Submit to CURSOR
We publish a magazine twice a year, usually with submission deadlines at the beginning of the calendar year and mid-year. Pitches outside our submission window might not get a response.
Each CURSOR issue is published online on our website and in print. For submissions that are hosted digitally, they will be developed together with an editor and designer to create a physical version of the piece for the print magazine.
Every magazine has a theme (see previous issues for examples), but we are open to your unique interpretation of the theme. Most importantly, all articles must strongly reflect our mission statement and the CURSOR ethos.
For questions regarding submissions, email maya@cursormag.net
FAQ
Who makes the layout/frontpage?We get different designers for each issue - keep an eye out for our call for volunteers or email maya@cursormag.net if you are interested! Do contributors get a print issue?
Yes, all contributors get an issue! If you live outside Copenhagen we will ship this to you.Why are contributions unpaid?CURSOR currently only just about makes back the cost of printing, so we are not making (any) money to support contributions.
If you are an organisation or company interested in sponsoring an issue, potentially including contributions, we would love to hear from you though!
How developed should my submission be?In general, we prioritize submissions that are at minimum in a full first draft stage. By prioritizing full draft submissions, we ensure that contributors have enough time to get their piece to a publishable stage within the timeline for each issue. That being said, we also accept submissions in earlier stages: a pitch, idea, half-finished draft. If in doubt, please submit.
What about more creative pieces?
If it is already completed art, please just send us over the piece - in some cases it would be nice to have a blurb with it too (especially for video and net art). for net art, please let us know about any technical requirements.
What if I due to xyz can't follow the guidelines?These are all guidelines that we are trying to make our small team run a bit smoother and so we have time to get back to everyone. most likely it is not a problem - for format and similar, simply let us know your concerns or questions and we will figure it out together.
Your Submission
Please include the following information in your submission via the submission form.1. Your name, email address, and short bio (max 1200 characters). This does not need to be professional, just tell us about yourself.
If multiple people have collaborated on one submission, please choose one person to be the corresponding contributor.
2. Title of your submission & a description of your submission (max 1200 characters).
Please describe your submission (including e.g., information about the creation process, thoughts on how you want to develop it, etc.)
Please indicate whether this is an idea, a draft, a finished piece, or something you want to rework.
Include information about the format of your submission if relevant.
3. Upload your submission.
Please upload your submission (include multiple files in ZIP file).
4. Optional: Any additional information you would like to include in your submission.
We welcome creative pieces - please indicate what the technical requirements are and whether you need assistance. See below for technical requirements!
Format
Written piecesWe accept personal and academic essays, articles, interviews, creative breaks, book & art reviews, and most other forms of written submissions.
Please send all written pieces in single column, normal margins, 1.5 or double spaced. Written pieces should not exceed ~2500 words.
Choose whichever citation style you prefer. Use the citation style consistently throughout. Always include a citations list.
Creative (non-text) pieces:
We accept net.art, digital collages, creative coding pieces, video- and photograph-based art, and most other forms of non-text submissions.
If there is non-written material, please include these seperately as a zip, wetransfer, or similar. (PNG, JPG, GIF, MP4, MOV, HTML files all welcome).
We publish websites, but usually as a link with a descriptive text to it. Alternatively, sites can be published by using an iFrame tag - we can help setting this up!
For any pieces involving JavaScript, you will have to host the site yourself (if you do not have a website, we recommend Glitch or Github) and we will embed using iFrame.
For special digital formats, we may ask for a blurb or other format to make it suitable for print.
Process
We will email you after the deadline has passed on whether we would like to continue with the piece. All submissions, whether accepted or rejected, will receive a response.CURSOR follows a two-step editorial process. If your piece is selected, you will be matched with a main editor to help develop your piece.
Together with the main editor, you will set deadlines within the timeline of the current issue’s run. You will also decide together how best to collaborate on the editorial process. The main editor will give comments and feedback on your piece. Please be realistic with your time!
Ownership and Publication
As a writer contributing to CURSOR, you maintain ownership rights to all original content you produce, also after submission. After submitting the final version of the article, you agree to let us publish and re-publish the article on the website and/or in print. We may also republish content on our social media accounts. If you at any time would like us not to re-publish your art, send us an email referring to the piece.If your submission has previously been published elsewhere, please let us know and link to the previous publications.