Curator Magazine is a an online literary magazine, curating writing about art intersecting with humanity, exploring “the meaning and matters of the heart and spirit reflected in cultural objects, experiences, and the arts.” They are always open for submissions of poetry and nonfiction and respond within a month. Their “Write for Us” page includes many details on what they are looking for, including a “how to pitch prose” guide for those submitting an essay, review, criticism, or interview. They aim to publish a new poem every Thursday morning. For more information, see my interview with their staff and a link to submission guidelines below.
HOPKINSON: How/why was Curator Magazine originally started?
STAFF: The Curator Magazine was founded by artists and is sustained by artists. All our staff are all writers and volunteers. We think that you can find meaning everywhere. That’s why we publish nonfiction with an emphasis on critique of cultural objects, the fine arts, and shared cultural experiences. We like literary essays that feature your weird obsessions and collections, reviews of your favorite musician from childhood, stories about concerts and other artistic and spiritual experiences, interviews with contemporary artists of all kinds, and critiques of cultural kitsch. Wherever art intersects with culture, we’re interested in reading about it. We’re also crazy about vivid poetry that uses form in playful ways.
HOPKINSON: How/why was Curator Magazine originally started?
STAFF: In 2008, film reviewer Alissa Wilkinson and painter Makoto Fujimura founded the magazine to feature artists–not in a timely, journalistic way, but to celebrate the very best things humans make and do. That celebratory love for the arts continues to inspire everything we publish twelve years later.
HOPKINSON: What type of work are you looking for?
STAFF: We want work that is brutally honest, but not cynical.
On the poetry side, we’re open to just about anything, but preference vivid, formal work.
HOPKINSON: What do you wish you’d see submitted, but rarely comes in?
STAFF: We’ve published comics, and we’d love to publish more multimedia, graphic novels, travelogues, and perhaps even soundscapes or virtual dance or museum experiences. On the nonfiction side, the more particular the essay, the better. We don’t want to hear about the entire record collection or the entire collection of a printmaker’s work, but instead, the one piece that blew you away, and why, and the history behind it. Personally, I’d always love to see more engagement with the fine arts, particular the visual arts. Longer poetry would be interesting as well!
HOPKINSON: What are some of your favorite lit mags/journals?
STAFF: The Atlantic, Diagram, Brevity, Hippocampus, Creative Nonfiction, Harper’s, The Believer, The Sun.
HOPKINSON: What is your favorite part of being on staff with Curator Magazine?
STAFF: All the staff have volunteered to be editors because we love working with writers to bring literature to life. When we accept a piece, we want it to succeed, and so we collaborate with an author, often exchanging multiple rounds of edits. And then we’ll do whatever we can to support that writer from then on. As a staff, we’re blisteringly earnest and optimistic, which is refreshing. We also really like emerging writers, as many of our staff had their first by-line at the Curator Magazine, and we’re delighted when we can pass along the same favor to other writers.
HOPKINSON: Where can we send submissions?
STAFF: To the Curator Magazine’s Duosuma listing: https://duotrope.com/duosuma/submit/the-curator-YHG2b
Please note that we prefer nonfiction be formed into a detailed pitch FIRST, not submitted as an entire draft on spec. That way our editors can collaborate with authors to make it a uniquely Curator piece. For poetry, we accept submissions of up to three poems at a time, and our process for poetry acceptance is more competitive (because we receive more submissions for poetry than nonfiction).
HOPKINSON: If someone has a question, how can they contact you?
STAFF: Editor@CuratorMagazine.com
Click here to read submission guidelines.
SUBMISSION DEADLINE: Always open, rolling
SUBMISSION FEE: None
FORMS/GENRES: nonfiction, poetry
THEME: Finding meaning in cultural objects, experiences, and the arts.
FORMAT: online
ISSUE FREQUENCY: Twice weekly (one essay and one poem per week)
SUBMISSION METHOD: Duosuma (pitch nonfiction, submit poetry)
SIMULTANEOUS SUBMISSIONS: Yes
PAYMENT: None, but we hope to pay contributors eventually
DUOTROPE: https://duotrope.com/listing/14382/the-curator
SOCIAL MEDIA: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram
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