Submissions will be open from 12:00 AM, CST on September 8, 2024 to 12:00 AM, CST on October 18, 2024 .

Acceptance/Rejection emails will be sent out the week following the deadline, depending on the number of submissions received. You can expect to hear back about the status of your submission before the end of October at the latest.

Anyone can submit to this journal. Although we hope to honor emerging voices from Oklahoma, this is an international project and is open to the public. As long as your submission fits with the theme and follows the submission guidelines, we encourage you to submit your work!

Yes. All contributors will receive a copy of the e-book and one free copy of the print publication. Please ensure the address included in your form is up-to-date and be sure to notify us if there are any changes to your address before we send out the physical copy.

Yes. You are guaranteed a copy of the e-book to share with your friends and family. We hope to send out physical copies to any international contributors as well. We cannot say for certain at this time, but you will be notified prior to printing, whether or not we can send you a physical copy. If you have any questions, you are strongly encouraged to reach out to hello@paytonhayes.com!

We are accepting submissions in English only at this time. If you'd like to submit your work in another language, please email us at hello@paytonhayes.com for more information.

Yes, but please keep in touch regarding simultaneous submissions. If your work is accepted elsewhere, you will need to withdraw your submission promptly to avoid any copyright issues. If need to withdraw your submission, please send an email to hello@paytonhayes.com.

We hope to have additional copies available for purchase and will send updates out when we know more! Make sure you sign up for updates to stay in the loop!

Yes. By submitting your work and the form above, you agree to provide us (Payton Hayes and The University of Central Oklahoma) the express right to publish your work in e-book and print formats. While this agreement allows us the First Rights and allows us to be the first to publish your work, all other copyrights will revert back to their original owners. This also means that the e-book may be shared with friends and family online, but may NOT be edited, reproduced, distributed, or altered in any way, nor may this e-book be sold or distributed for profit. This project is solely for educational purposes only.

Yes! We hope to unveil the finished print journal towards the end of the Fall 2024 semester. If you'd like to be notified about this event, please sign up for email updates when you fill out the form above!

If you'd like to help design or edit the journal or if you'd like to help us put together the unveiling event, please reach out by email at hello@paytonhayes.com to let us know you want to get involved! Any volunteers who help with the publication will get an "Edited by" line in the print and e-book versions of the journal, and anyone who assists with the unveiling event can include this experience in their resume! All volunteers will receive a free copy of the journal for their efforts in this project.

This project was actually the creative offspring of another project I presented during my study at the University of Central Oklahoma. During the Spring 2024 semester, I presented my work at the College of Liberal Arts 2024 Symposium, "Human Constellations." My presentation consisted of both academic and creative elements that demonstrated how both ancient and modern mythology shapes our individual and collective identities. That presentation was essentially the bite-sized version of the work I am hoping to accomplish with this literary journal. I don't have a recording of the full presentation, but you can view the poetry animations on my YouTube channel here.