Submission Guidelines

WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR

The Stars Diverged Journal accepts content from anyone who identifies as neurodivergent, looking for submissions regarding the individual’s “neurodivergent experience.”

We want you to be able to express yourself and your art however you feel fit, however, we do have some guidelines to make sure everything can stay organized, and everyone reading our issues can feel comfortable.

Thank you for helping us build this journal, and helping keep it a safe and welcoming space!

HOW TO FORMAT YOUR PIECE

For writing pieces, we ask that all submissions…

  • Are submitted as a PDF or Word Document

  • Have the piece’s writing form, title, and your preferred author’s name in the title

    • (EG: name your piece “Poem - The Meadow - Jean Doe”)

If you have any specific font or other formatting style choice you feel is important to your piece, please tell us in the “Anything else you’d like us to know?” section at the bottom of the form. (Or if it’s too late for that, get in touch using the Contact section of this site, or email us at: starsdivergedjournal@gmail.com)

For art pieces, we ask that all submissions…

  • Are submitted as a JPG or PNG.

  • Have the art medium of the piece, its title, and your preferred artist’s name in the attachment’s title.

    • (EG: name your piece “Digital Drawing - The Lake - Jean Doe”)

  • If submitting traditional art, please ensure that the photo of it you are submitting is very neat.

WHAT WE WILL NOT ACCEPT

Pieces containing racist, homophobic, sexist, ableist, or any other type of hateful content/language will not be tolerated

  • NOTE: If you wish to share a piece about experiencing hate/discrimination firsthand, and therefore use related and potentially harmful terminology, please reach out to us and we’ll discuss how best to move forward.

    We want our contributors to be free to express themselves in the ways they desire, but it is also important to us to ensure that everyone who visits this journal feels they are in a safe space.

Pieces containing excessively violent imagery will not be displayed on our page.

  • NOTE: If you are unsure of the propriety of the violence involved, please reach out to us, and we can discuss how best to move forward.

    We want our contributors to be free to express themselves in the ways they desire, but it is also important to us to ensure that everyone who visits this journal feels they are in a safe space.

Pieces that are plagiarized from other authors/artists, or pieces made using AI

Plagiarism is wrong. It is very important to us here at Stars Diverged that everyone respects their fellow creatives, and does not claim others’ work and/or ideas as their own. On that same note, we are against contributors submitting any sort of art or writing that they did not create themselves, and that includes not accepting the usage of AI in our submissions.

The goal of this journal is to celebrate your authentic voice and skill, so we sincerely ask that you uphold these values, and only submit your own original work. Thank you!

THEMES 

For our third issue, we are still looking for writing and art about individuals’ neurodivergent experiences - however this time with the theme of “Comfort.”

As the dreary winter comes to an end, it is our hope that all of you will take the time to celebrate the warmth that has carried you through to spring! Pieces about what people, places, or things make you feel the most at home. About whatever thoughts or fantasies get you through the rough patches, and any other way you feel this theme connects to you!

(This prompt can be interpreted as creatively as you’d like! No need to put yourself in a box. Let your pens, paints, and more, run free!)

If you want inspiration for your piece, feel free to check out either of our first two issues, full of amazing pieces about the neurodivergent experience.

MULTIPLE SUBMISSIONS

  • Please do not submit more than two separate works to one issue, as we are trying to hear from as many different voices as possible (this number may grow over time) unless these submissions are a part of one cumulative piece.

  • If you are submitting multiple unrelated pieces, please submit them completely separately, filling out a submission form for each.

  • If you are submitting multiple works that are meant to make one piece all together (eg: a series of photographs), you can…

    • Attach all these pieces together in the submissions form, but please indicate what you are doing in the “Anything else you’d like us to know?” section at the bottom of the form. (Or if it’s too late for that, get in touch using the Contact section of this site, or email us at: starsdivergedjournal@gmail.com)

    • Send us an email instead with all your pieces attached, along with information such as:

      the medium of your piece, your preferred artist/author name, your piece’s title(s), and an optional short description of your works, as well as your Instagram handle if applicable.