long con magazine is a canadian quarterly for art about art.
Based in Kjipuktuk, Mi’kma’ki (halifax, nova scotia), we welcome submissions from established & emerging artists who currently live in canada.
Submissions are accepted year-round on a rolling basis. For submission calls & announcements, follow us on social media or subscribe to our newsletter.
long con‘s foundational philosophy is that all artworks exist in conversation with all other artworks, and our purpose is to publish artworks that bring this long conversation to the surface.
When we say “art about art,” we means artworks created in direct response to other creations (objects, artifacts, exhibitions, or performances) that can be considered “art”—all forms of writing; gallery & theatre arts; pop culture (fashion, sports, comics); infrastructure (architecture, tools); ephemera (ads, memes, user manuals); propaganda (parades, political speeches); and non-human creations (whale songs, bird nests, insect dances).
While our definition of “art” is expansive, we do not publish artworks that gesture vaguely, citing as inspiration the entirety of an artist’s oeuvre or the entirety of an artistic movement, period, or form. If you’re responding to multiple pieces by an artist, for instance, be prepared to identify the one piece (or two or three) that most strongly influence your response.
Still unsure whether your submission would be a good fit? Ask us at longconmag@gmail.com.
Literary submissions must be unpublished in any print or digital form.
• Creative nonfiction (up to 3000 words)
• Fiction & scripts for stage or screen (up to 3000 words)
• Poetry & prose poetry (up to 6 pages)
• Translations of any of the above forms (up to 3000 words of prose or 6 pages of poetry)
Visual submissions & other artworks (e.g., audio & video) must be unpublished in any print or digital magazine, anthology, or book but may have been otherwise already exhibited, performed, released, or circulated. You may submit up to 6 individual artworks.
For us to consider publishing your artwork, you must include a writer/artist statement that identifies—by title, creator name, and year, whenever possible—the object(s), artifact(s), exhibition(s), or performance(s) to which your artwork responds. See past issues for examples.
We encourage simultaneous submissions. If your work is accepted elsewhere, please withdraw it from our consideration as soon as possible.
We encourage collective submissions, meaning works through which two or more artists create a shared response to another work of art or culture. When artists create a series of responses to each other’s work, we call that ‘collaboration’ and publish it only through Collusion Books, our chapbook press for collaborative poetry projects.
Response time is 1 to 4 months, depending on when you submit. To save ourselves the existential despair of explaining everything readily available on this page, we do not respond to off-theme submissions or to submissions sent by email without prior approval.
Contributor compensation is CAD$20—sent by e-transfer—regardless of form, number, or length of piece(s) contributed and regardless of number of members in a collective. We are working to increase this compensation. Like most other digital magazine, long con does not make a profit, and all of our editors work on a volunteer basis.
Past contributors are not republished for one year, so please wait before submitting again. If we’ve published you as a solo artist but you wish to submit a collective piece (or vice versa), you may disregard this waiting period.
Copyright always remains with you, the artist(s). Through contributor payment, long con purchases only the right to publish your work for the first time in periodical form. You don’t need our permission to re-publish or otherwise present your work after its inclusion in a long con issue.
Anyone who submits AI-generated content, under the guise of it being human-created artwork, will be permanently banned from publication in long con. Any of their previous long con publications will be replaced with a notice of their ban, and any outstanding contributor compensation will be cancelled. Use of algorithmic tools within larger creative processes is permitted if acknowledged and explained via the submission form. (Declaring is zero-risk: no ban will be imposed on the basis of an unsatisfactory explanation.)
In recognition of the many historical and immediate barriers to artistic creation and recognition, we prioritize submissions from First Nation, Inuit, Métis, and other Indigenous artists; Black artists, Brown artists, artists of colour, and other racialized artists; 2SLGBTQIA+ artists; artists with disabilities or chronic illnesses; and artists with experiences of trauma, incarceration, poverty, or displacement.
Help us make more informed editorial decisions by identifying any backgrounds or experiences that have made it more difficult for you to create art or be recognized for your artistic labour. Backgrounds and experiences don’t need to be addressed in your submission, bio, or artist statement: include them in the field “Additional notes for the editors” to ensure they remain confidential.
If your name(s), artistic name(s), or pronouns change after we’ve published you, we’d be very happy to help you celebrate by quickly correcting our website. Please feel free to let us know at longconmag@gmail.com.
Having trouble with the submission form?
Email us at longconmag@gmail.com
