PROA Publications, the publishing house of Northern Marianas College, is inviting submissions for Guma’ Remetaw or House of the Seafarer, its inaugural literary journal.
The journal aims to highlight Marianas poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, visual art and design.
“Our goal is simple: promote the remarkable voices of our islands on the global stage through our sense of agency, cultural identity, and stewardship,” its website states.
The journal’s first theme is “mesngun,” which is the Chamorro word for “resilient, tolerant,” or “persevering.”
The submission period began on Jan. 1 and continues until April 30.
Guma Remetaw is looking for literature that captures what it means to be “mesngun.”
According to Proa Publications’ website, “We and our islands have been through so much in the past decade: super typhoons, ever-changing landscape from the climate crisis to economic insecurity — even a pandemic: this new ‘normal.’ In spite of all of these tempestuous events, we still stand resilient; hence our inaugural issue’s theme.”
Indigenous artists, artists residing in the Marianas, and artists whose work concentrates on Pacific Island themes, like place, voice, language, and culture, are invited to submit works of fiction or nonfiction.
Individuals can submit three to five poems of any length, with a limit of 10 total pages for poetry submissions.
Guma’ Remetaw will accept one short story or flash fiction per author. The submission may be between 1,000 and 2,500 words in a single file. The journal prefers the PDF format.
Authors may also submit one creative nonfiction work between 1,000 and 2,500 words, also as a PDF file.
In addition, the literary journal will accept a single oral history interview per author. Authors may submit audio and/or video files, although longer files may need to be sent to PROAPublications@marianas.edu
Visual artists can submit up to five pieces as a single document. The journal will accept photography, pottery, sculpture, weaving, digital media, and other visual arts.
Submit works here: https://tinyurl.com/GumaRemetaw
Email PROAPublications@marianas.edu For questions, visit proapublications.com for full submission details.
