Apply by March 31, 2024 to be one of our four 2024 EICs.
In 2023, we launched our Community Anthologies program, which gave four curators the opportunity to publish their own digital issues on our site. The result? Four stunning anthologies — On Work, On Rivers, On Permanence, and On Tending — that showcased the work of 31 writers, artists, and activists. And today, we are thrilled to open up applications for our 2024 cohort of editors-in-chief, who will curate our next four anthologies in 2024.
You can read about the program and position below, but do note that we have three info sessions happening this month — March 11 @ 5pm PST, March 21 @ 2pm PST, and March 26 @ 12pm PST — where our Director of Programs Bretty Rawson will walk you through the program details, EIC roles and responsibilities, and the application and selection processes. There will also be time for questions and answers at the end. We will also be recording those sessions, so please reach out to Bretty at bretty@seventhwavemag.com if you’d like to get a recording.
- Apply: to apply, please visit our Submittable page here.
- About: Each year, we give our editorial keys to four curators — writers, artists, or editors — to create their own digital issue, showcasing the work of 6-8 artists/writers in each, publishing a total of 28-32 additional voices per year. These Editors-in-Chief work in a cohort together, supporting each other as they curate their own call/topic, work with their 6-8 contributors, and publish their anthology. We call them “community anthologies,” because that’s what they are: an anthology of community, conversation, and voice. In an era where we’re seeing literary magazines closing their doors, TSW is dedicated to building more platforms for our communities’ voices. We modeled this program off our nine years of experience publishing our annual literary magazine, turning our editorial and publishing models into a resource and blueprint for community curators.
Applications: are now open on Submittable until 3/31. There is a $5 application fee, which you can waive by sending your application to submit@seventhwavemag.com. Please ensure you submit complete applications via email.
Eligibility: the only requirement to apply for the EIC position is that you must have some kind of publishing/editorial/curatorial experience. For example, a) you/your work has been published before (in a magazine, publication, anthology, etc.); b) you have edited/published someone else’s work before (in a magazine, publication, anthology, etc.); or c) you have curated an exhibit, show, anthology, etc. This requirement is intentionally loosely defined. The main requirement here is that you have some previous experience doing the type of work you would be doing as an EIC.
4 EICs: TSW will select 4 EICs, who will each curate their own digital anthology of 6-8 voices on a topic of their own choosing (for ex., “On Work”). We recommend taking a look at our 2023 Community Anthologies to learn about our first cohort of EICs, as well as the anthologies they curated.
Timeline & Duties: EICs are selected and notified in April. The work begins in May and ends in November. TSW guides EICs through each step of the process: call curation, submissions, selection, editing, and publishing. EICs are required to attend a monthly meeting from May to November. Main duties include curating your 1-paragraph prompt, selecting your 6-8 writers/artists, editing your contributors’ work, and providing key anthology items, like an Editor’s Note. We will go over each phase in our info sessions in March.
Stipend: Each EIC will receive a $1,000 stipend, and each contributor they publish receives a $100 stipend. There is also an additional $250 stipend that an EIC could use to work with a featured artist (to produce featured images for each post). As such, the total budget for each anthology is around $1,850-2,050 ($1000 + $600-800 + $250).
Our recommendations: to submit the strongest application, we recommend a) going through our 2023 Community Anthologies, if you haven’t already; b) reading the Community Anthology section of our FAQ page; c) attend one of our three info sessions in March (see links at the top of the post); and d) spend time thinking about the issue that you want to curate (this is one primary ways for you to stand out as an applicant). Note: if/when selected, you will be able to change your topic, but we require that you let us know what you are currently interested in curating as a way to ensure we have a variety of curators and topics. Looking at our 2023 anthology calls should help you think about the type of issue you might want to curate. You can see a little glimpse into each one below:
TSW’s job is to give you — our 4 EICs — the tools, resources, and structure you need to curate the anthology you want to see in the world. In our monthly meetings, our Director of Programs Bretty Rawson will walk you through TSW’s blueprint for each phase of the work. Even though each EIC will be working on their own anthology, you will never be “working alone.” TSW is here to guide you through each step of the process, and your fellow EICs will also be there to support and buoy you. In particular, TSW is here to make sure that your anthologies look exactly as you had hoped: once your pieces are done being edited, we will work with you to stage your posts on our site, and TSW then designs suites of graphics for each anthology.
What did some of our past EICs and contributors have to say about their experience in our 2023 Community Anthologies program?
- “Being an EIC with TSW’s Community Anthologies program was hands-down one of the most rewarding experiences of the last decade for me. In addition to the program itself being suffused with so much care, thoughtfulness, and support, EICs are given the tools and opportunity to pay it all forward in a series of nurturing collaborations with their contributors.” — Briana Gwin, 2023 EIC, On Permanence
- “There are a lot of literary magazines in the world; what sets TSW apart is the way they run. From submission to editing to publication to promotion, everyone I worked with at TSW kept things clear and well-organized, and made me feel truly valued and appreciated as a contributor.” — Jade Wallace, 2023 Contributor, On Work
- “The EIC program, like everything TSW does, was a collaborative effort of deep care and thoughtfulness. I felt supported throughout, while also being given the freedom to see my vision through. I’m grateful for the opportunity to work with passionate and meticulous people who are committed to an expansive vision of what’s possible in publishing.” — Patrycja Humienik, 2023 EIC, On Rivers
- “There is a different feeling to being published as part of a cohort, all writing toward the same theme. Whatever that feeling is — community, care, solidarity, grace — The Seventh Wave, in its gestures, is holding this space, a space where our words can not only sit side by side but as part of a shared vision.” — David Naimon, 2023 Contributor, On Rivers
We hope you find this information helpful, and that you’re interested in applying to be one of our next EICs. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us at submit@seventhwavemag.com. We know it takes energy, time, and vulnerability to put your words and art out into the world, so we appreciate everyone who takes the time to submit an application for this program.
