PFN – Asymptote Journal Seeking Submissions on the Theme of Attention

SUBMIT TO THE SECOND INSTALLMENT OF OUR SPECIAL FEATURE: ON ATTENTION

In an age of fractured focus, how do we attend—to each other, to the world, to the overlooked?

In response to the overwhelming number of submissions we received (100 submissions in six weeks) to our original call, we have decided to organize at least one more installment of this Special Feature.

Simone Weil once called attention “the rarest and purest form of generosity.” Mary Oliver claimed it was our “endless and proper work.” We are seeking works of fiction, literary nonfiction, and poetry—written originally in English or translated into English—that engage with the politics and poetics of attention: its scarcity and its cultivation. We welcome responses that cross borders—of genre, of geography, of language—and expand our understanding of what it means to look closely, to listen fully, to dwell in the present. Submissions must be sent through Submittable.

You may submit creative work of no more than 5,000 words by one author in total. For this Special Feature, we will consider works originally written in English as well as works translated into English. Here, again, is our call:

In an age of fractured focus, how do we attend—to each other, to the world, to the overlooked?

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

Asymptote welcomes submissions of hitherto unpublished translated poetry, fiction, nonfiction and drama; certain types of original English-language nonfiction, including literary and critical writing. Please note the following genre-specific and general guidelines.

Poetry

Please send up to 10 pages of poetry translated into English. If the originals are included in the submission, the length of the entire document may reach 20 pages (that is, a maximum of 10 pages of translated work accompanied by 10 pages of original material). Please start each poem or section of a long poem on a new page unless the work absolutely demands to be read without page breaks.

Fiction
The submission might include one or more works of short fiction or excerpts of a longer work translated into English. Please send no more than 5,000 words in total.

Literary Nonfiction

This includes genres such as memoir, despatch (reportage), travelogue and the occasional essay. Nonfiction submissions must be work translated into English, except for essays about translation, which may be written in English. To get a stronger sense of what we are looking for, go through the past articles that we have published. Send no more than 5,000 words in total.

GENERAL GUIDELINES

All submissions should be sent as one Microsoft Word attachment (as a .doc file, please) via Submittable.

Submissions must not have been previously published.

Simultaneous submissions are permitted, but we ask in return that you notify us by email as soon as you learn of an acceptance elsewhere.

Submission Fee: $10