“Our economic system and our planetary system are now at war. Or, more accurately, our economy is at war with many forms of life on earth, including human life. What the climate needs to avoid collapse is a contraction in humanity’s use of resources; what our economic model demands to avoid collapse is unfettered expansion. Only one of these sets of rules can be changed, and it’s not the laws of nature.” — Naomi Klein

The BioLab chemical fire in Atlanta. The Bhopal gas tragedy. The Great Smog of London. The Asia dust storms. Fossil fuel emissions.

For this quarterly issue of Isele Magazine, we are seeking submissions that revolve around air pollution. In a world where air pollution increasingly ruins our lives, health, and climate, this issue seeks to explore the multifaceted narratives surrounding this existential threat. We welcome fiction, nonfiction, poetry, photography, visual art, and hybrid works that explore this theme. Tell us about your personal experiences with air pollution, the resilience of life forms living in polluted environments, and your visions of a pollution-free world. Send us your hopepunk fantasies, biopunk horrors, cli-fi dystopias, and everything in between.

Submission guidelines:

  • All submissions for the quarterly issue should be submitted to quarterly@iselemagazine.com. The email subject line should read Genre: Lastname (e.g. Poetry: Angelou).
  • We DO NOT accept multiple submissions. Please submit to one genre only.
  • For fiction and nonfiction, submit max. 5000 words of prose.
  • For poetry, submit max. 3 poems in a single document.
  • For photography and visual art, submit max. 5 images in JPEG or PNG format and include a brief note detailing the concept and relevance of your work. Only submit work that you still retain the rights to. We DO NOT accept AI-generated images or artwork.
  • For prose (fiction and nonfiction) and poetry, we DO NOT publish previously published works (by this, we mean any piece that has appeared on the web or in print, including your personal blog). However, we will consider a translated version of the work if the original language wasn’t English. For photography and visual art, we may publish works that have been previously published, posted, or exhibited as long as the artist still retains the rights.
  • We accept simultaneous submissions, but please notify us as soon as your work is accepted elsewhere so that we can withdraw it from consideration.

Submission fees and payment of contributors:

  • We DO NOT charge submission fees. All submissions are free of charge.
  • Isele Magazine pays all its contributors a modest token

Rights:

  • Isele Magazine requests the first serial rights of your published piece. However, all rights will revert to you after publication. If your work is republished elsewhere, please indicate that it previously appeared in Isele Magazine.

The Isele Prizes

Deadline: 31st October 2024

We will respond to every submission no later than two months from the submission deadline. If you have not heard from us within two months, please feel free to send a query to quarterly@iselemagazine.com.

*feature image by Sam Jotham Sutharson on Unsplash