Submission Guidelines

Callaloo publishes original work in literature and the humanities of the African Diaspora. We seek formally rigorous, intellectually engaged writing across genres.

Overview

General Submissions: Open Sept 1 – May 1

Response Time: 4–6 months

All work must be previously unpublished.

Current Call for Submissions

We are now accepting submissions for a forthcoming special section called Black Panama: A People in Transit. Deadline July 15. Submission call here.

Requirements

All manuscripts must be submitted only as a Word document (.doc or .docx). Identifying information, including names of authors, addresses, phone numbers, and e-mail addresses, should not be included in the manuscript. Full style guide here.

Poetry

  • No more than 6 poems per submission, submitted in a single document
  • Formatting
  • Begin each poem on a new page, including its title
  • Preserve intentional line breaks, spacing, and indentation
  • Use consistent formatting across multiple poems in a single submission
  • Clearly indicate sequence or series titles where applicable

Prose

  • Fiction & Creative Nonfiction
  • Double-spaced
  • No longer than 6,000 words
  • One manuscript per submission
  • Max 3 submissions per year
  • Book Reviews
  • 500-1,000 words
  • Must be a book published within the last 12 months, or to be published within 12 months of submission

Scholarly Work

  • Double-spaced
  • Up to 6,000 words, excluding abstract and references
  • Full scholarly guidelines here

Proposals for Interviews and Special Sections

  • Considered on a case-by-case basis
  • Full proposal guidelines here

IMPORTANT NOTE: All submissions made to the journal are considered final drafts. Before submitting your work, please be sure that the manuscript being uploaded is the version you wish to ultimately see in print.



SUBMIT