Submissions for Channel Issue 15 are open until 31 May. We look forward to reading your work!

Channel’s aim is to provide a home for Irish and international writing that contributes to building rich, mutually sustaining relationships between human beings and the natural world. In all uses of the word, a “channel” exists to facilitate connection – to allow something, whether it be water, an electronic signal or a spirit, to pass through or towards something else. This journal exists to provide a passage through which ideas about human relationships with our environment, expressed and embodied in creative work, can flow.

We publish two print issues annually, usually in April and October each year. Each of these features a range of poetry, fiction and prose non-fiction (which may include interviews and commentary on creative work or community-based environmental projects, as well as essays and narrative pieces). We also regularly publish non-fiction on the Channel blog.

Poetry and fiction submissions are invited during a dedicated submission window ahead of each print issue. Non-fiction/essay submissions, which will be considered for publication either in print or online, are welcomed year-round. We also welcome submissions of visual art, to be featured on the covers of future print issues, at any time.

What We Publish
We publish new, previously unpublished work that engages with the natural world.

Although we draw inspiration from local and international traditions of nature writing, as well as from the many dedicated platforms for writing on climate and ecology that exist today, much of what we publish falls outside common definitions of nature writing and eco-writing. We love work that speaks directly of a writer’s bond with and fear for our planet, and work that takes a local landscape, or a local flower, as its subject; equally, though, we love work that draws on an aspect of nature as setting, image or metaphor. We believe that all writing relies to some extent on historical engagement with nature, in that all human language has been shaped by our embeddedness in our shared environments. The kind of work we want to publish is the kind that takes this seed of connection and runs with it, revelling in its potential and exploring how it might grow. The best way to understand the range of work we’re interested in is to read our current print issue or some of the work available on our blog.

We accept written work in English and Irish. Pieces written in Irish may, with permission from the author, be published bilingually, with an accompanying English translation by our Irish Language Editor and Translator. If you choose to have your work translated, a copy of the translation will be shared with you for approval before publication.

Although based in Ireland, Channel welcomes international submissions. We also welcome submissions in Irish or English translation. In the case of translated works, our arrangements for payment and publication will be made with the person – author or translator – who submits the piece. It is the responsibility of the submitter to make appropriate arrangements with anyone else who holds rights to the work.

We believe that creative work should be free to occupy as much space as is needed for its full development. With this in mind, we place no strict limit on the length of pieces that may be submitted for publication. Bearing in mind the limited space within each print issue, though, we are unlikely to offer a home for prose pieces of over 6000 words or poems of over 300 lines.

How to Submit
Poetry and fiction should be submitted only during our open submission windows.

Please submit your work as a Word document or PDF attachment to the relevant email address as listed below:

Essays/Non-fiction – essay@channelmag.org
Fiction – fiction@channelmag.org
Poetry – poetry@channelmag.org

Due to the volume of work we receive, we ask that writers submit no more than one essay, one short story and/or four poems per submission window. If you have an essay submission currently awaiting a response from us, please wait until you hear from us before submitting another essay.

Please do not include your name or any identifying information within your submission file. Although you are welcome to introduce yourself and to include biographical information within the body of your email, this is not a requirement. All submissions will be given equal consideration, and submissions by new writers, as well as by writers from backgrounds or communities currently underrepresented in Irish publishing, are particularly encouraged.

We aim to showcase a wide variety of voices within Channel. For this reason, we ask that if your work was accepted for publication in our most recent issue you wait one issue before submitting again.

We welcome simultaneous submissions, but ask that you let us know as soon as possible if your work is accepted for publication elsewhere.

Visual Art Submissions
We are also seeking visual art (in any medium) to feature on the covers of our upcoming issues. As we wish to provide a showcase for local artists, we are currently accepting visual art submissions only from artists based on the island of Ireland. Please tell us a little about your practice, and submit a sample or samples of your work that you believe could become engaging cover art, at info@channelmag.org.

Payment & Rights
We believe in paying writers, and are working to increase the fees paid to our contributors.  At this time we can offer a fee of €35 per printed page, up to a total maximum of €250 per piece and with a minimum fee of €60 for single-page works. For work published online, we pay €35 per 400 words, up to a maximum of €250 per piece and with a minimum fee of €60. The artist whose work is featured on each of our covers will receive a fee of €250. All contributors to our print issues, including cover artists, will also receive a copy of the issue in which their work appears.

When a piece of written work is accepted for publication, Channel buys first serial rights. Work published in our print issues will also be included in any digital editions of the issue in which it appears, including the digital archive currently available to our patrons. Short extracts may be featured across our website and social media for promotional purposes. All other rights remain with you and you are welcome to republish your work following the launch of the issue in which it appears. We would be grateful if you mention Channel as the place of first publication.

When we pay for cover art, we are buying the right to reproduce the selected work on an issue’s cover, as well as on any promotional materials surrounding that issue. All other rights remain with the artist.