Black Muslim Reads Guidelines

Guidelines

Deadline – September 30, 2019, at 11:59 pm EST

Original works with the author(s) having full rights.

Writers must be 18 years or older.

Submissions must be edited and proofread.

Poetry and Spoken Word

Page limit – 4
Images – None
Multiple Submissions –
- Yes, limit of 4 pages
- all submission in one document with headings
- Each submission on a separate page in the same document

Fiction

Word Limit – 1K – 6K
Genre(s) –
- Adult (main characters over 25), all genres except erotica
- New Adult (main characters between 18-25), all genres except erotica
Images – None
Multiple Submissions –
- Yes – limited to 6k words total
- each submission in a separate document

Nonfiction

Word Limit – 1K – 4K
Genre(s) –
- Memoirs
- Semi-autobiography
- Creative Nonfiction
- Essays
Images – None
Multiple Submissions –
- Yes – limited to 4k words total
- each submission in a separate document

Multi-Genre Submissions

Writers may submit a mixture of fiction, non-fiction, and poetry/spoken word.

Word limit – 6k or 12 pages (Whichever is greater).
Submissions
- Poetry – follow “poetry” guidelines above
- Fiction – follow “fiction” guidelines above
- Nonfiction – follow “nonfiction” guidelines above

Format

Word Document (attached to an email – no sharing links)
Font – Times New Roman
Margins – 1” (top, bottom, left, right)
Alignment – Left (no centering titles or subheadings)
Line Spacing –
- Poetry: Single (space between stanzas)
- Fiction and Nonfiction: Double
Paragraph
- Paragraph Indent – First line
- Paragraph Spacing – Remove extra space before and after paragraph
Author’s Name then Title – Bold
Headers and Footers – none
Pagination – none

Style

Chicago Manual Style
Use active voice as much as possible in all prose.
Oxford Comma – none
Exclamation Points –
- limited use
- no double exclamation points (!!) or exclamation points with a question mark (?!) unless it is part of a story’s text message or social media post dialogue.
Ellipsis –
- Number – three (3)
- Spacing – no spacing before or after
- Use – use to indicate interrupted or faltering speech or to indicate a break in direct quotes.
Em Dash –
- no spacing before or after
- use to indicate an interruption in dialogue
Bibliographies on a separate page
Common Islamic Terms

Allah Quran Islam Salah Muslim Zakah Hajj Sawm Sadaqah Abaya Iman Wali Mahr Talaq Masjid Hijab Khimar Thobe Kufi Jilbab Umm/Ummi Abu/Abi Akh/Akhi Ukh/Ukhti Jumu’ah *Do not include definitions of terms in the text or footnotes.

** The spelling of common Islamic terms may be changed to align with anthology standards

Edits

Each submission will go through review.
There will be at least one round of edits.
Writers will receive edit suggestions and should return the edited submission by November 15, 2019.

Writers retain the rights to their submission and may republish them after one year of the anthology’s release.

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