Many years ago, Qwerty published a semi-regular "Ego Issue" featuring work entirely written by its editorial staff. We haven't released something like that in 20 years. For issue 50, we wanted to bring that idea back, but make it a bit less insular, more celebratory, more communal. So for issue 50, we're inviting all the writers and artists in Fredericton, and everyone else on the mastheads of every literary production house in Fredericton to submit poetry, prose, and visual art for consideration in this special issue. With our neighbor and mentor The Fiddlehead turning 80 this year, we thought this would be the perfect occasion to celebrate our home.

This means that we want to hear from not just the folks at The Fiddlehead, but we also want to hear from people at newer publications like Camel, FEILDS, and Movies In Your Head. And if you're really indie and you make zines, we also want to read submissions from you! We're also open to folks who work at Goose Lane, the Poets Laureate of Fredericton, students enrolled in creative writing or fine arts programs, or any Fredericton-based authors, editors, and artists. If you are part of the fabric of cultural production in this weird little convergence of arts scenes, we want you to submit to us to celebrate 50 issues of Qwerty and 80 years of the Fiddlehead.

Fredericton has this cool nickname, the Poets' Corner of Canada. There's a monument high up on a hill somewhere commemorating it. If Fredericton is the Poets' Corner, let this be not a new Ego Issue, but Qwerty Magazine's Cornerstone Issue.

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There is no theme to this issue, but you must have a connection to Fredericton, New Brunswick in some form. We accept up to five high-quality, not-yet-curated visual art pieces; up to six pages of poetry in a single document with 1-inch margins on all sides; or prose up to 5,000 words in length, double-spaced, in 12-point font and with 1-inch margins on all the pages per submission.

In your cover letter, please include your name and full contact information, what your relationship is to Fredericton, and also if your submission has been simultaneously submitted elsewhere. After sending us your work, please wait at least six months before submitting again.

All contributors selected for this issue will receive $15 and one copy of the issue once published.

UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES DO WE ACCEPT AI-GENERATED ART OF ANY GENRE, BE IT POETRY, PROSE, OR VISUAL

Deadline is April 30, 2025

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact qwertymagazine@gmail.com.