Submission Guidelines & Contract for Publication

Haibun Today, an online quarterly, is published in March, June, September and December of each year.  The editor is pleased to review submissions at any time and strives to respond promptly—within a fortnight. To submit your manuscript, please study these Guidelines.

Submission Requirements

1. Submit no more than three haibun at one time.

2. No simultaneous submissions. Do not forward haibun currently under consideration elsewhere.

3. Previously published haibun will be considered. Notify us of the publication venue and date of any such prior publication.

4. If your haibun is unpublished, but the haiku in your haibun has been previously published, notify us of the publication venue and date of the previously published haiku.
 
5. Query before sending unsolicited essays or before forwarding any books for possible review.

Submission Procedure

Forward submissions by email to Jeffrey Woodward, Editor

SUBJECT: HT, your name, title of haibun, essay, etc., date

Example:

SUBJECT: HT, Janet Smith, The Alleycat, July 15, 2010

Place your haibun directly in the body of the email. If you wish, you may also attach a WORD or TEXT or RTF (rich text format) document. Do not submit PDF files. If you attach a document, name the file: "yourname_haibuntitle.doc" or "yourname_haibuntitle.txt" or "yourname_haibuntitle.rtf.

Example: "JanetSmith_TheAlleycat.doc"

In the body of the email, please state that you accept all terms stated on this page. If you do not make this statement, we will assume agreement.

Notification Timelines

The editor strives to respond promptly to every submission. Notification of acceptance, acceptance subject to revision or rejection will normally be made within a fortnight. Please be aware that, at times, one or more of our editors are out of town and some delay, in such circumstances, should be anticipated. If you have not received a response within 30 days, inquire directly of the editor as to the status of your submission.


Copy Editing & Format Issues

1.  Contents Page Formatting: Some writers prefer not to capitalize names, titles, first words in sentences, etc. We will adhere to a writer's preferences on the page where his or her haibun appears, but the main contents page will have all names and titles capitalized in the normal way.

2.  Copy Editing: All work will be copy (not content) edited. If upon viewing their work in an issue, writers feel strongly about any copyediting changes that have been made, they can contact Haibun Today and we will make changes that are deemed necessary. But once a piece has been accepted and formatted for the journal, we will not make content changes except under unusual circumstances.

3.  Special Characters: It is our preference not to utilize diacritics (symbols added to letters, such as macrons and accents). There are several reasons. First, the html computer language used to format webpages doesn't handle them well. Some browsers, for example, will show Basho as Bashô or as Bashō, while others will substitute a "?" for the diacritic as in "Bash?". In addition, it is difficult and time-consuming for the volunteer webmaster to format pages containing diacritics. Third, while such symbols represent pronunciation guides for Japanese speakers, they have little meaning for English-language speakers, most of whom will pronounce Basho, Bashô or Bashō in the same way.

Copyright

Haibun Today acquires first serial rights to any previously unpublished work that it publishes. The right to reprint such work reverts to the author 30 days after publication in Haibun Today. Any future publishers of works that first appear in this venue must credit Haibun Today for first publication.

Haibun Today also retains the right to reprint, in electronic or hardcopy form, those works first published here. In the case of previously published materials, Haibun Today will acquire first serial rights, if the author may grant them without violating the rights of the original publisher, plus the right to reprint such work in electronic or hardcopy form.

Problems

For issues relating to the presentation of your work on the Haibun Today pages, please contact technical editor (webmaster) Ray Rasmussen and use HT in the subject line.

For issues related to an acceptance that has not appeared or to the status of a submission, please contact content editor Jeffrey Woodward and use HT in the subject line.

Frequently Asked Questions:

Q1: If Haibun Today has accepted my work, do I retain rights to republish it elsewhere?
A1: Yes, but you may do so only after Haibun Today first publishes this work and only if republication is accompanied by acknowledgement of Haibun Today as the first place of publication.

Q2: If any part or the whole of my submission has had prior publication, must I inform Haibun Today of this fact when I submit or can I wait until the editor accepts my work?
A2: You should clearly state in your submission that the poem or whole work was published and provide the publishing details, e.g., haiku previously published in The Heron's Nest, 11:4, December 2009 or haibun previously published in bottle rockets, 22, February, 2010.

Q3: Can Haibun Today republish my work either electronically or in print?
A3: Yes, Haibun Today retains the right to republish your work, but only in Haibun Today online or print journals or anthologies.

Q4: Can Haibun Today grant permission to another publisher to reprint my work?
A4: No, Haibun Today cannot grant permission to any other party to republish your work. Any publisher interested in reprinting your work, subsequent to its first appearance in Haibun Today, must contact you for permission.

Q5: Does Haibun Today presently plan to republish work that has appeared or will appear in the journal?
A5: No. However, titles such as The Best of Haibun Today or Five Years of Haibun Today, either as online or print editions, remain possibilities for the future.