***2022 THEME SUBMISSIONS ARE OPEN***
Rather than a specific theme this year, for our last issue I want to see the world how everyone else is seeing the world. We are seeking reviews of our human centered planet, on a five-star scale. Let me explain what I mean.
In April of 2021, John Green published his latest book The Anthropocene Reviewed, where he “review[s] different facets of the human centered planet on a five-star scale.” And before it was a book, it was a podcast of the same name. It sounds simple, but it is far from. John describes the Anthropocene as the “. . . proposed term for the current geologic age, in which humans have profoundly reshaped the planet and its biodiversity . . . we are a hugely powerful force on Earth in the twenty-first century” (p. 4). We live in a complicated time, where humans continue to have greater and longer-lasting affects on the planet. Both small and large.
I don’t want rehash the last two years, or pontificate about the possibilities of the future. There is just too much to consider. Too many unknowns. Too much I just don’t know or understand. Which is why I fell in love with John Green's podcast and book. It doesn’t try to understand everything. Or predict what is coming. It doesn’t try to be anything more than just the honest experiences of one person. This is the best book I have ever read: not because of the poetics, turn of phrase, sheer genius of the work, or mastery storytelling; but because of its honesty.
In the book’s introduction, John Green’s wife is paraphrased saying “. . . in the Anthropocene, there are no disinterested observers; there are only participants . . . when people write reviews, they are really writing a kind of memoir—here’s what my experience was eating at this restaurant or getting my hair cut at this barbershop” (p. 5 – 6). We are all participants in this human experiment. How are we participating? What are we experiencing? How are we experiencing it? Who are we telling?
What it comes down to this: “fall in love with the world” (p. 7, as John puts it). Even with all the dark and scary and sad and horrifying and abysmal suffering in the world, there is beauty and joy. It doesn’t mean we “. . . ignore or overlook the suffering . . .”. The way John describes it, “. . . to fall in love with the world is to look up at the night sky and feel your mind swim before the beauty and the distance of the stars. It is to hold your children while they cry, to watch as the sycamore trees leaf out in June. When my breastbone starts to hurt, and my throat tightens, and tears well up in my eyes, I want to look away from feeling. . . . We all know how loving ends. But I want to fall in love with the world anyway, to let it crack me open. I want to feel what there is to feel while I am here.”
Submit your reviews of our human centered planet, ON A FIVE-STAR SCALE. This is important. These are, after all, reviews. And every good (or bad) review needs that rating.
To quickly cover logistics, we want non-fiction here (no fiction or poetry). We want to read your experiences on this planet. We highly encourage you to listen to the podcast (which can be found here) or purchase a copy of The Anthropocene Reviewed from wherever you prefer to purchase books. This applies to both our theme issue and FS Monthly.
In April of 2021, John Green published his latest book The Anthropocene Reviewed, where he “review[s] different facets of the human centered planet on a five-star scale.” And before it was a book, it was a podcast of the same name. It sounds simple, but it is far from. John describes the Anthropocene as the “. . . proposed term for the current geologic age, in which humans have profoundly reshaped the planet and its biodiversity . . . we are a hugely powerful force on Earth in the twenty-first century” (p. 4). We live in a complicated time, where humans continue to have greater and longer-lasting affects on the planet. Both small and large.
I don’t want rehash the last two years, or pontificate about the possibilities of the future. There is just too much to consider. Too many unknowns. Too much I just don’t know or understand. Which is why I fell in love with John Green's podcast and book. It doesn’t try to understand everything. Or predict what is coming. It doesn’t try to be anything more than just the honest experiences of one person. This is the best book I have ever read: not because of the poetics, turn of phrase, sheer genius of the work, or mastery storytelling; but because of its honesty.
In the book’s introduction, John Green’s wife is paraphrased saying “. . . in the Anthropocene, there are no disinterested observers; there are only participants . . . when people write reviews, they are really writing a kind of memoir—here’s what my experience was eating at this restaurant or getting my hair cut at this barbershop” (p. 5 – 6). We are all participants in this human experiment. How are we participating? What are we experiencing? How are we experiencing it? Who are we telling?
What it comes down to this: “fall in love with the world” (p. 7, as John puts it). Even with all the dark and scary and sad and horrifying and abysmal suffering in the world, there is beauty and joy. It doesn’t mean we “. . . ignore or overlook the suffering . . .”. The way John describes it, “. . . to fall in love with the world is to look up at the night sky and feel your mind swim before the beauty and the distance of the stars. It is to hold your children while they cry, to watch as the sycamore trees leaf out in June. When my breastbone starts to hurt, and my throat tightens, and tears well up in my eyes, I want to look away from feeling. . . . We all know how loving ends. But I want to fall in love with the world anyway, to let it crack me open. I want to feel what there is to feel while I am here.”
Submit your reviews of our human centered planet, ON A FIVE-STAR SCALE. This is important. These are, after all, reviews. And every good (or bad) review needs that rating.
To quickly cover logistics, we want non-fiction here (no fiction or poetry). We want to read your experiences on this planet. We highly encourage you to listen to the podcast (which can be found here) or purchase a copy of The Anthropocene Reviewed from wherever you prefer to purchase books. This applies to both our theme issue and FS Monthly.
Theme submissions:
This year we only want non-fiction (memoir/creative non-fiction/essay). We want to stress that these are reviews, they are essay and memoir blended. If you have not read or listened to The Anthropocene Reviewed, please do so before submitting:
-Up to 4,000 words in length, but they can be short like prose poetry and flash fiction (no minimum length)
-be as creative/experimental as you see fit
-this is about your life, your experience
We will be accepting submissions for the THEME issue through September 30th.
While we are not currently a paying market, you will receive a free print copy of the volume in which your publication appears.
-Up to 4,000 words in length, but they can be short like prose poetry and flash fiction (no minimum length)
-be as creative/experimental as you see fit
-this is about your life, your experience
We will be accepting submissions for the THEME issue through September 30th.
While we are not currently a paying market, you will receive a free print copy of the volume in which your publication appears.
FROM SAC Monthly submissions:
We will be accepting/publishing the shorter reviews from the theme issue here for this last year of FROM SAC.
To be specific, we accept:
-Up to 1,000 words in length, but they can be short (no minimum length)
-be as creative/experimental as you see fit
-this is about your life, your experience
While we are not currently a paying market, a monthly newsletter will be sent at the beginning of each month, containing links to all the previous month's publications.
We will be accepting submissions to FROM SAC Monthly year round.
To be specific, we accept:
-Up to 1,000 words in length, but they can be short (no minimum length)
-be as creative/experimental as you see fit
-this is about your life, your experience
While we are not currently a paying market, a monthly newsletter will be sent at the beginning of each month, containing links to all the previous month's publications.
We will be accepting submissions to FROM SAC Monthly year round.
What we're not looking for:
Pornography, gratuitous violence, vampires, werewolves, Fan Fiction, political agendas, slice-of-life/autobiography, children's stories, and anything else that we've neglected to mention but that we find repulsive or unworthy. If you aren't sure whether or not your pieces is a good fit, read past issues. If you're still unsure, contact us. But be warned, we will test your knowledge of past issues. We're serious.
We DO NOT accept Novel excerpts, Novelettes, Novellas, or Novels. All work should be complete in itself, properly edited, and proofread.
We DO NOT accept work that has previously been published in any format (this includes all blogs).
We DO accept simultaneous submissions (although we discourage it), but you must specify so in your submission. And please notify From Sac immediately if your work has been selected for publication elsewhere.
We DO NOT accept Novel excerpts, Novelettes, Novellas, or Novels. All work should be complete in itself, properly edited, and proofread.
We DO NOT accept work that has previously been published in any format (this includes all blogs).
We DO accept simultaneous submissions (although we discourage it), but you must specify so in your submission. And please notify From Sac immediately if your work has been selected for publication elsewhere.
How to Submit:
Text should double spaced, 12 pt san serif font, and paginated. If font choice is pertinent to your story, then by all means keep your specific font, but let us know. Make sure if you are sending multiple flash fiction pieces, that they are submitted on as one file.
All submissions should be sent to fromsacmag@gmail.com. Please only submit once per issue/year.
-`subject should include submission category ("Theme" or "FS Monthly")
-title of the piece
-Example: FS Monthly, "The Aleph"
File formats we accept: PDF, .doc, .docx
In the body of the email, please include your name (as you want it to appear if published), email, website or blog, and a short bio about you. DO NOT INCLUDE A PUBLISHING HISTORY. We cannot stress this enough. Each submission needs to, and should be able to, stand on its own. We consider writers in all stages of writing on the same level. IF YOU SEND A PUBLICATION HISTORY, WE WILL NOT READ YOUR WORK AND YOU WILL RECEIVE A FORM REJECTION.
DO NOT PASTE YOUR SUBMISSION IN THE BODY OF THE EMAIL. We will not read it.
We try to respond as quickly as possible to your submissions, but we are humans, and we do have other jobs that pay our bills. Please, give us at least three months to respond to your submission(s). After three months, please contact us if you have not heard back about your work (but make sure you have checked your spam folder first).
IF FOR ANY REASON ONE OF THESE GUIDELINES IS NOT MET, YOUR SUBMISSION WILL NOT BE READ
All submissions should be sent to fromsacmag@gmail.com. Please only submit once per issue/year.
-`subject should include submission category ("Theme" or "FS Monthly")
-title of the piece
-Example: FS Monthly, "The Aleph"
File formats we accept: PDF, .doc, .docx
In the body of the email, please include your name (as you want it to appear if published), email, website or blog, and a short bio about you. DO NOT INCLUDE A PUBLISHING HISTORY. We cannot stress this enough. Each submission needs to, and should be able to, stand on its own. We consider writers in all stages of writing on the same level. IF YOU SEND A PUBLICATION HISTORY, WE WILL NOT READ YOUR WORK AND YOU WILL RECEIVE A FORM REJECTION.
DO NOT PASTE YOUR SUBMISSION IN THE BODY OF THE EMAIL. We will not read it.
We try to respond as quickly as possible to your submissions, but we are humans, and we do have other jobs that pay our bills. Please, give us at least three months to respond to your submission(s). After three months, please contact us if you have not heard back about your work (but make sure you have checked your spam folder first).
IF FOR ANY REASON ONE OF THESE GUIDELINES IS NOT MET, YOUR SUBMISSION WILL NOT BE READ
