Have you ever written anything, or created art that you’re proud of? This is the literary magazine for you! Melodrama is accepting submissions through March 20th, 2024 at 11:59pm. Our first submission deadline is November 10.

A literary magazine is an anthology of student work, typically art and writing. Melodrama is a literary magazine founded in 2019 by two former Ladue students. We aim to showcase the talent of the Ladue student body in this magazine created by students, for students. 

You don’t have to be an expert in your field to submit something––if you have any work you’re proud of or would like to see published, submit to Melodrama! It might feel intimidating to submit your work for review, but it takes less than a minute of your day, and we promise we are grateful that you are trusting us with the opportunity to see your work.

General Guidelines

1. Work can be submitted through our Google Form. Multiple submissions of art/writing across all genres are accepted and encouraged! If you have multiple submissions (not a part of a collection), submit them through the form separately.
2. Submissions will be accepted through March 20th, 2024 at 11:59pm.
3. Avoid inflammatory, offensive, or inappropriate content. Creators may be asked to edit or censor work for civility/length, or work may not be accepted on a case-by-case basis. All work must be your own––pieces will be checked for plagiarism. 
4. Anonymous submissions can be submitted. Keep in mind that editors in chief will see the email by which work is submitted in order to confirm the submission was received. Creators will remain anonymous in the final publication. 
5. Work that has been previously published, submitted for a class, posted on social media, or is simultaneously being considered for publication elsewhere can still be submitted. 
6. SUBMISSION DOES NOT GUARANTEE PUBLICATION! Due to space limitations, not every piece will be published. Publication depends on total submissions volume, amount of submissions by an individual student, and amount of submissions in a specific genre at time of review. For this reason, the earlier pieces are submitted, the higher their chance of publication.
7. Look at our genre-specific guidelines for word counts and accepted file formats. 

Submissions Procedure:

1. You can submit any art and writing that fits the guidelines above.
2. Fill out our submissions form. 
3. Attach art submissions as a .jpg (JPEG) or .png, writing submissions as a view-only permission Google Document, audio submissions as a .mp3 format submission, and video submissions as a .mp4. Do not skip this step.
4. That’s it! Once received, we will email you to let you know we received your piece. All submissions will be reviewed by Melodrama staff for acceptance, rejection or acceptance with revisions, and creators will be notified in mid-March whether their piece has been accepted.

Guidelines by Genre:

Writing: 

• Accepted genres: flash fiction, short story, nonfiction (essays, reviews, etc.), creative nonfiction (memoirs, narratives, personal essays, etc.), poetry.
• Maximum word count: 1500 words. Poetry must be 40 lines maximum.
• Accepted file formats: a view-only permission Google Document.

Art:

• Accepted genres: painting, drawing, 2D art, photography, ceramics, sculpture, 3D art, mixed media, digital, etc.
• Accepted file formats: .png or .jpeg

Audio/Video:

• Accepted genres: slam poetry/spoken word, short film, videography, music (instrument or singing), podcast.  
  • Keep in mind that this must be original work––content being recorded must be written/created by the student submitting. 
• Accepted file formats: .mp3 or .mp4 file.

Other Notes:

1. Melodrama does not retain any right to submitted or published work. All rights are returned to creators. 
2. Melodrama does request that creators consent to their work being utilized to design the magazine. Melodrama will always publish the work in its entirety, but elements of the work may be utilized for design purposes. Submitters may review past issues for examples and consent to this at the bottom of the submissions form. 

Thank you for submitting! We look forward to seeing your work.