Bodies in incarceration, internment and detainment.
The Fourth River’s 15th print issue, due out in Spring, 2018, will explore notions of displacement.
What does it mean to move or be moved from a physical, spiritual or emotional place or position? What are the natural, social and scientific forces that act upon bodies, spaces and communities?
For this
special themed issue, we are seeking fiction, nonfiction, poetry and
visual art that highlights the experience of displacement: the causes,
processes and effects of leaving, escaping or being forced from natural
and/or human-made worlds. We are interested in a broad definition of
this term.
We welcome especially work by writers who are part of marginalized groups: immigrant and indigenous writers; writers of color; women, non-binary, LGBQA and trans writers; writers with disabilities both visible and invisible. Send us your best work!
General Guidelines
The Fourth River publishes one print issue in the spring and one digital issue in the fall. Submissions for print are accepted July 1-September 1; for digital November 1-January 1.
Submissions for the web series, Tributaries, is rolling.
We welcome submissions that explore the relationship between humans and their environments, both natural and built, urban, rural or wild. We are looking for writing that is richly situated at the confluence of place, space and identity—or that reflects upon or makes use of landscape and place in new ways.
Recent authors we’ve published include Barbara Hurd, Susan Cohen, Nate Pritts, and BK Loren. Contributors to The Fourth River have received Pushcart Prizes, NEA Fellowships, and The Drue Heinz Literature Prize. The Fourth River’s contributors have been published in Glimmer Train, Alaska Quarterly Review, The Missouri Review, The Best American Short Stories, The O. Henry Prize Stories, and The Best American Travel Writing.
The Fourth River accepts unpublished poetry, literary short fiction, creative nonfiction and artwork.
Please send 3-5 poems, up to 7,000 words of prose, or three pieces of visual art at a time.
The Fourth River only accepts submissions via Submittable. Emailed submissions will not be read. Mailed submissions will be recycled.
Please indicate in your cover letter if your submission is intended for one of our special themes. If no theme is indicated, we will consider your work for our upcoming print and/or online issues.
