Call for Submissions: Fifth Wednesday Journal

Fifth Wednesday Journal announces a call for submissions to a special issue in the fall of 2017. We intend to showcase writing by authors who are immigrants or children of immigrants from Middle East and North Africa (MENA) countries.*

The United States is home to immigrants from almost every country and territory in the world. In fact, the great strength of this country is drawn from the labor, intellect, and creativity of immigrants and their descendants. But assimilation and inclusion are not always easy. The newcomer often finds a different language, a different culture; even the flora and fauna may seem strange and threatening. Citizens sometimes resent the appearance in their midst of a different religious practice, a different manner of dress, a different language, and other manners that are not “the way we do things here.”

We believe that the best way of demonstrating to the newcomer and the American that neither has anything to fear from the other, that each has much to learn from the other, is is to bring the immigrant experience to more American citizens by sharing through literature the wisdom, history, culture, hopes, and dreams of immigrants who come seeking a better life in an open, free, and democratic society. We will all benefit from the exchange.

We are, as always, looking for short fiction and poetry written in English and not published elsewhere prior to submission to us. We will be happy to read personal essays and creative nonfiction with literary merit. We seek writing by residents of the United States and Canada for this issue. We will consider translations only if the translator includes a letter from the author giving permission for the translation and publication in our magazine.

This call for a special issue does not exclude submissions from writers who may not fit the immigrant definition above. We will always find an outstanding poem or story worth publishing. Show us what you have and we will treat it with respect.

We welcome simultaneous submissions with the understanding that you will inform us if your work is accepted elsewhere. We recommend that writers familiarize themselves with FWJ before submitting their work.

Details on submitting are here. 

Submissions for this issue will open on April 15, 2017 and close on June 15, 2017.

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* There is no standardized definition of the MENA countries. However, the following countries are often included: Algeria, Bahrain, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen.