JuxtaProse Literary Magazine

JuxtaProse Literary Magazine: Non-Response Offender

We suspect that JuxtaProse Literary Magazine is running the classic non-response scam. This is where a literary magazine will leave paid submissions open, often for an indefinite amount of time, with the goal of receiving continuous submission fees while never bothering to respond to applicants.

Becky Tuch wrote about their unethical behaviour on Lit Mag News, which you can read here: https://litmagnews.substack.com/p/lit-mags-to-the-left-of-me-jokers. She outlined how they are seemingly still open for submissions on Submittable, and still receiving submission fees from writers for their work. At first glance, it appears there are no fees for some of their prize submissions, but once you attempt to enter your submission, you're prompted with a $25 "non-member" fee. (And if anyone reading this happens to be a member of JuxtaProse in some way, shape or form, please leave a comment below.)

Please read the entire article if you wish, as it is well-researched and asked some very important questions about the unethical practices of JuxtaProse. Another interesting discussion takes place in the comment section, and a relevant screenshot is shared below:

Aside from this extremely unethical action of collecting paid submissions without ever responding to writers, there is also evidence of the magazine making an effort to obscure this habitual non-response, by requesting removal of their listing on Duotrope as recently as April 2023. Duotrope is a commonly-used tool for writers to gauge the response rate of literary magazines, which helps them make informed decisions about whether to submit their pieces or not. If you remove your listing from Duotrope, but still take part in the literary world as a magazine that accepts submissions, you are flagrantly disregarding the general etiquette and rights of writers that are thankfully upheld by most other magazines and journals.

Here is the information we compiled for JuxtaProse Literary Magazine as of November 2023:

General open submissions on Submittable with no deadline, and a fee of $3. From our research, we can estimate that JuxtaProse Literary Magazine has been open for general submissions since at least 2018.
Other specific, contest-related opportunities on Submittable, with deadlines, for fees of up to $25. (For perspective, highly-regarded journals such as American Short Fiction charge between $18 and $20 for their contests; The Kenyon Review charges $24 for their contests.)
No verifiable track record of responding to applicants. They mention responding within eight to ten weeks; we would like to see proof of this claim.
Proof of non-response through online forums and complaints. Screenshots below.
No listing on Duotrope, due to a request from JuxtaProse for removal.

Here we have a Twitter thread discussing JuxtaProse's lack of response or notification to applicants for their 2021 fiction and poetry contests:

See their open opportunities on Submittable here (note, you will need to log in or sign up for an account):

https://manager.submittable.com/opportunities/organization/12651.

We found the following contact information for JuxtaProse Literary Magazine:

submissions@juxtaprosemagazine.org

contact@juxtaprosemagazine.org

We found the following information about their staff from their website:

Spring 2020

Editor-in-Chief
Seth Luke

Managing Editor
Julie Erickson

Art Editor
Jennifer Luke

Editorial Assistants
Ann Brandon

Web Design
Avery Baker

However, we found no other emails or contact information for individual staff members.

If you ever submitted your work to JuxtaProse Literary Magazine, please share your experience by either contacting us through the Contact page, or leaving a comment below (you are welcome to comment anonymously). Your story could help another writer make an informed decision about whether or not to submit to this magazine, or help JuxtaProse Literary Magazine take accountability for their non-response reputation.