Syntax: Call For Submissions
Issue One — Feedback
WHAT IS SYNTAX MAGAZINE?
Syntax is a new periodical from Siren’s Muse Publishing exploring STEM and creative practice. We publish essays, nonfiction, fiction, visual work, and accounts of projects and investigations across science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. We welcome submissions from researchers, writers, artists, students, makers, and independent practitioners. No academic affiliation is required.
THEME: FEEDBACK
For our first issue, we invite submissions responding to Feedback.
Feedback occurs when the output of a process returns to influence what happens next. It can stabilize a system, amplify a signal, expose a problem, or prompt a revision. We’re interested in feedback across disciplines: ecological cycles, robotics, sound, communication, creative criticism, and the relationship between an experiment and its results.
What does a system do with the information it receives? What happens when feedback is delayed, distorted, ignored, or misunderstood? How do we decide what to change?
Submissions may approach the theme through research, observation, practical work, or imagination.
SUBMISSION TYPES
-
Essays and nonfiction: Academic essays, criticism, researched articles, personal essays, and reporting. 1,000–4,000 words.
-
Projects and process: Introduce a project, experiment, prototype, or creative or technical process. Explain what you’re investigating, how the work developed, and what you’ve learned. 500–2,500 words, with up to 10 accompanying images.
-
Field Guide: Field notes, observations, specimen descriptions, annotated sketches, and other records of investigation. 300–1,500 words, with up to 6 accompanying images.
-
Fiction: Stories engaging meaningfully with STEM and the issue’s theme. 1,000–4,000 words.
-
Visual work: Art, photography, scientific illustration, diagrams, comics, 3D, and related work. Up to 10 images or pages, with an accompanying description of up to 300 words.
-
Hybrid work: Work combining forms, such as essays with comics, annotated photography, or narratives incorporating diagrams. Up to 3,000 words or 10 pages.
HOW TO SUBMIT
Submit through the Siren’s Muse Publishing website: www.sirensmuse.ca/syntax
The submission form has four sections:
1. About you
Your name, contact information, and contributor details. Please check that your information is accurate.
2. About your piece
Information about your submission, including its title, submission type, length, and relationship to the theme, along with the work itself.
3. Feedback Preferences and Donations
A minimum contribution of $5 is required to submit. If this presents an accessibility barrier, please contact Siren’s Muse Publishing to discuss an accommodation.
You may also select optional paid editorial feedback:
$10 — Jot-note feedback: Brief editorial observations.
$25 — Detailed feedback: A fuller response to your submission.
$50 — Detailed feedback and next steps: A fuller response with guidance for revision, including a full literary edit if your submission is literary work.
4. Terms and conditions
You will be asked to confirm that you understand and agree to the publication terms, including permission for Siren’s Muse Publishing to use accepted work in the print and digital magazine and in promotional materials. You are responsible for providing accurate information and ensuring you have the necessary rights and permissions for your submission. Accepted contributors will not receive monetary payment. Each will receive a free digital contributor copy of the issue.
Thank you for considering Syntax for your work. We look forward to reading, viewing, and learning from your submissions.