The Wise Owl is a new, international, monthly e-magazine publishing poetry, short fiction, non-fiction (essays, memoirs, travelogues, reviews (books/films/TV series/OTT releases), literary/critical writing, short film, and visual art. For more information see my interview with Principal Editor Rachna Singh and a link to submission guidelines below.

HOPKINSON: Tell me a little bit about The Wise Owl. 

SINGH: The Wise Owl is a literary & art e-magazine (monthly) founded in November 2021. We feature established poets, writers as well as artists in our magazine and also provide a free platform to showcase writings (poetry, short stories, critique, travelogue, musings, essay, reviews etc) and art work (watercolours, photographs, graphic designs, oils etc) of upcoming poets, writers and artists. We ensure that our works are creative, literary and aesthetic. Probably our most attractive feature is the manner in which we showcase our content with creative & aesthetic design layouts.  

HOPKINSON: How/why was The Wise Owl originally started? 

SINGH: I happen to be a writer and I found that getting published was tough. You had to go through literary agents who wanted to be paid. To be published in an established literary magazine also entailed payment or a long waiting period. My co-editors, who are also writers, also faced similar problems. So we decided to come together and provide a free platform for upcoming poets/writers/artists. At the same time, we wanted the upcoming poets/writers/artists to connect with a creative figure that inspires and teaches them about how to evolve as poets, writers & artists. So, we decided to feature celebrated writers/poets, artists in our e-magazine, who would act as creative mentors. That’s how The Wise Owl started.

HOPKINSON: Who is your target reader audience? 

SINGH: We are aiming at a global audience and do not want the magazine to be restricted to any particular geographical area or place. In fact, in our January Edition we did a ‘Haiku special’ where we had poets from the USA, U.K and India writing for us. In our February edition we had poets from Nigeria, Botswana, Pakistan and the USA jostling for attention. Our featured artists have been from Denmark, India, Bahrain, Norway et al. We want to make our magazine one that every lover of literature and art, across the globe, is addicted to.  

HOPKINSON: What type of work are you looking for? 

SINGH: We showcase quality writings (poetry, short stories, critique, travelogue, musings, essay, reviews etc) and art work (watercolours, photographs, graphic designs, oils etc.) of upcoming poets, writers and artists. We seek to find works that are creative, literary and aesthetic. 

HOPKINSON: What do you wish you’d see submitted, but rarely comes in? 

SINGH: That’s easy. Good short stories. For some reason, I’ve still not been able to fathom, we have very few quality short story submissions. There are plenty that come in but most of them fall short of our requirements. Either the language is poor or the content is very superficial or story writing skills are not honed. Also, we would love to host short films (5-10 mins) in our Montage section. But unfortunately, there appear to be few takers in this segment.

HOPKINSON: What are some of your favorite lit mags/journals?

SINGH: Harper’s magazine, Ploughshares, Cha (an Asian Literary Magazine) & Kitaab.

HOPKINSON: What is your favorite part of being on staff with The Wise Owl?

SINGH: As we are a small team, we do everything from sourcing content, reaching out to established poets/writers/artists, designing the layout of the magazine, marketing etc. I can’t really put a finger on what is my favourite role. I enjoy doing all of it. 

HOPKINSON: Where can we send submissions? 

SINGH: Submissions are welcome on editor@thewiseowl.art

HOPKINSON: If someone has a question, how can they contact you? 

SINGH: Send us a mail at editor@thewiseowl.art or message us on our FB & Instagram pages. Instagram handle @thewiseowl.art, Twitter handle @TheWiseOwlArt1 Facebook handle Thewiseowl Emag.

Click here to read submission guidelines.

• SUBMISSION DEADLINE: Always open
• FORMAT: Online
• SUBMISSION FEE: None
• PAYMENT: We are offering a free, hassle-free platform for publication of poems, stories, non-fiction pieces, reviews, paintings, photographs etc. As we are not generating income, we do not offer money for contributions.
• ISSUE FREQUENCY: Monthly
• AVERAGE RESPONSE TIME: Immediate
• SUBMISSION METHOD: email
• SIMULTANEOUS SUBMISSIONS: Yes, but we publish only one work of a writer/artist in one edition, If we like more than one submission, we publish it in one of the subsequent editions. 
• FORMS: Poetry, Fiction (short stories-all genres), Non-Fiction (Travelogues, Essays/critiques, Musings), Reviews (Films, OTT releases & Books), Art work (paintings, illustrations, graphic designs, photographs, sculptures & short films of 5-10 min duration)

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