The Friends of Merril Collection

Submission Guidelines

Submission Guidelines for Sol Rising

Please send all submissions, content related queries, or general inquiries to the Editor (Alicia Freeborn) at solrising.editor@gmail.com. Include the words “Sol Rising” in the subject line of your e-mail, as well as any other pertinent quick reference terms such as “Query” or “Submission” to help us better respond to your e-mail (and avoid having your missive potentially devoured by a spam filter).

General Information and Disclaimers

  1. Sol Rising is published semi-annually, in July and December.
  2. The final copy deadline for the July (or Summer edition) is May 31st.
  3. The final copy deadline for the December issue (or Winter edition) is November 7th.
  4. Submissions received after the above deadlines will be held until the next available issue.
  5. In cases where a submitted article does not meet the guidelines stated below, or where the editorial staff has deemed it appropriate to do so, articles will be rejected and notification will be given.
  6. The guidelines below are effective immediately and will be enforced for any and all submissions received.
  7. Updates to these guidelines will be posted on this page. Contributors are encouraged to review this material for updates before each submission.
  8. Sol Rising is a volunteer publication. Regretfully, we cannot pay for submissions at this time.
  9. The views expressed in Sol Rising are those of our contributors and the editorial staff and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Merril Collection, the Friends of the Merril or the Toronto Public Library.
  10. If interested in assisting in the production of Sol Rising or in aiding the Friends of the Merril Collection in other volunteer capacities please contact friendsofmerril@gmail.com

Guidelines for Articles

  1. Sol Rising is currently accepting articles relating to all branches of Speculative Fiction. This includes, but is not limited to, opinion editorials (this includes informal reviews of literature and media), event coverage, industry coverage and some academic material.
  2. Please query before submitting if the subject matter of your article does not fall within the scope of the article forms mentioned above.
  3. We regret that we are not at this time taking submissions for fiction of any kind.
  4. All articles submitted must be under 2,000 words in length (1,000 words constitutes a single page article – if planning on submitting an image[s] to go with the article please be aware that each image constitutes approximately 100 words toward your total due to layout requirements). If considering a longer article please query first as space is limited and some space is already taken by articles assigned in house.
  5. As stated above in the General Information and Disclaimers section, all work submitted to Sol Rising is submitted on a voluntary basis and without expectation of monetary remuneration.
  6. Practice a professional approach to your submissions. Please perform a preliminary edit on your own work before submitting. This goes for preliminary fact checking and accuracy of content as well. We understand that not all theories hold water when new evidence becomes available and opinion is just that, but please make sure to be as accurate as possible at the time of writing.
  7. Relevant to the above, any instances of plagiarism or violation of intellectual property rights will result in the immediate disqualification of your article for publication and may incur civil or criminal charges as appropriate under both International and Canadian law.
  8. Though we do tolerate the use of profanity if it is prudent or absolutely necessary we discourage its flagrant or unnecessary use. Profanity has many uses. Posturing, however, is not one of them.
  9. You may send a query before you actually begin writing a piece or while still working on one, but at the time of submission your piece must be finished.
  10. We do not serialize articles. If considering the possibility of a longer article please query first as space is limited. Permanent and ongoing columns are by editorial approval only. Please query if considering same.
  11. Please submit articles in digital format. We prefer .doc/.rtf or .pdf files, and strongly discourage the sending of .txt or .html files. We will, however take files in the latter formats if that is all that is available to you. You may also, if absolutely necessary, send an article in the body of your submission e-mail.
  12. Submission does not guarantee acceptance. The editorial staff reserves the right to refuse articles for any reason deemed necessary. Your best chance of having an article accepted for publication in Sol Rising rests with querying before sending the actual article.

Guidelines for Reviews

  1. At this time Sol Rising will be accepting only informal reviews (articles structured as opinion editorials) of literature or media.
  2. Please do not send promotional materials or pre-release review materials to the editorial staff, as we will not be reviewing same at this time.
  3. If you are writing an informal review of a newly released piece of literature or media showing in a cinema or other theatrical venue please be advised that we will not reimburse the purchase cost of research materials, tickets, or any other attendant costs.
  4. Please refrain from submitting a review if you hold a position (professional or contractual) or have an affiliation with the creators/participants of the literature or media you are reviewing which would create a conflict of interest (contractual, intellectual, or otherwise). We of the editorial staff are more lenient regarding personal connections when it comes to reviews, but as with any article we retain the right to refuse acceptance for any reason deemed necessary or appropriate.
  5. We prefer honest and/or constructive reviews, but if a review absolutely warrants a negative approach we will consider the article on its merits. Please refrain from perpetrating slander or libel, however.
  6. Above and beyond any preceding statements in this section, reviews are subject to the same rules as outlined in the Guidelines for Articles section.

Guidelines for Cover Art

  1. Please query as regards cover art. While we do look for new artists to work with we assess cover art and the artists who create it on a case by case basis.
  2. If extending your services in this capacity please provide a URL linking to a gallery or body of work online for the purposes of assessing your work. If you do not maintain an accessible gallery there are several options we recommend. Firstly, if you’ve been refraining from putting up your work online because web hosting costs are beyond your means there are a number of free image hosting sites available. Flickr and Photobucket are fairly popular choices, though the editorial team here is more partial to the community at DeviantArt. Second, you can feel free to send an example or two of your work via e-mail as graphics files. If using this option we recommend that you include either the words “Sample Art” or “Sample Images” in your subject line to avoid confusion.
  3. If sending any files, either as examples, or as final submissions for use please format them as .jpg files.
  4. As the final publication is produced in B/W any colour images will be converted before formatting.
  5. The editorial staff reserves the right to crop images as necessary, but as we’re not keen to do this please be advised that the print dimensions for Sol Rising’s cover art are 10.5” (high) x 8” (wide).
  6. Though this should go without saying you absolutely must be the possessor of the image’s copyright if you are submitting an illustration or photograph for use as cover art for Sol Rising. Please also be aware that most open source images are not licensed for use in print publications, and Creative Commons licensing is a modular control of intellectual property. If using Creative Commons licensed material read all the listed provisions of the Creative Commons Attributions license in question and make sure that it is permissible for you to redistribute alterations of said image under your own name.
  7. If using stock photography or other license specific material please make sure to obtain the proper permissions to use that work to create your final product. Please also note that most stock photographers do not license their stock photography for use in print publications.
  8. Please bear in mind that any cover images must be suitable for display in a public library (no pornography, excessive violence/gore, etc.).

Guidelines for Internal Art (Photographs, Illustrations, Etc.)

  1. Though Sol Rising does currently retain the services of an in house photographer we are open to the submission of graphic material (photographs, illustrations, etc.). As with articles, it is advisable to query before submission.
  2. If submitting graphic material please bear in mind that the primary use of graphic material in Sol Rising is to provide visual enhancement to text articles so preference will be given to images or illustrations which support or enhance an article (especially those photographs tied to event coverage).
  3. Sol Rising utilizes only graphic material deemed to be of professional grade or quality by the editorial staff. We reserve the right to be the sole governing body making said determination as regards the use of any and all images in the publication of Sol Rising.
  4. Please send any submitted image files via e-mail, and preferably only in .jpg format.
  5. The editorial staff reserves the right to re-size, crop, or reformat images as necessary prior to inclusion of said image(s) in the published edition of Sol Rising.
  6. Please provide appropriate reference as to copyright or other licensing pertinent to the use and display of your images. We discourage the submission of works by an artist or photographer submitting on the behalf of another individual. The exception to this rule is the submission of the works of a minor by a parent or legal guardian. Obviously, this is a rare case and we would greatly appreciate an explanation as to why this situation is occurring as well as the appropriate copyright notifications for inclusion in the edition of Sol Rising in which the work(s) will appear. In any other instance where you are not the original artist or creator please refrain from submitting. Art theft is severely frowned upon by the editorial staff, and we will track down and notify the injured party.
  7. All photographs submitted must be accompanied by information identifying the subjects of the photograph (correctly spelled names are always helpful), as well as the location of the event (and the actual location of the photograph itself, especially if that differs from the actual event locus) and calendar date(s) on which the event took place.
  8. As with the external art used in the production of Sol Rising please bear in mind that any images must be suitable for display in a public library (no pornography, excessive violence/gore, etc.).

These guidelines were last updated on June 9th, 2014.