Please use this link to submit: Submit to Winter 2025 Issue.
We’re happy that you’re interested in sharing your work with us! We accept rolling submissions and so anything that comes in after our deadline we will add to the submissions for the following issue. Please review the guidelines on this page before you submit. Deadline for consideration for Winter 2025 Issue is January 24th, 2025, 11:59 p.m.
What You Can Submit
We accept the following works:
- Writing (must be under three thousand words in length)
- Poetry
- Prose
- Short stories
- Creative nonfiction
- Scripts
- Art
- Paintings
- Drawings
- Photos
- Graphics
- Prints
- Comics (must be under two pages in length)
While some issues—like Issue 28—will have a theme that submissions should follow, most will not. Feel free to peruse more of our past issues for inspiration.
What We Need
If we accept your work, we will contact you to request the following:
- Your permission for us to publish your piece in our print magazine, on our website, and through the “UCSB Stories” dispenser at San Miguel Residence Hall.
- For writing, your permission for us to make small edits to your piece—mainly to grammar, form, and punctuation—so that it adheres to our style guide. In rare cases, pieces may require more substantial revision (perhaps even to stanza shape/punctuation), but we will let you know if and when this happens.
- For art, your permission for us to make edits to your piece in general—so that we can create a layout that matches the formatting and themes of the writing it is paired with.
We cannot publish your piece without your consent on all these asks.
Once we begin working on your piece, you will ask that you review our changes and either accept it or leave a comment on why you disagree with it. We ask that before submitting to The Catalyst you do peruse some of our previous issues so that you know the kind of aesthetic we are aiming for. This may mean that your work ends up looking a little different than you expected. We don’t want anyone to be unaware of this possibility – in our endeavor to create a fusion between visual and verbal forms of art, we do change things! You will have a few days to approve or withdraw your piece, and we fully respect your right to do this. If you have not approved before our internal editorial deadline, we will withdraw your work and hope to publish it in a future issue.
What You Get
In return for submitting, you will get the following:
- Your work in a physical magazine, of which you will receive a free copy.
- Your work on this website.
- The opportunity to read and perform your work at our launch event (light refreshments will be provided).
Still here? Great! We’re currently accepting submissions, and we look forward to reviewing your work. If you have questions, feel free to email us at english-ucsbcatalyst@ucsb.edu.