The Shallot
Submission Information
Submissions Timing
We are open for submissions from January 12 to February 12, 2025.
Theme/Prompt
Water, earth, fire, air. Wherever we go, we’re sheltered or surrounded by the elements.
Nature is there for us whenever we need it and wherever we are. It takes innovative forms, even within our own homes, flames boil water, the sun shines through a curtained window.
We can hold the elements in our hands. They are our friends; we play with them, but they also hold great power. Mastering the elements is a lifelong quest.
Where do you go to connect to the most elemental parts of nature and yourself? Out into the beyond (whatever and wherever that means to you)? Perhaps foraging in the forest or in the depths of your mind.
Water has the capacity for great change and can exist in multiple states of matter—liquid, solid, and gas. It can be the catalyst to heat a noodle dish or chill a fiery cocktail and bring out remarkable flavor. It can be strong, creating and modifying the face of the Earth with the flow of rivers shifting valleys over centuries. Water, too, nourishes the plants that we grow and the plants that just grow in the earth. Do you flow with the water, taking the path you carve for yourself?
The Earth is solid beneath our feet, providing comfort and support on days when we really need it. It is in the Earth that food grows—it is where we find our sustenance, hope, life, and inspiration. In husking corn to gathering rice and foraging for mushrooms to wading in a cranberry bog—this is our history. Rice and grains form the basis of sustenance from cultures around the world, the foundation of many traditions of cooking. Savory and sweet, we borrow all flavors from the Earth. Like our food, we, too, are of the Earth.
Can you sit in a forest and feel together with the trees, part of the Earth? We are creatures, though we walk upright. To honor the Earth is to honor ourselves and future generations. What is Earth telling us with the strength it brings?
A different strength is born in fire, the power to transform and destroy. The skillet thrown with artful wrist movements; the wildfire licking up dry grass and consuming it whole. Fire has evolved to remove what is dead or decaying and restore ecological balance to the area. Mesmerizing to watch, it tells us a story of flexibility and evolution. In fire, we can see our passions run wild, sometimes too wild, and learn the lessons it teaches us. If you touch an open flame, it burns.
Humans have learned to work with the fire. In the culinary arts, we can roast, grill, broil, bake, smoke, and bring dishes into being. When you look into the fire, what do you see?
Breathe in. Breathe out. Earth is a hospitable environment, a place where we can live and prosper. Feel the wind around you, swirling around you and pulling you in, almost like a hug. A message of support. Air surrounds us and inspires us, but can also provide adversity. Like much in nature, it is multifaceted and complex. More so than we often stop to think about. A nice surrounding breeze on an unbearably hot day, wicking away sweat from your brow and cheeks. On the other side, a cold winter wind that comes to rob you of your energy on a day so cold that you aren't sure why you are outside. Both make you feel alive.
All the elements exist in conversation with each other and with us. We influence each other, sometimes more than we know, changing the climate in which we all reside. We exist thanks to the elements; water, earth, fire, and air all sustain us.
For this edition, send us a work that explores the elements. However you are inspired to engage with them, to feel them. Share your vision through writing, visual art, or creative recipes. Transform your dish with ingredients influenced or transformed by the elements. Write a poem about the restorative powers of nature. Paint a small waterfall dripping over a cliffside. Whatever strikes your fancy. You may submit 2 recipes or poems or visual art pieces or short stories in each category.
How to Submit
How
- On our submission page via Duosuma: here. It will open for submissions on the date listed above (as open calls go live).
- The Shallot is open to artists with lived mental and emotional health experiences. Artists in all locations/countries are invited to apply.
What we publish
- Submit a piece of work inspired by or related to this edition’s prompt.
Submission Guidelines
Two visual and two written submissions per artist at this time for a maximum of four submissions. You can submit multiple pieces in the same entry.
You may submit 2 recipes or poems or visual art pieces or short stories in each category.
Types of Submissions
- Nonfiction
- Fiction
- Poetry
- Drama
- Experimental
- Creative Recipes
- Visual Art
Visual Art Requirements
- Please provide high-resolution files for artwork. Images need to be at a minimum of 150 pixels per inch (PPI) at 5”x7” (though 356 PPI or higher is preferred). Lower resolutions WILL NOT be accepted.
- Artwork should be photographed on a plain background so the focus stays on your piece. Submissions should be cropped to just the piece itself (not including artwork, table, etc., unless an intentional part of the composition). For artists photographing sculptures or other 3-D prints, we prefer simple, neutral, solid-colored backgrounds.
Written Requirements
- Written work should be no longer than 1000 words.
General Requirements
Include Biography
- Always include a third-person author/artist/professional bio. The bio should be at least 1-2 sentences and up to 50 words. 450-500 characters maximum. More extended bios will not be accepted.
- We will publish the bio, your pronouns, and links to your social media that you include.
- We reserve the right to make grammatical changes while copyediting, but you will get to approve the final version.
- Country of origin or the country that you identify with.
Questions
- Answer all required questions in the submission system.
- You must be 18 years of age or older to enter.
Other Information
Rights
- Writers and artists retain copyright, but The Layered Onion requests that you ask us before republishing your content. If it is republished, please ensure the second publication provides credit and links back to The Layered Onion, indicating that TLO was the first to publish.
Payment
- Accepted artists will choose between an honorarium (currently $15) or an artist’s copy of the journal.
Sharing Your Work in The Shallot
- Your work may be included in promotional material on TLO social media, always giving you credit. The Layered Onion collection may be sold in the TLO shop.
Partners
Council of Literary Magazines and Presses Contest Code of Ethics
The Shallot endorses and abides by the Code of Ethics developed by the Council of Literary Magazines and Presses (CLMP):
The Community of Literary Magazines and Presses believes that ethical contests serve our shared goal: to connect writers and readers by publishing exceptional writing. Intent to act ethically, clarity of guidelines, and transparency of process form the foundation of an ethical contest. To that end, we agree:
- to conduct our contests as ethically as possible and to address any unethical behavior on the part of our readers, judges, or editors;
- to provide clear and specific contest guidelines—defining conflict of interest for all parties involved; and
- to make the mechanics of our selection process available to the public.
Selection Process
Once the submission process has closed, our managing editor takes all of the submissions and organizes them for our volunteer reviewers. We do not use a blind submission process; our reasoning for this is in the below section. Each reviewer (up to 15 per review cycle) will make notes and comments and then vote yes or no for each submission. Some submissions may fall in between these, in those cases a reviewer will choose the closest choice and make note as to their decision for our submission review meeting.
At the submission review meeting, we’ll discuss all pieces that received the majority of yes votes and reconcile them to the amount of pages we have available to publish. We also will argue for any standout pieces that may not have received the votes a reviewer thought a piece deserved. Perhaps other reviewers did not understand the nuances or cultural notes that elevated a piece. This is where our review process stands out – we often discuss nearly every submission (or as many as we can) to ensure all artists and authors get due consideration.
Where we really love pieces, but they are not a fit for our journal for whatever reason (do not quite fit with the flow of the theme for themed issues, etc.), we may offer guest blog posts or other items to elevate author voices where we can.
Why We Do Not Use Blind Submissions + Other Ethical Notes
We do not use a blind submission process for the below reasons. Though blind submissions have traditionally been thought to level the playing field for disadvantaged writers and artists, as Joyce Chen points out in her insightful article on reconsidering blind submissions, it often reinforces the same barriers it strives to knock down and upholds the hierarchies of power that we are familiar with.
To quote Chen, “And how often do we discount work because it feels too “unpolished,” built around a solid core of a story but with a few loose ends that could benefit from the insightful feedback of an editor or even just an encouraging comment or two from a sharp-eyed colleague? Are we thinking about the hurdles that some writers face to even submit their work in the first place? Writers who haven’t had the opportunity to share their work with a supportive community, or to workshop a piece, or to go through several rounds of revisions, likely won’t present as polished an essay or poem as a more privileged writer. What could that essay or poem turn into with a little encouragement, a little editing—if only they get a shot?
In other words, without any context about the writer themselves, how can we fully understand the import or shortcomings of a piece?“
At The Shallot, we’re striving to create a supportive process, starting with curating reviewers from all backgrounds and walks of life. If a piece has potential, but could benefit from feedback, we’ll consider acceptance and offer suggestions as we can. Ultimately, it’s the author’s work and we respect that, and we are proud to publish pieces that are exploring what it means to write, to paint, to make.
As a unique publication geared towards an underserved population, we do allow our submission reviewers to enter. In order to create an ethical and clear process, we require any reviewers who would like to pursue this to speak with the managing editor prior to submitting so the editor can manage the submission through the process with care. The reviewer will need to submit their piece using a pseudonym and they may not vote for their own submission. If selected for publication, the piece will be published under the reviewer’s intended name. In our case, we believe this to be fair to our publication, submission, and readers due to our broad pool of submission reviewers, as we do not use one or several judges alone.
As stated above, we vow to conduct this contest as ethically as possible. If you have any concerns regarding this matter, either before, or after the winners have been announced, please contact us directly.
We can best be reached via email at contact @ thelayeredonion.com.