FICTION

A story’s path

1. Start and save.Create a draft, choose an issue or general consideration, add the manuscript, The Spark, disclosures, and publication information.
2. Desk review.An editor checks whether the story should move forward, be declined, or follow an editorial override path when peer feedback is not needed.
3. Peer feedback.Assigned readers respond to a structured form and make an advisory recommendation. Authors remain the decision-makers about their writing.
4. Revision and editorial decision.When revisions are requested, the author responds to feedback and uploads a new immutable revision. Editors then accept, request another round, or decline.
5. Illustration, when requested.An accepted story that requested a no-cost illustration waits while an illustrator is invited, creates the work, and receives author approval.
6. Production and proof.The accepted source is converted into accessible reader-facing HTML, checked by the editorial team, and sent to the author for proof approval.
7. Issue launch.Ready work is published as part of an issue or collection, with contributor relationships and public navigation intact.

VISUAL ART

Standalone artwork has its own editorial path.

Visual art carries art-specific metadata, accessibility description, rights information, The Spark, art-aware desk review, an art-specific feedback rubric when feedback is used, editorial decisions, and publication within the same contributor and issue ecosystem.