BRIDGE: The Bluffton University Literary Journal

the best young writers and artists, age 14-24

Bridge: The Bluffton University Literary Journal is a magazine of arts and letters compiled by Bluffton University's Department of English and Writing Program. Our current publication schedule includes fall and Spring online issues.  Bridge only publishes artists and writers age 14-24.  

We are based at Bluffton University, in Bluffton Ohio: www.bluffton.edu. 

Fall 2023 submissions are now open! They will close on November 15, 2023.

To see the kind of work we are engaging with, please check out our previous issues:

SPRING 2021 Edition online: https://www.bluffton.edu/bridge/Spring2021/ 

FALL 2020 Edition online: https://www.bluffton.edu/bridge/fall2020/index.aspx 

FALL 2019 Edition online:  https://www.bluffton.edu/bridge/fall2019/index.aspx 

FALL 2018 Edition online: http://www.bluffton.edu/bridge/fall2018/

and FALL 2017 EDITION online: http://www.bluffton.edu/bridge/fall2017/

Visit our website at  https://www.bluffton.edu/bridge/
                                                                                                                                                    

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

Bridge publishes original work by writers and artists age 14-24.  We look for work that demonstrates virtuosity and wonder, work that interrogates norms and assumptions, and delights us all along the way.  

• Bridge ONLY publishes writers and artists age 14-24. 
• Bridge accepts work from young writers in the following genres: short fiction, nonfiction, poetry, comics, art, graphic novels and short plays for stage and screen. Please, no fan-fiction or excerpts from novels.  
• Contributors can submit only ONCE per genre, per submission period. 
• There are no restrictions on content or theme. 
• Work submitted to Bridge must not be previously published online or print. We cannot consider work you posted on WattPad, your blog, website, or social media.  
• Bridge welcomes international submissions; however, all work submitted must be composed primarily in English. 
• Bridge does not accept anonymous submissions.  
• Bridge cannot accept third-party submissions. Writers and artists must submit their own work and correspond directly with our staff.  Parents/teachers/mentors cannot submit work for you or on your behalf. If your work is collaborative and includes artists over the age of 24, it is not eligible for publication in Bridge. 
• If selected for publication, Bridge retains First North American Serial Rights to your work. However, all rights revert to the author upon publication. 
• Bridge is unable to pay contributors. 
• Current or former Bluffton University students, and the household family members of Bluffton University faculty, staff, and administrators are not eligible to submit work to Bridge.

You can submit your own work through our portal at www.submittable.com.  

Thanks for sending your work to Bridge! 

Bridge's Top Tips for Getting Accepted!! 

We love working with our authors. We feel mentorship is part of our mission. So please read carefully through our tips. Given that we receive submissions per reading period, we want your work to show at its very best. These are helpful for submitting anywhere!

1. We appreciate fresh, unique perspectives and imagery on issues. We have found that means strong language and word choice. The more specific you can be in detail, the less a reader will be wondering what was going on or how that character was reacting to a certain situation. 
2. We are open to what our authors submit from genre to form to style to topic. We love discovering new ways of seeing the world, but we also value work that shows the writer has thoroughly done their homework. If this is a topic or character outside of your own experience or background, do in-depth research on that topic and its histories! Nothing hurts a piece more than discussing an important issue, yet using stereotypes or cliches or incorrect information.
3. Check your Submittable account regularly, and update your email address if it changes! We have accepted authors that never got back to us. Then, too, we have accepted authors, signed contracts, and then never heard back about revisions sent out.
4. List all of your contact information in a proper cover letter. This helps us get in touch with you if need be. Here is a link to a good cover letter example:  How to Write a Cover Letter...  https://theadroitjournal.org/2019/08/09/how-to-write-a-cover-letter-for-a-literary-journal-magazine-or-publication/ . Here is a link to good advice on submissions. We recommend following the above for cover letters, however, rather than this one's:  https://electricliterature.com/lit-mag-submissions-101-how-when-and-where-to-send-your-work/ 
5. Be sure to copy edit the piece very carefully before submitting. Look for typos and sentence errors. Remove any comments from readers or notations that this was submitted for a class. Don't put in your cover letter another journal's address and information. In other words, be professional.
6. Submit within your proper genre.
7. If your piece is accepted elsewhere, please immediately withdraw it from Bridge and anywhere else you submitted it. Editors spend a lot of time considering pieces. If you withdraw, they can then give their time to other pieces.

GENRE SPECIFICS

SHORT FICTION
We accept short stories of 5000 words or less.  Please note that we do not accept fan-fiction or excerpts from novels.  

NONFICTION
Nonfiction includes personal essay, lyric, journalism, and memoir. Prose submissions are limited to 5000 words or less. 

POETRY
Poetry collections should consist of 1-3 poems only, with a word count limit of 1000 words per author. Please submit all poems in one document.

SHORT PLAYS/SCREENPLAYS
Drama submissions are limited to 5000 words.  

COMICS, ART, GRAPHIC LITERATURE & ILLUSTRATED NARRATIVES
We accept fine art, comics, graphic literature and illustrated narratives in .JPG, .PNG, or .PDF format.  Images should be high-resolution, CMYK format; 300 dpi or 1000x1000. Vertical orientation is preferred. Selected images will be published in approximately 5"x7" color format. Submitters, please note that in this instance, "Graphic" refers to medium not content. Any submission not containing artwork or illustrated narratives should be submitted instead under our fiction or creative nonfiction forms.