Creative Writing Publications

Alchemy & Alembic Magazines of Literature &Art

Sylvania Campus CT 104 | 503-977-4793 | alchemy@pcc.edu | alembic@pcc.edu | Advisor: Tim Barnes

The same class that produces Alchemy also publishes Alembic, a broadside of literature and art, every term. Students with creative writing backgrounds are invited to register for WR 246 and help produce the next issues of Alchemy and Alembic.

2006 Alchemy magazine cover Alembic magazine cover

Alchemy, a magazine of Portland Community College student writing and art, is published annually as a class project by the students of Writing 246, Advanced Creative Writing: Editing and Publishing, at the Sylvania Campus. The current edition of Alchemy can be purchased for $5 per copy through the PCC Bookstores and such local merchants as Powell's Books and Annie Bloom's. Past issues are $2.

Alembic is the PCC-Sylvania's Creative Writing Program's newest literary publication, its first issue appearing fall 2005. You can pick up a free copy of the latest issue from a rack at the south end of the Sylvania CC building, at the entrance to the English Division offices (Sylvania CT 219), or outside the Alchemy/Alembic office, Sylvania CT 104.

The publication highlights the creative work of PCC students--stories, poems, drawings, photographs, and photographs of paintings and other artworks. Although eighty percent of Alembic is devoted to student work, twenty percent of each issue is reserved for nonstudent work--faculty, staff, and community members are welcome to submit along with students.

Submitting to Alchemy

Alchemy accepts submissions throughout winter term and the first week of spring term. The student editors gratefully accept and thoughtfully consider contributions of:

  • fiction (up to 3,000 words)
  • creative nonfiction (up to 3,000 words)
  • scripts (up to 3,000 words)
  • poetry
  • art (printable in black and white)
  • photography (to be printed in black and white)

Next submissions deadline: April 3, 2009, Friday of the first week of spring term. Publication date: late May.

You can choose the most convenient way to submit your creative work to Alchemy:

  • Download a printable PDF submission form and turn the work in to the editors in Sylvania CT 104, slip it under the door, give it to any creative writing or art instructor

  • E-mail your work as an attachment MS Word preferred for all text attachments. Please include your name, address, phone number, email address, title of work, and type of submission (fiction, nonfiction, script, poetry, art, photo) in the email message.

Submitting to Alembic

Alembic accepts submissions up to the eighth week of fall term and up to the seventh week of winter and spring terms. Deadlines are generally Monday of the eighth week for fall term and Monday of the seventh week for winter and spring. In the 2007-2008 academic year, Alembic will be published only winter and spring terms.

  • Deadline for the winter term issue: Monday, Feb. 16, 2008 and for spring term issue: Monday, May 18, 2009

You can choose the most convenient way to submit your creative work to Alembic:

Submission Guidelines for Alchemy/Alembic
  • Manuscript Submissions

    • E-mail as MS Word attachments; save in Rich Text Format (.rtf).

    • Hard-copy entries should be double-spaced on one side of 8 1/2" by 11" white paper, with numbered pages.

    • 12-point Times New Roman font preferred. Poetry should be typed as it is to appear. No handwritten material or difficult-to-read fonts.

    • Prose manuscripts shouldn't exceed 3,000 words for Alchemy or 1,000 words for Alembic.

    • The author's name should not appear on the work itself, only a title.

    • Due to the amount of work received, manuscript submissions cannot be returned.

    • Keep a copy of your submission.

  • Photo & Artwork Submissions

    • E-mail as a TIFF attachment if possible.

    • Hard-copy photography submissions: Submit a print, no larger than 12" by 17".

    • Hard-copy artwork: Submit the original or a clean print, no larger than 12" by 17". Please state the medium used. No framed artwork or original canvases accepted. Black and white photos of the works are fine.

    • Hard-copy photography and artwork may be picked up the last week of the term.

Eligibility & Rights for Alchemy/Alembic

  • Anyone may submit their work; 20 percent of each publication is devoted to non-student work, and 80 percent to PCC student work. Students needn't be in a creative writing, art, photography, or graphics class to submit. All submissions must be new, original, previously unpublished work; model releases are the responsibility of contributing artists and photographers. Payment in copies.

  •  The Alchemy/Alembic publishing class protects all rights, and reserves editorial control of all material submitted. Alchemy/Alembic acquires first North American serial and online publication rights of material selected for publication; authors and artists retain all other rights to the material.

  • Work not accepted for Alchemy will be considered for publication in the spring Alembic.

Pointed Circle Magazine

Pointed Circle magazine

Pointed Circle, Cascade's magazine of student writing and artwork, is published annually as a class project by the students of Writing 246, Advanced Creative Writing: Editing and Publishing.

The editors of Pointed Circle aspire to produce an innovative, diverse, and prestigious anthology of work for an international readership. Writers and artists of all genres and talents are encouraged to share their efforts. Pointed Circle seeks a variety of literary fiction and nonfiction, poetry, art, and works that cannot be pigeonholed under traditional headings.

Submitting to Pointed Circle Magazine
  • Submissions accepted: October 15 through March 15
  • Deadline for submissions: March 15
  • Publication date: June

All submissions, including artwork, must include a cover sheet with the name of the author/artist, title of the piece, and a brief (30-word) biographical statement. All submissions will be considered anonymously, so please do not include any identifying information on any page except the cover letter. The editors are looking for:

  • Poetry: Up to six poems may be submitted. Each should begin on a new page.
  • Short fiction and creative nonfiction: Prose must be no more than 3,000 words. Please include a word count.
  • Artwork: Graphic work should be printable in black and white, no larger than 8" x 10". High quality photographs or slides of original 3-dimensional work are also welcome.

Literary works are accepted in hard copy, but e-mail or disk submissions are preferred. Please use MS Word format.

E-mail submissions to: Cynthia Kimball

Send or deliver hard-copy submissions to:

Editors, Pointed Circle
Portland Community College
Cascade Campus, SC 211
705 N. Killingsworth Street
Portland, OR 97217

Interested in editing and publishing? Sign up for WR 246

Rock Creek Review

Rock Creek Review

The Rock Creek Review is the Rock Creek campus literary magazine, offering poetry, short fiction, creative nonfiction, and artwork in an annual issue each spring. Send us your poems, fiction, essays, and art for the next issue.

Submitting to Rock Creek Review

Deadline for submissions: March 1

Please submit written work on both a Windows disk (in MS Word or RTF) and hard copy. All submissions must be typed and titled and include name, address, and phone number in the upper left-hand corner of each page. Manuscripts cannot be returned. All contributors will receive a copy of The Rock Creek Review.

Mail or drop off all entries to:

Alison Apotheker or Elizabeth Knight
Rock Creek Campus Bldg. 3/120
P.O. Box 19000
Portland, OR 97280-0990

For more info, call 503-614-7458 or visit Alison Apotheker's website.