Pivot magazine would like to invite you all to share your work with us! We are so excited to share that the theme for our 2023 edition is Voyages: Traversing the White Space. As academics and writers, we are constantly faced with the intimidation of the yawning white space of the page. In Joe Bray's reflections on concrete poetry and prose he argues that: "It is as if the white space trumps the linguistic attempt to represent silence; it achieves what words cannot. Its dominance over language in the poem is also suggested by the way it dwarfs the text on the page, surrounding and diminishing it." White space then finds meaningful exploration in our own creative works and in the texts we consume. The Western notions of racial whiteness add yet another element to the meaning of 'white space'. In our daily lives, our social identities which are shaped by racial hierarchies create challenges, barriers, and battles in which we are constantly pushing against the structures of whiteness Lisa Corrigan and Anjali Vats advocate that: "Although, as Darrel Wanzer-Serrano reminds us, 'the overwhelming whiteness, both embodied and intellectually, of rhetorical studies is not new,' we must offer new and sustained scholarly attention to the way that racial investments structure protest cycles within the communication field and the possibilities that exist for effectively resisting them." Contemporary critical work in response has adopted lenses of inclusivity and diversity to fight back against the whiteness of academia and publishing.

We are looking for works that approach white space in an infinite variety of ways. Whether it be a poem experimenting with white space as a stylistic technique or a paper displaying deep racial awareness, or even discussions on the process of staking claim on the blank space of the page in our work, we encourage any and ALL interpretations.

Questions to consider:
How does the implementation of white space in creative and critical works contribute to the way that we understand silences and other contextual reverberations in the work?
How does the whiteness of the institutions we exist in shape our criticisms as sites of cultural representation and cultural inscription?
How is the whiteness of space represented in tales of immigration or in voyages and travel literature?
How do artists confront the intimidation of the blank white page, and continue to dare to keep creating?

For the purposes of this issue, the idea of exploring the white space can be taken up either in an academic paper or through a creative endeavour. Additionally, we are also accepting reviews, interviews and podcasts that discuss an array of mediums (books, film, visual art, events) following the theme of traversing white space.

Ideas that may be addressed by submissions include, but are not limited to, the following:
Creative writing that uses white space as an experimental tool
Photography and visual art that plays with colours and white space
Critical articles examining the use of white space in literary texts
Critical and creative works reflecting on the racial implications of various literary texts
Immigrant literature of any sort
Reflections and conversations surrounding the act of filling up the white space of a page
Representations and recreations of white space (in one or more of its connotations)
Representations and recreations of voyages, immigration, and travel literature
Representations and recreations of race, diversity, and inclusion
Representations and recreations of the process of creating art and written work

We accept both creative and critical submissions responding to the theme. In the past we have accepted works of criticism, visual art, fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, and more, so don't let genre or form restrict you!

Submissions are to be made at this link by April 1st, 2023: https://pivot.journals.yorku.ca/index.php/pivot/about/submissions

Below are some guidelines for submissions, for additional information, parse through our website at: https://pivot.journals.yorku.ca/index.php/pivot/about/submissions

Critical Articles: Critical articles should be between 2500-3000 words. These articles are expected to be formatted and cited in MLA format and will undergo peer-review process. Please include an abstract with your submission.
Reviews: This can include reviews of books, films, art exhibits, public events, food and drink and more. So long as the review connects in some way to the subject of Pivot's 2022 issue. Reviews should be between 700-3000 words.
Poetry: Please submit between 1-3 pages of poetry. Whether the pages consist of one long poem or three separate poems does not matter so long as the entry fits within the page limits.
Literary Non-Fiction: Works of literary non-fiction should be between 700-3000 words. These can include personal stories, essays, etc.
Fiction/Short Stories: Short stories should be between 700-3000 words.
Video Media: Please submit a proposal of about 300 words (can just write "see attached proposal" for abstract portion of submission). Once you have been notified that your proposal has been approved, you can upload a video up to 10 minutes in length. Videos can include anything from interviews, short documentaries, vlogs, literature readings and acting performances. Please also include a 1-2 sentence description of the video within the abstract section.
Visual Art: Please submit a digital file with your visual art here including cover art. We accept photography, graphic design, paintings and drawings, as well as photos of sculpture or performance art. In the abstract section, please include a short description or statement to accompany your work.


In case of any questions or concerns, please reach out to us at journalpivot@gmail.com. We look forward to engaging with your work and thank you so much for your willingness to share 🙂


Best Regards,
Zahra and Aditi



For this edition, Pivot invites submissions of:
Academic articles between 2500-3000 words
Poetry up to 3 pages
Short fiction, reviews, creative nonfiction, or other prose of 700-3000 words
Visual art—including cover submissions
Videos up to 10 minutes (please submit a 300 word pitch for the idea)

Please make any submissions here and feel free to contact journalpivot@gmail.com with any questions.