Submissions

Red Wedge publishes a broad array of articles, creative pieces, and media. We are always open for submissions.

     We are a publication of the popular avant-garde, which in essence means we are looking to knock the elitist connotations off what it means to be “experimental” in our art, and we reject the notion mass art must be necessarily dumbed down for consumption. We are interested in creativity in which social concern pushes the creator to break with artistic convention. As always, the best way to get a sense of what we publish is to read what we already have, but below are a few clarifications.

     We are looking to put out into the world material that explores the ever-shifting meeting point between the artistic and political, and puts the endless creativity and imagination of ordinary working people front-and-center. Our analytical framework is revolutionary Marxism, but we are also open to submissions from those who may come from other leftist traditions (anarchism, left social democracy, etc.) so long as what is espoused in the piece reflects what our worldviews have in common. We are cultural materialists but also romantic anti-capitalists. We are feminists, anti-racists and anti-imperialists, and support full personal and sexual liberation. Though it may go without saying, any submission that is racist, sexist, queerphobic or generally chauvinistic will be rejected outright.

     All submissions or inquiries should be emailed to info@redwedgemagazine.com. We endeavor to acknowledge receipt within a few days of submission; confirmation of acceptance or rejection normally takes place within a few weeks. Time-sensitive pieces (i.e. pieces that need to go up in a matter of days) should be clearly identified as such in the email.

     Specific categories are as follows:

• Essays – analyses and examinations of artistic questions from political viewpoints or vice versa. The political economy of the modern gallery space, how the struggle against racism and sexism impacts the culture industry, pieces on the history of surrealism, Afrofuturism or any radical arts movement, the options go on. Read our “Essays” section to get a feel for what we want to run.
• Interviews – We have published interviews with musicians, visual artists, history scholars, authors and more. Both up-and-coming figures and established names, either regarding their own work or a specific topic on which they may have expertise. The “Interviews” section is here for your perusal.
• Commentary – Naturally similar to essays but brief and perhaps from a more personal point of view, as well as seeking to make a more direct argument or shed light on an outlook that may be overlooked. Does an artist or current event in the culture world deserve a closer examination? Or maybe you wish to put forth an unorthodox argument regarding something in art, music, literary or film history that has not been given its due? This is where our “Commentary” section comes in.
• Reviews – What is an arts publication without a “Reviews” section? We run reviews of art exhibitions, of films, plays, novels and short story collections, poetry collections or anthologies or chapbooks, non-fiction books that are focused on a broad aesthetic or cultural topic, albums, dance performances, street art. Our preference for review material tends toward the experimental but we are more than happy to consider a more “conventional” work for review as long as the reviewer’s take shows us something unique and radical we might otherwise miss.  
• Poetry – A question frequently asked by those submitting poetry: does Red Wedge only publish “political poems”? In a word, no/yes/yes/no. Not every poem we publish must be about a struggle, a strike or a protest. We do consider poems that tackle political topics. But far more important to us is whether the form or content of the poem seeks to break with tradition in some way, probing the hidden corners of the human experience and shedding light on them from an angle not normally seen. A clear view of our scope and interests is seen in our “Poetry” section.
• Imagery – Photo essays, profiles or features of your painting, sculpture, drawing or mixed media. Our “Imagery” section tells all. Generally, the question of whether the subject matter should be “political” can be answered the same way as with our poetry section. Specifically, let’s explore what the reproduction of the image can do. What new and radical narratives can be told through the media of paint, ink, the digital or analog photograph? What new ways of looking at space and time can be forged?
• Prose – Fiction? Yes, of course. If you write stories we want to see them. But the same goes for what is often called “creative non-fiction,” but takes on "real world" events that might not quite fall into the category of straight commentary or essays. Either way, if you are attempting to turn the subjective into the objective or vice versa through the written word, or push the boundaries of what the written word is capable of, then we want to look at it. And you should look at our “Prose” too.
•  Audio and Video – Short film, sound experiments, recordings of talks, speeches or performances, songs, singles, even whole albums. Our “Audio” and “Video” sections are probably our most eclectic, but also uniquely well-suited to presenting unorthodox work in a given medium.