MILSPEAK Memo submissions

FICTION

All work submitted must be original, unpublished fiction Send first chapter or story (up to 20 pages) as .doc or .rtf file One-inch margins all around Times New Roman 12-point font Double spaced (all lines) New paragraphs indented half an inch Author’s last name and page number (in Header) on upper-right Please include a title page with all contact information In body of email, please provide a one-sentence description of your fiction manuscript as well as a paragraph detailing your background and any relevant publishing experience. Send properly formatted work to fictioneditor@milspeak.org

Jeffery Hess, MilSpeak Books’ Fiction Editor, is the editor of Home of the Brave: Stories in Uniform (Press 53) which was awarded a Gold Medal by the Military Writer’s Society. He served six years in the U.S. Navy before earning a BA in English from the University of South Florida and an MFA in Creative Writing from Queens University of Charlotte. He’s held writing positions at a major daily newspaper, a Fortune 500 company, and a university-based research center. In addition to various corporate publications and websites, his writing has appeared or is forthcoming in The MacGuffin, The Houston Literary Review, American Skating World, Tampa Tribune, and Writer’s Journal. He lives in Florida where he’s completing a collection of stories and also leads a creative writing workshop expressly for military veterans.

POETRY
Send a query (letter only, no manuscripts, please) to Alan Tesaro, MB poetry editor, regarding your chapbook, long poem, or collection to:
poetryeditor@milspeak.org

Alan Tesaro, MilSpeak Books’ Poetry Editor, teaches English at Spartanburg Community College in South Carolina. Alan was born long, long ago in a strange and distant land on a dark and dreary night…but in 2008, he earned an MFA in Writing, University of Nebraska. In 1999, Alan earned an MA in English, University of Nebraska, and in 1997, a BA in English, University of Tennessee. Alan is retired from the United States Air Force. He served from 1973-1993, including four overseas tours: Germany (1977-1980), Spain (1980-1981), Turkey (1983-1984), and United Kingdom (1984-1988). Alan is also the workshop leader for MCWS/SCC (MilSpeak Creative Writing Seminars/Spartanburg Community College.

NONFICTION
Send a query (Letter only, no manuscripts, please) to Sally Drumm, MB nonfiction editor, regarding your memoir, essay collection, biography, autobiography, or other creative nonfiction work: nonfictioneditor@milspeak.org

Sally Drumm, MilSpeak Books’ Nonfiction Editor and General Editor, received a BAIS with emphasis in literature and philosophy from University of South Carolina (2003) and an MFA in Creative Writing from Queens University of Charlotte, NC (2005). Sally is a published essayist, memoirist, playwright, and short story author. Her writing received honorable mention in Best American Essays 2005. She is editor of Milspeak: Warriors, Veterans, Family and Friends Writing the Military Experience. She is especially interested in myth, symbology, and rites of passage as cultural context and construct within literature. She also loves reading true stories about military life and working with military people who want to write. Sally served in the United States Marine Corps 1978-1998.

General inquiries & requests should be directed to: editor@milspeak.org

Before creating your proposal/query, read the About MilSpeak Books page.

Do not send your entire manuscript as part of your query.

In your query letter, include a description of your book and an author biography (including military history/connection). Tell us who your audience is and what makes your work special. Use your query to make us love your work!

Only submit work that you are willing to publish as both an electronic book and a print book.

Only submit your best work!

BEFORE SUBMITTING YOUR WORK, BE SURE YOU HAVE PERMISSION TO PRINT INCLUDED MATERIAL.

Milspeak Memo is dedicated to Freedom of Speech.
Milspeak Memo is devoted to publishing creative writing by military people.

Memo posts monthly, occasionally more often.
Photographs and maps are welcome (jpeg format), but must be included in the document file, formatted as they should appear, with permission for use secured by author.
Sea stories, links, anecdotes, jokes, art, etc. are welcome.
URL Links to videos are welcome/
Submissions must pertain to some aspect of military life; however creative works with other themes that are written by military people will be published based on merit.
Submissions accepted only via email to submissions@milspeak.org
 Work may be sent in the following formats:
.doc
.docx
.rtf
.pdf
or
pasted into an email body

Work must be formatted as it should appear when published.
Photos must be placed where they should appear in the text.

Photos will be accepted only in jpeg format.

Unable to post .wav or .pps files at this time.

Artwork is welcome!
.jpeg file or link to website

Books
Will post cover image and link for purchase of books by military people and books the editor determines are important to military people.

Book reviews are welcome.

Publisher reserves the right not to post material unsuitable for a general adult audience. Material that in any way adversely affects our nation’s security or our warriors’ safety will not be posted. Other than formatting the work for the web, each submission will appear as it is received, in the author’s own words, uncensored. Please include a statement in submission email granting Milspeak Memo one-time nonexclusive rights to publish. Also include a contributor note and photograph if you would like one to appear with your work. Authors retain all rights to their work and grant Milspeak Memo nonexclusive, one time only rights to post their work on the web. Milspeak Memo cannot monetarily compensate writers because this guerrilla ‘zine (Remember those underground mags from the 60s and 70s?) is operated without funding or overhead.

Send all submissions for publication in MilSpeak Memo to memosubmissions@milspeak.org