Call for Submissions for the North Coast Squid

The North Coast Squid, a literary magazine that embodies the beauty, spirit and eccentricity of Oregon’s northern coastline, is now inviting submissions for its 2023 edition.

The Hoffman Center for the Arts will publish the Squid’s 9th edition in November and accept submissions of writing and art from June 1 to June 30.

The 72-page literary magazine showcases the work of writers and artists who live on the North Oregon Coast or have a strong connection to the region. In addition to works of art, the magazine publishes poetry, fiction and nonfiction, including memoir.

Writers interested in feedback from fellow writers prior to submission can register for a special workshop on Sunday, June 25 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Artwork and photographs, selected for publication by the Squid editorial team, will be used throughout the magazine and on its cover, and artists will be invited to display their work in the November Squid Art Show in the Hoffman Gallery.

As in previous years, written submissions will be selected for publication based on blind judging by noted authors and poets: Anis Mojgani for poetry; Natalie Serber for nonfiction; and Callum Angus for fiction. All three judges live in Portland, Oregon.

Mojgani is the current Poet Laureate of Oregon, a two-time individual champion of the National Poetry Slam and winner of the International World Cup Poetry Slam. He is a recipient of an Academy of American Poets Poet Laureate Fellowship and has done commissions for the Getty and Peabody Essex Museums. He is the author of six books of poetry, a libretto, and a forthcoming children’s book. His latest poetry collection, The Tigers They Let Me, comes out in June.

Serber, a fiction writer, essayist, and educator, is the author of a memoir, Community Chest, and the story collection, Shout Her Lovely Name, a New York Times Notable Book of 2012, a summer reading selection from O, the Oprah Magazine, and an Oregonian Top 10 Book of the Pacific Northwest. She has been shortlisted in Best American Short Stories.

Angus, a trans writer and editor, is the author of the story collection A Natural History of Transition, a finalist for a Lambda Literary Award in Transgender Fiction, the Edmund White Award for Debut Fiction, and an Oregon Book Award/Ken Kesey Award in Fiction. He has received fellowships from Lambda Literary and Signal Fire Foundation for the Arts and was a 2018 Writer-in-Residence at the H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest. He edits the literary journal smoke and mold.

All submissions for this year’s magazine should be made online via the Hoffman Center for the Arts website. A $3 fee is charged for submissions in each category except “Young Writers” (18 and under) which is free. Full guidelines can be found on the submission page.

Questions? Contact the Squid staff at [email protected]