…is Win’Doek hierso!
Welcome to Doek!‘s submission page. Please read the submission rules and guidelines below before submitting work for consideration using the portals below.
SUBMISSION PERIODS
- ISSUE 13: 01 November 2023—29 February 2024. [CLOSED]
- ISSUE 14: 01 June 2024—30 September 2024. [CLOSED]
FICTION AND AND POETRY
ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA
The following categories of fiction writers and poets may submit their work for consideration:
- Namibian citizens living in the country or in the diaspora (outside Namibia); and
- Foreign nationals who permanently reside in Namibia.
Writers, poets, and visual artists from Africa and the African diaspora are asked not to submit fiction or poetry unless they have been specifically requested to do so. African writers who do not meet the above criteria are encouraged to submit their work to any of the literary magazines curated on The Doek List whenever their respective submission windows open.
ACCEPTED FICTION AND POETRY SUBMISSIONS
Doek! seeks original and exciting writing which continuously explores new thematic terrain. The editorial team considers the following:
- Narrative (plot)-driven short fiction of any genre (such as crime, erotica, fantasy, historical, horror, humour, literary, magical realism, mystery, romance, science fiction, or any experimental writing which creatively blurs the margins between such genres) that lingers with the reader long after the final full stop; and,
- Poetry (written for the page, not performance) that takes the reader to the edge of their senses and beyond.
The editorial team is interested in reading submissions that discuss a wide variety of topics in interesting styles; prospective writers and poets should read previous issues of Doek! to see the themes and topics that have been previously explored. Storytellers are encouraged to discover fresh narrative territories. In particular, death, grief, and trauma are topics which have been covered extensively in past issues; contributors exploring similar topics are encouraged to find new ways of engaging with such subject matter. Submissions which are directed at the white gaze are not encouraged.
FICTION AND POETRY SUBMISSION RULES AND GUIDELINES
- Only original work will be considered. Previously published work (in any medium, including social media or personal blogs) is not accepted.
- Novels and manuscript excerpts, film scripts and plays, journalistic reportage or columns, management or business guides, and “self-help” or motivational texts are not eligible for consideration.
- Submissions must be written in English. Writers and poets may use words or phrases from any of Namibia’s indigenous languages provided their meaning can be understood within the text (without resort to glossaries or footnotes).
- Submissions, including poetry, may not exceed 4500 words. The minimum word count for fiction is 1500 words; there is no minimum word count for poetry.
- Fiction writers can only submit one (1) piece of writing per submission window.
- Poets may submit up to five (5) poems in one document per submission window.
- Submissions must be typed: Times New Roman, 12 pt, 2.0 line spacing.
- The submitted document should only contain the title and the body text of the submission. No identifying details (name, contact number, or email address) may be used in the filename or be placed anywhere in the submission document.
- Submissions can be sent in any of the following formats: Microsoft Word (.docx and .doc), Rich Text Format (.rtf), and plain text (.txt).
- Writers and poets cannot submit to or be considered for two or more categories at any given point in time. Each writer and poet must submit to one category and wait to be told about the final outcome of their submission before submitting again. Unsuccessful writers and poets can submit to the same category or a different category if their submissions are not accepted for publication.
- Simultaneous submissions (submissions which have been sent to other literary magazines) are permitted and should be retracted when accepted for publication elsewhere.
- Writers and poets who have been published in Doek! must wait six months from the date of their publication before submitting any work (in any category) to the magazine for consideration again.
- Writers and poets must be 18 years of age or older at the time of submitting their writings.
FICTION AND POETRY SUBMISSION PORTAL
Please use the following portal for fiction and poetry submissions.
[The submission portal is closed.]
NONFICTION AND VISUAL ART
ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA
The following categories of nonfiction writers and visual artists may submit their work for consideration:
- Namibian citizens living in the country or in the diaspora (outside Namibia); and
- African writers, and those of African descent, living on the continent or in the diaspora (such as North and South America, the Caribbean, Europe, or elsewhere).
Nonfiction writers and visual artists who do not meet the provided eligibility criteria must not submit their work for consideration.
ACCEPTED NONFICTION AND VISUAL ART SUBMISSIONS
Doek! seeks nuanced nonfiction writing and riveting visual art which continuously explores new thematic terrain. The editorial team considers the following:
- Creative nonfiction (such as essays, memoirs, or narrative nonfiction) that explores the known and the unknown; and
- Visual art (such as illustrations, graphic design, and photography) that shows the viewer hidden parts of the world and themselves.
The editorial team is interested in considering submissions that discuss a wide variety of topics in interesting styles; prospective nonfiction writers and visual artists should read previous issues of Doek! to see the themes and topics that have been previously explored. Storytellers are encouraged to discover fresh narrative territories. In particular, death, grief, and trauma are topics which have been covered extensively in past issues; contributors exploring similar topics are encouraged to find new ways of engaging with such subject matter. Submissions which are directed at the white gaze are not encouraged.
NONFICTION AND VISUAL ART SUBMISSION RULES AND GUIDELINES
Nonfiction
- Only original work will be considered. Previously published work (in any medium, including social media or personal blogs) is not accepted.
- Novels or manuscript excerpts, film scripts or plays, journalistic reportage or columns, management or business guides, and “self-help” texts are not eligible for consideration.
- Submissions must be written in English. Writers and poets may use words or phrases from any of Namibia’s indigenous languages provided their meaning can be understood within the text (without resort to glossaries or footnotes).
- Nonfiction submissions may not exceed 4500 words. The minimum word count is 1500 words.
- Nonfiction writers can only submit one piece of writing per submission window.
- Submissions must be typed: Times New Roman, 12 pt, 2.0 line spacing.
- The document should only contain the title and the body text of the submission. No identifying details (name, contact number, or email address) may be used in the filename or be placed anywhere in the submission document.
- Nonfiction submissions can be sent in any of the following formats: Microsoft Word (.docx and .doc), Rich Text Format (.rtf), and plain text (.txt).
- Nonfiction cannot submit to or be considered for two or more categories at any given point in time. Each writer must submit to one category and wait to be told about the final outcome of their submission before submitting again. Unsuccessful writers and poets can submit to the same category or a different category if their submissions are not accepted for publication.
- Simultaneous submissions (submissions which have been sent to other literary magazines) are permitted and should be retracted when accepted for publication elsewhere.
- Writers who have been published in Doek! must wait six months from the date of their publication before submitting any work (in any category) to the magazine for consideration again.
- Writers and poets must be 18 years of age or older at the time of submitting their writings.
Visual artists
- Only original work will be considered. Previously published work (in any medium, including social media, personal blogs, or exhibitions) is not accepted.
- Visual artists must submit five (5) images from a project in .jpeg, .jpg, or .png format for consideration. If accepted for publication, more images will be requested. (A published project typically has 10-15 images.)
- Each image may not be larger than 1.5 MB. Image resolution must be 300dpi. Image width must be exactly 1500px. Height is variable.
- Images must use the submission title as their filename and must be numbered sequentially.
- Images must not have watermarks on them.
- Visual artists must submit a short write-up (or abstract) about the project. The write-up may not be longer than 300 words.
- Write-ups must be typed: Times New Roman, 12 pt, 2.0 line spacing. The document should only contain the title and the body text of the write-up. No identifying details (name, contact number, or email address) may be used in the filename or be placed anywhere in the write-up document.
- Write-ups can be sent in any of the following formats: Microsoft Word (.docx and .doc), Rich Text Format (.rtf), and plain text (.txt).
- Visual artists cannot submit to or be considered for two or more categories at any given point in time. Each visual artist must wait for the final outcome of their submission before submitting again. Unsuccessful visual artists are free to submit other visual arts projects or written work if their submissions are not accepted for publication.
- Visual artists who have been published in Doek! must wait six months from the date of their publication before submitting any work (in any category) to the magazine for consideration again.
- Visual artists must be 18 years of age or older at the time of submission.
NONFICTION AND VISUAL ART SUBMISSION PORTAL
Please use the following portal for nonfiction and visual art submissions.
[The submission portal is closed.]
FEEDBACK
The editorial team strives to provide feedback to everyone who submits. This is not always possible. However, whenever time permits, general feedback shall be given to unsuccessful writes, poets, and visual artists.
RIGHTS, PAYMENTS, AND CONTRACTS
Namibian contributors who successfully submit their work and have it published in Doek! are provided with a token remuneration. Contributors who have their work solicited are not remunerated. Unfortunately, due to the cost associated with making foreign payments, Doek! does not have the capacity to remunerate foreign contributors.
Copyrights of published content are held by individual contributors in their personal capacities.
The copyright owner, agrees to license their work(s) to Doek! to exclusively publish online and distribute the work(s) throughout the world for a period of three months from the date of publication. Thereafter, the copyright owner is free to publish the work(s) elsewhere provided they credit Doek! as the publisher-of-first-instance for works later published in anthologies, collections, or volumes.
In the event Doek! republishes the work(s) in a print publication offered for sale, a copy of the said publication will be sent to each copyright holder. A separate royalty/one-off payment will be made to each respective copyright holder.
Each contributor is provided with a simple and clear publishing contract which lists and explains their rights and obligations between them and Doek! Literary Magazine.
All successfully published submissions from Namibian writers, poets, and visual artists are automatically eligible for the Bank Windhoek Doek Literary Awards.