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Synaesthesia Magazine is a multimedia, online-only literary and arts magazine run by two passionate editors.

The magazine began the word ‘synaesthesia’. We didn’t know much about the word or the condition. At first, it was just a romance in our mouths. Then, one day, the idea dawned on Annabelle, one of our editors, to create a literary magazine fusing words, images and sound together. As far as we were aware, it hadn’t been done before – not like this, not how we envisioned it. Annabelle knew who to contact instantly, friend and now co-editor, Carlotta. Both caught fire with instant business ‘electricity’ and discussed the idea animatedly; we wanted an explosion of the senses through the expression of the arts. We wanted synaesthesia.

What do we like?

We like poetry that howls from the rooftops.  We like modest poetry, poetry that tells us it’s pretty terrifying being human but y’know what? Here’s a puddle. Look at its rainbow.

We like short stories that come to bed with you and kiss you somewhere you didn’t know you liked. We don’t like sob stories, but we do like stories that whisper, I had to write this.

You can read and treasure our blog in between issues too, where you’ll be able to find our submission guidelines, previous issues and plenty of meaty blog posts on writing and art to sink your teeth into. You’ll be able to find out more about the gritty photographs or the gutsy short stories we love, and you’ll be able to join us as a guest blogger as well! To learn how to be a part of the Synaesthesia Magazine blog, email us at synaesthesiamagazine@gmail.com.

Check out our latest September ‘Cities’ issue here:

What’s coming next?

Our submissions portal is currently closed until January, but fear not! We have something even more exciting for you. Something we have been biting our nails, pacing the carpet thread-bare and waiting months to announce – our first ever short story competition.

We have had a fantastic first year at Synaesthesia Magazine. It makes us so proud to see our readership growing and our contributions increasing, so what better way to end the year than to give you all the opportunity to take part in our very first short story competition?

Synaesthesia Magazine Short Story Competition 2014

Opens 15/11/2013

Closes 07/01/2014

For this exciting leap into 2014, we’re lucky enough to have Adam Marek, award-winning short story writer of two fantastic collections, Instruction Manual for Swallowing and The Stone Thrower, as our guest judge.

Here are the delicious prizes we have lined up for our winner and runner-up:

Winner:

• £60 Amazon voucher
• 2 x books courtesy of Comma Press
• Publication in Synaesthesia Magazine‘s February 2014 issue
• Winner’s interview in Synaesthesia Magazine‘s February 2014 issue

Runner-up:

• 1 book courtesy of Comma Press
• Publication in Synaesthesia Magazine‘s April 2014 issue

All submissions will be judged anonymously, with our top stories read and judged by Adam Marek!

The rules are simple, but please read them carefully:

• Only one (1) submission per person
• Word limit up to 2,500 words maximum
• Entries must be in English
• Entries must be previously unpublished
• All short stories must be in .doc, .docx or .pdf format, with Name of Entrant, Story Title as the file name
• All entries must be sent via email (as an attachment) to synaesthesiamagazine@gmail.com
• Subject line of email to include: Name of Entrant, Story Title, Short Story Competition
• Body of email must include author’s name, email address and PayPal address
• No corrections can be made after submission, nor fees refunded
• There is no set theme
• The competition is open to all; it is not restricted to UK residents only.

As we run the magazine entirely on love and coppers from our piggy banks, for this competition there is a small entry fee (£4.00) which is available to pay via PayPal only.  

If your entry fee has been successfully processed, each entry will be accepted, but unfortunately we cannot reply to each and every email (as much as we’d like to!). A shortlist will be published on our blog and sent to all entrants in January. The winner and runner-up will be notified by email, and asked for their address for the prizes to be sent to. 

To enter, visit our blog. 

Good luck!

About our guest judge

Adam Marek won the 2011 Arts Foundation Short Story Fellowship, and was shortlisted for the inaugural Sunday Times EFG Short Story Award. His first story collection Instruction Manual for Swallowing was nominated for the Frank O’Connor Prize. His stories have appeared in many magazines, including: Prospect and The Sunday Times Magazine, and in many anthologies, including Lemistry, Litmus and The New Uncanny from Comma Press, The New Hero from Stoneskin Press, andThe Best British Short Stories 2011. His second story collection is entitled The Stone Thrower.

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Blog: synaesthesiamagazine.blogspot.co.uk