Are you bursting with creativity? Do you like putting pen to paper or paint to canvas?
Do you want your work to reach a broader audience at UW-Madison and across the city?
Submit your works to the Illumination Spring 2027 Issue now!
Illumination the Undergraduate Journal of Humanities has a publication released every Spring semester by the Literary Arts Committee under the Wisconsin Union Directorate. This annual publication aims to uplift local talent and emerging creators on campus and the greater-Madison area, showcasing a plethora of creative writing, art, and scholarly essays.
If you or someone you know is a creative interested in having their work featured in a print publication, submit below in the appropriate category! You are free to submit as many pieces as you would like, as long as you complete a new form for each submission.
Forms close Sunday, January 24th at 11:59pm
Best wishes, and good luck 😉
Visual Art Submission Criteria:
Thank you for your interest in submitting to Illumination! We are excited to review your piece(s), and look forward to sharing your work with the campus community. Before completing the submission, please review the following criteria to ensure that your piece meets our standards. If you have questions about these guidelines, please contact the Editor-in-Chief at illumination.literaryarts@union.wisc.edu
A word on our submissions: Our submissions are blind, so we are not able to see your name or contact details until after we've made a decision on your piece, and these are never a factor in choosing our pieces -- we accept works entirely on merit. We ask that you write your name in the application so that we can contact you regarding the decision we make on your piece, and so that we can give you due credit on your work at the time of publishing. We are not able to see these details until after a decision has been made on your piece. If you would like to remain unknown, write "Anonymous" or N/A in the name field.
Please, DO NOT INCLUDE ANY IDENTIFYING INFORMATION ON THE BODY OF YOUR WORK. This ensures that our process remains blind, transparent, and fair. If you include identifying information on your text or art files, your submission will not be considered for publishing.
You can submit to Illumination as many times as you want! However, only one file will be accepted per application. This ensures that all the files you upload make it to the right desk and can be graded on individual merits. We apologize for any inconvenience!
If you are submitting Visual Artwork: All art pieces should have an image quality of at least 300dpi with CMYK coloring. Only upload using a TIF, JPG, or PNG format to ensure maximum image quality. Images should be submitted at their full resolution to allow for proper sizing in the print issue. If your piece does not follow these guidelines, it will get rejected. Do not include any identifying information in the body of your work. This ensures that our submission process is blind, transparent and fair. Please include the media used to create the piece and its dimensions.
Illumination Honorariums: Starting with our Spring 2022 Print Issue, Illumination has been able to offer 4 prizes of $200 each to selected writers and artists in each category (12 prizes total across all 3 categories). We will be continuing this honorarium with our Spring 2027 Print Issue. By submitting for this semester, you will be eligible to receive one of 4 prizes in the category in which you submit. Prizes are divided across categories of Poetry, Visual Art, and Fiction/Creative Non-Fiction. Prize winners will be noted in the Spring print edition of the journal. Please note that acceptance for publication does not guarantee that you will be a prize winner.
Keep in Mind: Submissions will not be accepted after the posted deadline unless previously discussed with the Editor-in-Chief. If special circumstances prevent you from submitting your piece by the deadline, a brief extension may be issued. Contact illumination.literaryarts@union.wisc.edu if you need more information.
Best wishes, and good luck!
Poetry Submission Criteria:
Thank you for your interest in submitting to Illumination! We are excited to review your piece(s), and look forward to sharing your work with the campus community. Before completing the submission, please review the following criteria to ensure that your piece meets our standards. If you have questions about these guidelines, please contact the Editor-in-Chief at illumination.literaryarts@union.wisc.edu
A word on our submissions: Our submissions are blind, so we are not able to see your name or contact details until after we've made a decision on your piece, and these are never a factor in choosing our pieces -- we accept works entirely on merit. We ask that you write your name in the application so that we can contact you regarding the decision we make on your piece, and so that we can give you due credit on your work at the time of publication. We are not able to see these details until after a decision has been made on your piece. If you would like to remain unknown, write "Anonymous" or N/A on the name field.
Please, DO NOT INCLUDE ANY IDENTIFYING INFORMATION ON THE BODY OF YOUR WORK. This ensures that our process remains blind, transparent, and fair. If you include identifying information on your text or art files, your submission will not be considered for publishing.
Poetry: If you are submitting multiple poems, please fill out a new Submittable form for each poem. If you have multiple poems you would like to be considered for publication as a unit, you may submit them as a single document. Do not include any identifying information in the body of your work. This ensures that our submission process is blind, transparent, and fair.
You can submit to Illumination as many times as you want! However, only one file will be accepted per application. This ensures that all the files you upload make it to the right desk, and can be graded on individual merits. We apologize for any inconvenience!
Illumination Honorariums: Starting with our Spring 2022 Print Issue, Illumination has been able to offer 4 prizes of $200 each to selected writers and artists in each category (12 prizes total across all 3 categories). We will be continuing this honorarium with our Spring 2027 Print Issue. By submitting for this semester, you will be eligible to receive one of 4 prizes in the category in which you submit. Prizes are divided across categories of Poetry, Visual Art, and Fiction/Creative Non-Fiction. Prize winners will be noted in the Spring print edition of the journal. Please note that acceptance for publication does not guarantee that you will be a prize winner.
Keep in Mind: Submissions will not be accepted after the posted deadline unless previously discussed with the Editor-in-Chief. If special circumstances prevent you from submitting your piece by the deadline, a brief extension may be issued. Contact illumination.publications@union.wisc.edu if you need more information.
Best wishes, and good luck!
Fiction/Non-Fiction Submission Criteria:
Thank you for your interest in submitting to Illumination! We are excited to review your piece(s), and look forward to sharing your work with the campus community. Before completing the submission, please review the following criteria to ensure that your piece meets our standards. If you have questions about these guidelines, please contact the Editor-in-Chief at illumination.literaryarts@union.wisc.edu
A word on our submissions: Our submissions are blind, so we are not able to see your name or contact details until after we've made a decision on your piece, and these are never a factor in choosing our pieces -- we accept works entirely on merit. We ask that you write your name in the application so that we can contact you regarding the decision we make on your piece, and so that we can give you due credit on your work at the time of publishing. We are not able to see these details until after a decision has been made on your piece. If you would like to remain unknown, write "Anonymous" or N/A in the name field.
Please, DO NOT INCLUDE ANY IDENTIFYING INFORMATION ON THE BODY OF YOUR WORK. This ensures that our process remains blind, transparent, and fair. If you include identifying information on your text or art files, your submission will not be considered for publishing.
If you are submitting Fiction/Non-Fiction: Please only submit one piece per Submittable form. While we do not have a hard limit for length, we ask you to keep submissions less than 10 pages due to journal space.
You can submit to Illumination as many times as you want! However, only one file will be accepted per application. This ensures that all the files you upload make it to the right desk, and can be graded on individual merits. We apologize for any inconvenience!
Illumination Honorariums: Starting with our Spring 2022 Print Issue, Illumination has been able to offer 4 prizes of $200 each to selected writers and artists in each category (12 prizes total across all 3 categories). We will be continuing this honorarium with our Spring 2027 Print Issue. By submitting for this semester, you will be eligible to receive one of 4 prizes in the category in which you submit. Prizes are divided across categories of Poetry, Visual Art, and Fiction/Creative Non-Fiction. Prize winners will be noted in the Spring print edition of the journal. Please note that acceptance for publication does not guarantee that you will be a prize winner.
Keep in Mind: Submissions will not be accepted after the posted deadline unless previously discussed with the Editor-in-Chief. If special circumstances prevent you from submitting your piece by the deadline, a brief extension may be issued. Contact illumination.literaryarts@union.wisc.edu if you need more information.
Best wishes, and good luck!