The Binnacle, UMM’s Literary Journal, seeks Washington County Submissions

MACHIAS, Maine — The University of Maine at Machias literary journal, The Binnacle, is seeking local submissions, offering three great opportunities for area writers and readers in the coming months.

The journal, which typically publishes pieces from around the world, is planning an all-Washington-County edition this spring. Writers are encouraged to send poetry and/or fiction. They should submit no more than three pieces total, and no piece longer than 2500 words. The deadline is March 15. The publication should be available in May.

The journal is also sponsoring its Fourteenth Annual Ultra-Short Competition. Submissions of poetry and fiction are welcomed. Writers should submit no more than two pieces total, and all pieces should be no more than 150 words (not including the title) and should have a narrative element; poems should not exceed sixteen lines. The deadline is also March 15. The publication should be available in October.

Readers can also visit the Binnacle’s website at machias.edu/binnacle to read a new Ultra-Short every day. Beginning on Valentine’s Day and continuing for the next 739 days the site will publish one Ultra-Short from the first thirteen years of the Binnacle’s annual competition. Each work will appear for three days only.

The journal is published and printed on the UMM campus by students and long-time editor/advisor Gerard NeCastro. One recent contributor, Betsy Martin, author of dozens of publications, remarked that “of all the literary journals I have read and been published in, The Binnacle is aesthetically the most lovely. Everything about it—the size, the paper, the layout, the cover image…is so thoughtfully and beautifully done. I feel quite proud that my work has found a home in these pages.”

Recent copies of The Binnacle are available locally at Parlin’s and the Whole Life Market, or by contacting the journal.

Submissions to the journal should be sent by e-mail to ummbinnacle@maine.edu. For further information, please contact Gerard NeCastro at necastro@maine.edu or 255-1293.