SUBMISSIONS

Vocable is a literary arts magazine featuring the best writing and art of HCC students of all backgrounds, genders, ages, nationalities, beliefs, and identities. Our mission is to advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion as reflected in quality creative work for a general audience. 

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When you submit, you confirm that you have reviewed the submission guidelines and consent to viewing mature content within the publication. All material submitted is confidential and will be reviewed. Only accepted submissions will be published. We do not accept explicit or offensive content, such as work that includes hate speech or slurs against any identity or group, as outlined in our mission statement. Our publication proudly features inclusive content that celebrates difference and belonging, which may include mature themes. We encourage you to review our past issue before submitting. 

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GENERAL GUIDELINES

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• Only current Houston Community College students may submit original, previously unpublished work. Do not submit work shared online via social media, personal blogs, or virtual platforms. If you quote another source, we expect that source to receive credit.

• Simultaneous submissions are allowed, but let us know immediately if your work has been accepted elsewhere.

• Only electronic submissions are accepted.

• Students may submit to more than one category/genre per, but only submit once to each category per submission period. 

• We acquire First North American serial rights and reprint rights for potential inclusion in future anthologies and promotional material; upon publication, rights revert back to the author/artist. 

• We reserve the right to submit your work to third-party awards/anthologies, reviews, and advocacy websites.

• We do not pay at this time.

• All prose and poetry pieces must be written in 12-point Times New Roman font and submitted as Word documents (.docx). 

• Comics and hybrid work should be submitted as a high-resolution PDF.

• Artwork should be submitted as high-resolution .jpg, .png, or .gif and saved as black-and-white, grayscale, or RGB. 

• Submissions are read anonymously. Do not put your name anywhere in the submission or in the file's name.

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DEADLINES

Submissions are open! Deadline is Valentine's Day, February 14, 2025.

CATEGORIES

Students may submit once in each category per submission period.

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PROSE

Fiction and creative nonfiction submissions may be up to 4,000 words, either as one story or several flash fiction pieces. All prose must be written in 12-point Times New Roman font, double-spaced with one-inch margins, and submitted as Word documents (.docx). 

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POETRY

Poetry submissions should be in one Word document (.docx) of 1 to 5 poems no longer than 5 pages in total. Each poem should begin at the top of a new page. Poetry may be spaced and arranged as desired; however, poetry centered on the page or written in fancy or gimmicky fonts is discouraged. 

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SCRIPTS & PLAYS

Utilize standard guidelines for formatting screenplays and plays in a Word document (.docx) up to 8 pages long.

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COMICS

You may submit one comic or graphic piece up to 10 pages long or 5 comic strips with one strip per page. Comics and comic strips should be submitted as a .jpg, .png, or high-resolution PDF in a single file. 

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ART

You may submit up to 3 pieces of original art as high-resolution .jpg, .png, or .gif and saved as black-and-white, grayscale, or RGB. Do not submit explicit images. 

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HYBRID FORMS

If you have a piece that is a combination of art, prose, and/or poetry or that is hard to define, we're open to considering it. Whatever the final product, it should be no more than 5 pages and submitted as a high-resolution PDF.

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You must be signed in to your HCC Microsoft account using your HCC email and password in order to submit to the journal.