Nightingale & Sparrow publishes poetry, fiction and creative nonfiction to seven pages, and photography. “Nightingale and Sparrow aims to soar through written and visual arts. We want to publish work that takes the earthly and makes it ethereal.” Read the complete guidelines here.
SQF: Why did you start this magazine?
Juliette Sebock: I'd been submitting my own work for about a year when I mentioned to a friend that I'd like to eventually start a lit mag of my own. I'd seen how much good even the smallest mags were doing and wanted to be a part of that—I wanted to give other writers that rush of joy when you get an acceptance. I said something about waiting until I'd gotten 20 or so pieces accepted to have a little more legitimacy...but I think I made it to two or three acceptance letters before I gave in and did it anyway!
SQF: What are the top three things you look for in a submission and why?
JS: First and foremost, following the submissions guidelines. Obviously, mistakes happen and that's okay, but we have guidelines listed for good reason. We ask for pieces to be sent individually and without any identifying information because we consider each poem, story, essay, or photograph anonymously. Formatting guidelines help us to envision the final product as we go—and how your piece would fit into it. We promise we wouldn't make things difficult just because! On a similar note, each of our issues has a theme, so we look for submissions that relate to that theme. It's a simple factor, but "this doesn't fit the theme" is one of the most common comments our editors leave on submitted pieces. And, while it's a bit more difficult to put into words, some of our favourite pieces stick out to one or more of our editors in some way. Whether that's a particularly unique topic or formatting, an especially striking line, or something completely indescribable, our team is consistently vocal about when a piece speaks to them.
SQF: What most often turns you off to a submission?
JS: From the start, submissions that blatantly disregard the guidelines unfortunately can't be considered. It's disappointing to see a piece that we can't consider! For example, if a document has a submitter's name or other personal details, we're not able to read the piece anonymously. On a more extreme note, receiving a full manuscript when we're only open for micropoems is an immediate "nope" from our team. Excessive typos can be especially unappealing, too—we don't mind a few errors (we're all human, after all!) but if a piece is littered with them, it's unlikely we'll accept it. In short, read the website and read through your piece for the greatest chance of acceptance.
SQF: Many editors list erotica, or sex for sex sake, as hard sells. What are hard sells for your publication?
JS: Our biggest hard sells are works that are offensive or otherwise inappropriate: racism, sexism, homophobia, etc. "Taboo" topics—sex or drugs, for example—aren't off the table but a piece glorifying sexual assault, for example, is a no-go by default. We do ask submitters to include trigger/content warnings where appropriate, so a graphic scene without one could definitely raise a red flag.
SQF: If Nightingale & Sparrow had a theme song, what would it be and why?
JS: "Little Sparrow" is actually part of the inspiration for the title of our magazine/press, coupled with lines from Romeo & Juliet (both are quoted on our homepage!), so it's sort of our theme song already! There's that sort of mournful, yearning quality in both song and play that we aim to hit upon in some way with everything we publish.
SQF: What one question on this topic do you wish I'd asked that I didn't? And how would you answer it?
JS: While it's not quite a question per se, it's worth noting our press, too! We publish chapbooks, microchapbooks, and full-length manuscripts and have two imprints (Vociferous Press, our activist imprint, and Chickling Press, our forthcoming children's imprint). Our likes and dislikes there are similar to those for the magazine, and submissions information can be found on our website!
Thank you, Juliette. We all appreciate your taking time from your busy schedule to participate in this project.
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