HCCs Literary Magazine Invites Submissions

Hopkinsville Community Colleges literary magazine, The Round Table, will be accepting submissions of original poetry, prose, or artwork through 4:30 p.m., Friday, February 28 for its 2014 issue. The magazines editorial staff welcomes work from anyone in the HCC service area, which includes: Christian, Caldwell, Todd, Trigg, and Logan counties in Kentucky; Fort Campbell; and Stewart, Montgomery, and Robertson counties in Tennessee as well as employees and students from Austin Peay University.

As in past years, selected contributors to the magazine will read from their work at the annual Round Table Readings and Literary Awards Ceremony held in HCCs Round Table Literary Park at noon on Thursday, May 1. During the event, the 48th edition of the Round Table will be unveiled, along with the announcement of the 2014 Round Table Literary Awards and the Roger Selvidge Memorial Art Awards.

Retired HCC instructor Frances G. Thomas along with a group of HCC honor students first published the Round Table in 1966.

2014 Submission Guidelines for The Round Table Literary Magazine

All submissions will be judged anonymously. No name should appear anywhere on the submitted work; however, students below college age should mark each submission in the upper right-hand corner with the students grade level (elementary, middle, or high school) so that they can be judged accordingly and considered for the appropriate award category.

Each person submitting work should also include a single note card with name, address, phone number, and the titles of all works being submitted by that person on one side of the card. On the other side, provide phone or email contact information as well as a few sentences of biographical information for the contributors page, should the work be chosen for inclusion. If the submitters name is not gender-specific, please make sex clear so that representation will be correct. This card should be clipped to combine submissions, so it can be removed before the staff views the works. Submission should not be stapled together.

Non-electronic submissions should include a single, self-addressed, stamped envelope, so that submitter can be notified of the status of their submission. One self-addressed stamped envelope is sufficient for multiple entries.

Poetry: Submit up to 10 pages of original poetry (and no more than 10 poems) on any subject, in any style. Poetry submissions must be typed and single-spaced unless another visual presentation is preferred. Please use a plain font for readability.

Prose (fiction, creative non-fiction, personal essay): Submit up to 30 pages of prose: either a single 30-page story (or non-fiction piece) or several briefer pieces not to exceed a total of 30 pages. Novel excerpts (of no more than 30 pages) are discouraged unless they can stand alone as complete, satisfying pieces of writing. Essays written for school assignments, such as book reports, are discouraged unless that essay can stand up as a work of literature on its own. Prose submissions must be typed and double-spaced. For logistical reasons, it is preferred that prose pieces be submitted electronically.

Prose Poems/Sudden Fiction/Fables: Brief prose pieces can be submitted as fiction or poetry. They must be typed and double-spaced.

Artwork: Up to 10 original pieces may be submitted electronically. Artwork must be easily reproduced with high-contrast material such as pen-and-ink drawings, black amp; white photographs, collages, or block prints (woodcut, monoprint, etc). Digital images may be submitted on a disk or e-mailed to the address below. Digital files should be at least 600 dpi.

All written materials must be typed, and that no names should appear on any submissions, unless a work of visual art is already signed. Handwritten submissions will not be considered, and no written materials can be returned. A person may submit work in more than one categoryor all of them. Submissions can be submitted via email to brett.ralph@kctcs.edu, dropped off at the main desk of the HCC Library, or mailed directly:

The Round Table c/o Brett Ralph
Hopkinsville Community College
P.O. Box 2100
Hopkinsville, KY 42241-2100

For additional information, contact Brett Ralph at (270) 707- 3890 or brett.ralph@kctcs.edu