Guidelines for Travel Narratives
We publish travel narratives, that is, literary memoirs about life that happens while traveling, to exotic or mundane locales, anywhere on Earth. Writing in which place and narrator are both key characters, and the journey is both inner and outer (without flatly telling us so).
Original works only. Exclusive submissions strongly preferred (and acted on first). Simultaneous submissions will be reviewed only after all exclusive submissions have been reviewed. Submit on DuoTrope or on our own submission form.
Tone
We seek to publish gentleness, in a world of rip-roaring indignation and rage. Uninterested in polemics, erotica, or anything vituperative, mean-spirited, or rapturously religious. The moocat is a gentle cat.
Length and Quality
Travelogs can be from 1000 to 2000 words long. Looking for personal narratives of travel to anywhere on Earth (inside or outside of the United States) that reflect gently on place, people, observations of what you see, eat, smell, hear. Consider the current travelogs as a guide (but be much better than those!).
Video Submissions
Try to keep videos no longer than about 10 minutes. Longer pieces will be considered on a case-by-case basis. If your video link is password-protected, you can include the password in the “Notes to Editor field” of the form.
Bio Guidelines
Limit bios to 50 words max. You may include your photo to appear in the bio. Bio photos will be presented as 80 x 100 px images in greyscale, but it’s best to submit a high-res photo, in case it needs to be cropped.
Use your bio to tell readers about you as a writer or creator and to record where your work has appeared. A short list of prior publications and any forthcoming ones is welcome, as is a link to your own website or portfolio.
Do not include links to or handles for social media platforms, nor links for purchasing your books or other merchandise through Amazon or other commercial storefronts. If your book is available, include the title and its publisher; readers can take it from there.
Other Stuff
I will only post material sent from contributors with a working e-mail address. I will not include your email address or any other direct contact information but will gladly forward to you any Feedback coming in via the “Leave a Response” form.
Copyright
You retain full copyright in your work.
Electronic rights. By accepting a formal offer of publication, you grant moocat.net First Worldwide Serial Electronic Rights and a perpetual, non-exclusive license to maintain the work in its digital archive. Moocat.net holds exclusive electronic rights for 90 days following publication, after which all rights revert to you and you may republish the work elsewhere, provided moocat.net is credited as the original publisher.
Print rights. You also grant moocat.net a non-exclusive license to reprint the work in print and PDF anthologies of moocat.net content, including for-sale editions, for as long as the anthology remains in print. This license does not affect your right to publish the work elsewhere in any form.
The Submission Process
Submissions are processed either offsite, on Duotrope, using the Duosuma submission management system, or locally, on this site, depending on the section. For some sections, you can choose between the two submission paths. Your work will be reviewed only by moocat.net editors.
Simultaneous Submissions
Upon receiving a Conditional Acceptance, authors must notify other editors of the piece’s withdrawal within 48 hours.
Editorial Exclusivity
To protect the time invested in iterative editing, the work remains exclusive to moocat.net during the collaborative phase until either a final grant of rights is signed or the piece is formally withdrawn.
Choose how to submit:
(free account required) Submit locally
(but think globally)