Call For Submissions
This page is updated now and then to reflect specific topics the editors of WORK would love to see submitted.
No matter the topic, be sure your writing is clear, grammatically correct, directly addressing the theme of work, and fun to read.
References
Every job comes with friends and, well, not-friends as coworkers. We're looking for stories, poems, testimonials and swoon-worthy descriptions of work friends. Set the scene about how you diplomatically negotated delicate work conversations until you realized you agreed on politics and how much you love/hate your jobs. Or maybe it was instantaneous, when you parked your laptop next to theirs and realized you could share anything. Or maybe you worked in the building for weeks before finding out an old friend you'd lost contact with was working down the hall. In the end, you know all these folks will give you a solid reference when you go job hunting. They're the best! And they deserve to know it.
We know you've got the stories! Now share them. Upbeat, but not saccharine, is the name of this game.
Per usual, please change names to protect the innocent.
Short guidelines:
Email workzine@gmail.com your previously unpublished piece in .doc file format with “submission” in the subject line. Need more guidelines? Go to Guidelines.
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AS OF SEPTEMBER 24,2017, THE CALL BELOW IS CLOSED.
-CLOSED CALL BELOW –
Calling It Quits.
We are currently seeking stories about disengaging from employment. Show us through words how character/s are "throwing in the towel".
The situation could be a fit of rage, seeking new horizons, swinging into a better job, or … well, any situation in which quitting is involved.
Per usual, please change names to protect the innocent.
AS OF July 1, 2013 THE CALL BELOW IS CLOSED. Check back for updated ‘call for submissions’. In the meanwhile, please feel free to submit per WORK’s regular submissions policy.
– CLOSED CALL BELOW –
S/He Said What?
Hot gossip around the cooler, bathroom stall chatter, or unfounded suspicions nearly confirmed, it's time to dish about your past, present or future co-workers via an exposing poem, essay, fictional story, memoir, song, screenplay, text or MSM convo, or innovative confluence of scrap paper and retribution.
Instinctively, you know that co-worker isn't pulling their weight. Or maybe every time you are about to finish a task that person takes all the glory. Maybe the boss is holding everyone down. Could be those two are having an affair, or is it worse if they aren't?
We want the dirt. Pen names allowed.
Submit to WORK today!
Short guidelines:
Email workzine@gmail.com your previously unpublished piece in .doc file format with “submission” in the subject line. Need more guidelines? Go to Guidelines.
AS OF February 11, 2013 THE CALL BELOW IS CLOSED. Check back for updated ‘call for submissions’. In the meanwhile, please feel free to submit per WORK’s regular submissions policy.
– CLOSED CALL BELOW –
Change of Guard/Raise your Guard
Effective Immediately:
business restructuring, closed door meetings, covert interviews, redundancies …
What do you know about last minute lay-offs, office collapse, contingency plans?
Lay it on WORK: your tired, your weary, your fired … We can take it.
We’re looking for poems, essays, interviews, stories, photos, illustrations, rejections and pink slips.
Submit to WORK today!
Short guidelines:
Email workzine@gmail.com your previously unpublished piece in .doc file format with “submission” in the subject line. Need more guidelines? Go to Guidelines.
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AS OF July 21, 2012 THE CALL BELOW IS CLOSED. Check back for updated ‘call for submissions’. In the meanwhile, please feel free to submit per WORK’s regular submissions policy.
– CLOSED CALL BELOW –
Could you be the next Employee of the Year? Think of it … the fame, the glory, the certificate of achievement suitable for framing. Learn about your chance to win on the Contest Guidelines Page.
Hate contests? Can’t stand the pressure? Try a regular submission with a special emphasis: FOOD.
Have you a co-worker with “food issues”? Do you down one protein shake after another to make it through your day? Did/does your mom go on liquid diets to shed her secretary spread?
Think lunch breaks (if you can get them). Think conferences. Think meetings, lunch pails, and microwaved dinners. Think tugs of whiskey from the desk drawer. You’ve known these people – 1) vegetarians vs. carnivores, 2) people who quickly whisper a mealtime prayer, 3) that guy who grows sprouts in a mason jar on the window for his lunch later in the week. There are stories to be found!
Fiction, non-fiction, interview, essay: lay it on us … like a slap of coleslaw at the company picnic.
Submit to WORK today!
Short guidelines:
Email workzine@gmail.com your previously unpublished piece in .doc file format with “submission” in the subject line. Need more guidelines? Go to Guidelines.
AS OF DECEMBER 17, 2011 THE CALL BELOW IS CLOSED. Check back for updated ‘call for submissions’. In the meanwhile, please feel free to submit per WORK’s regular submissions policy.
– CLOSED CALL BELOW –
OCTOBER 13, 2011, the editors of WORK want to see submissions related to Holiday Pay.
Holidays … Family … Traditions … Identity Crisis … November and December are rife with conflict, joy, and for some folks holiday pay. While some go to the beach, family time-share, or grandma’s house, a whole heck of a lot of people end up going to work over the holidays.
We want to see how families resolve a) having to work for the holidays, or b) having time off over the holidays.
We believe that inherent to this topic is IDENTITY and MOTIVATION.
Be mindful that if you submit about time off that the story must still revolve around the theme of work.
Some prompting questions:
Do you live to work?
Or are you always the first person to sign up for paid time off?
Is work all about budgeting for presents?
Do you work holiday shifts get out of visiting family?
After thousands of customers, are you secretly thrilled to handle all that money when you close out the till?
Do you intentionally move slower when more patrons enter your business?
Does your family disapprove of your occupation, or think you’re a saint for your dedication?
Why do or don’t people work during the holidays?
How do the PTO-folks treat the seasonal staff? And vice versa?
The crews of diligent workers unpacking Harry Potter Lego Sets well after midnight certainly have something to say about holiday pay. We want to hear it!
Submit to WORK today!
Short guidelines:
Email workzine@gmail.com your previously unpublished piece in .doc file format with “submission” in the subject line. Need more guidelines? Go to Guidelines.
If you’d like to submit, please read our guidelines before contacting our editorial staff.
If you’d like to liberate your leisure hours with light entertainment, follow us on Twitter and/or Facebook.
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