Autumn 2021 issue of Salish Magazine: Lives of Spiders We are currently seeking articles, poetry, art, music, photos, and videos about various aspects of the lives of spiders, particularly the roles they play in our ecosystem and how they play them. What strategies do they employ to obtain food? How do they avoid becoming food themselves? How do they get along together, or with other species? What do they do in the Winter? Who benefits from them?
Salish Magazine tells stories about things that people can see first-hand outdoors in our Salish Sea region. It ties the topics into the larger ecosystem and includes lots of illustrations. We rely on volunteers to contribute content — whether you’re an aspiring or seasoned journalist, essayist, poet, photographer, or artist, we’d love to hear from you.
We are extending the proposal deadline for “Lives of Spiders” to June 17.
If you would like to us to publish some of your art, poetry, an article, or other media related to spiders in our Salish Sea ecosystems, send us a brief email — just a few sentences describing your idea is fine. The rough draft itself won’t be due until July 15.
Deadlines
Salish Magazine is written and produced by volunteers. We know you’re busy and we can work with you on exact due dates. Here is our general schedule for this issue:
June 17: Brief proposals due from contributors (this can be a simple email)
July 15: Contributors submit first draft of text and imagery
August 15: Contributors submit final revised version & author bio & photo.
September 10 (or so): Fall 2021 issue published online.
PROCEDURAL DETAILS
Once we receive all of the proposals, we can see where there might be gaps or overlaps in the topics, so we can suggest changes for the first draft. After receiving the drafts and initial imagery in July, we can see what additional illustrations might be necessary, and we will issue a more specific call for visuals.
Format Requirements
• Final prose articles should be in the loose ballpark of 1,000 to 2,000 words.
• Please provide text files for poems or articles in Word or as a “txt” file.
• Please provide photographs in high-resolution jpg. (We will send you a link for uploading files that are too big to email.)
• Videos, or other cultural interpretations are also welcome; ask us about formatting requirements.
Our Audience
The goal of Salish Magazine is to tell stories that involve something that people can see, or see at least parts or traces of, preferably in many public places around our region. We hope that when they discover those sights, the stories they have read will come to mind, enabling them to see their surroundings in a new context. Tying the story of what is seen, and its history, to our present-day ecosystem functions would be an added bonus. The final content should be easy to read for people who don!t know much about the subject, and more fun than academic — written as if you have a big smile on your face to be sharing your ideas with a bunch of fun people. If you’re more of a technical writer, we can help edit your work for a lay audience. We welcome visual illustrations and have access to photographers and artists who can provide additional illustrations.
Payment (Our Eternal Gratitude)
Although we really appreciate the content we receive from people like you, we don!t offer any compensation at this time. Salish Magazine is free to readers and free of advertisements, and all of the work (content, editing, management) is done by volunteers.
Past Issues
If you would like to familiarize yourself with the kinds of articles that we publish, take a look at some past issues: salishmagazine.org
Contact If you have any questions about what I’m looking for or about the process, please feel free to contact me. I’m a big believer in evolving ideas through discussion. John F. Williams: jw@salishmagazine.org